Grandmother Mauer's Frosted Oatmeal Cookies
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 oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray cookie sheets or jelly roll pans with vegetable oil. Set aside.
Add the flour, salt and baking soda to a medium mixing bowl and whisk together until combined, about 30-45 seconds. Set aside.
With 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 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 teaspoon-full about 2 inches apart onto the prepared sheets or pans (about 15 cookies to the sheet or pan). Bake 8-10 minutes until light brown around the edges. Remove the cookies from the pan onto cooling racks, continuing to bake until all of the dough is gone.
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 together until smooth. Spread about ½ teaspoon frosting on top of each cookie (I like using a small rubber spatula). Cool completely. Store in airtight containers or freeze.
Makes about 60 cookies.
Lean variation: To trim fat and calories from this recipe here's what to do: Use ¼ cup butter and drain about ½ cup unsweetened applesauce to have ¼ cup drained applesauce. Beat the drained applesauce with the butter and the sugars just like the recipe describes. Also use ¼ cup chopped pecans, but toast them lightly in a small skillet over medium heat and cool them before adding them to the batter. These changes reduce the calories from fat to 30 percent.
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.