Grandmother Mauer's Frosted Oatmeal Cookies
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups quick oatmeal
½ cup chopped pecans
Frosting
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted after measuring
1 tablespoon strong coffee
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place the oven rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray cookie sheets or jelly roll pans with vegetable oil.Add the flour, salt and baking soda to a medium mixing bowl and whisk together until combined, about 30-45 seconds. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars on medium to medium-high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until the texture becomes light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on medium speed for 25 seconds. Stop the mixer, add the flour mixture, oatmeal and nuts and mix at low speed until moistened and combined 30-45 seconds. Drop the dough by the teaspoons-full about 2 inches apart onto the prepared pans (about 15 cookies per pan); bake 8-10 minutes until light brown around the edges. Remove the cookies from the pan onto cooling racks.For the frosting: While the cookies bake, add the butter, coffee, cinnamon and vanilla to a small mixing bowl. Add the confectioner's sugar and, with an electric mixer, mix until smooth. Spread about frac12; teaspoon frosting on each cookie, Cool completely. Store in airtight containers or freeze.Makes about 60 cookies.LeanNotes: To trim some fat and calories in this recipe use frac14; cup butter and add frac14; cup drained unsweetened applesauce when you beat the butters and sugars together. You could also use just frac14; cup toasted chopped pecans. Those two alterations cut almost 700 calories and more than 75 fat grams from the whole batch, while reducing the percentage of calories from fat to a very acceptable 30-percent. @Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per cookie: 59 calories (44 percent from fat), 2.8 g fat (1.3 g saturated fat), 7.9 g carbohydrates, 0.3 g fiber, 0.6 g protein, 9 mg cholesterol, 28 mg sodium.