I am a big fan of oatmeal and always have been.   It was the quintessential breakfast on a cold midwestern morning before we trekked out into the snow to walk to school.  Yes, I walked to school.  Every day.  From the tender age of six.  The joys, or tribulations, of small town living.  

My grandmother fixed oatmeal for us.  She cooked it until it was thick and dense and you had to force it off the wooden spoon.  It stuck to your ribs.  Add a healthy dose of sugar and some milk and we were off to the races.  When I was old enough to drive but had to first shovel the driveway, it helped with that too!  

My husband’s favorite part of the day was waking up with our daughter and having breakfast together (God rest his soul – I loved that extra hour of sleep every day).  He was not, however, much of a cook so he took the instant variety route and made her brown sugar microwaveable oatmeal in the morning.  If it wasn’t oatmeal it was instant grits.  (Grimace).  But that is a story for another day.  To this day, I can’t eat instant oatmeal and my now 17 year old still doesn’t cotton to my rib sticking variety.   You will find old fashioned oats reigning supreme over and above the sad packets of microwave oatmeal.   Puny little things they are.  

But, instead of posting about a bowl of oatmeal, I decided to make Spicy Oatmeal Crisps to get another recipe in for National Oatmeal Month.   I tried these…. mostly because they had oatmeal.  : )   But I was pleasantly surprised by this cookie.  They are thin and labeled a crisp but I found them to be crisp around the edges and soft and moist inside.  To me, a perfect combination.  You get a bit of crunch from the edges and then that nice soft cookie and then you are hit with a bit of crunchy oatmeal.   And the spices in this cookie are just divine.  If the allspice, nutmeg and clove weren’t enough to give you a zing, you get that hint of black pepper when the cookie is finished.  A nice lingering stay with you for a few minutes taste.  Try these.  You will like them.     

SPICY OATMEAL CRISPS   from Cooking Light

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp grated whole nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 cup packed brown sugar

5 tbsp butter, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350. 

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, salt, cloves and black pepper in a bowl.

Place brown sugar, butter and vanilla in a second bowl. Beat at medium speed with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Add egg and beat well.  Stir in flour mixture and oats.

Drop by level tablespoons about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets lined with a silpat or sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until crisp.  Cool on pans for about 2 minutes to firm up.  Remove and cool on wire racks.    Makes about 24 cookies.