National Oatmeal Cookie Day Actually Exists and Is Delicious
Counting down the days until the big celebration, tensions in the country rise. Some laud the consumption of such wafer-thin delicacies, while others condemn the hype around the symbolic slice of carbs. Okay, maybe National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day isn’t the most well-known, widely celebrated, or highly controversial holiday in the United States, but it is one of the most interesting and delicious.
Although National Oatmeal Cookie Day has been assigned April 30th as its date, Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day is celebrated on March 18th. The difference between the two lies in their composition: ‘Lacy’ cookies contain no flour, fewer oats, and more butter than are in standard oatmeal cookies. This causes them to have a thinner dough, which splays out when baked to form transparent cookies with small divots and holes that resemble lace.
Instead of the usual raisin or nut additions to oatmeal cookies, lace cookies are baked plain, and are usually accompanied by a scoop of ice cream, and can even be used to form an ice cream sandwich.
The following recipe, adapted from instructions provided at cooks.com, is a sweet, unique way to enjoy ice cream, and can even be colored to celebrate other, perhaps more well-known, holidays. Yields approximately 18 cookies.
Original recipe can be found at: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/prt/0,1910,139163-229203,00.html
Ingredients:
1 egg
3 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups oatmeal (may be old-fashioned or quick-cooking)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Optional: 5-10 drops food coloring
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Beat egg in medium bowl, then add all other ingredients. Stir well.
Drop rounded teaspoons of dough onto tray, at least 3 inches apart.
Bake for 6-10 minutes in preheated oven.
Remove cookie sheet from oven. Allow cookies to cool for 2-5 minutes until set, then remove from baking sheet with thin metal spatula.
Enjoy! Freezing ice cream on a warm cookie is a wonderful combination, but cooled cookies can also be used, or a couple can form a sandwich. The sweet, crispy cookies are also delicious on their own.
