Great-Grandmother Tenery's Oatmeal Cookies 1880

In 1988, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas gathered hundreds of old recipes from the early days of Texas and published them as A Pinch of This and a Handful of That. I have loved browsing through this  collection of pioneer recipes and household tips ("Clothes which have a bad odor may be wrapped up and buried for a day or two in the ground to remove the odor" and, "To heal chapped hands, rub them with buffalo tallow").

When I spotted this recipe, I knew I had to try it. These are definitely Great-Grandmother-worthy cookies...buttery and crisp around the edges, rich and chewy in the middle, and a perfect balance of raisins, pecans, and dough. They really are some of the best cookies I've ever eaten.

I used old-fashioned oats in my cookies because that's probably what Great-Grandmother Tenery used: quick cooking oats were not developed until the 1920s.

Great-Grandmother Tenery's Oatmeal Cookies
Navarro County, Texas, 1880

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup light brown sugar)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (I added this- it was not in the original recipe)
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup raisins

Here are the exact instructions, as written: "Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, one at a time and beat thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients three times and add to creamed mixture with oatmeal, pecans, and raisins. Drop on greased tins, and bake in moderate oven for 15 minutes".

I added: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Although the directions did not specify, I stirred the vanilla in right after the eggs. Bake on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet for 13 to 14 minutes or until just starting to brown (the longer they bake, the crispier they get). I dropped dough by rounded tablespoon-fulls. This made about 42 large (3.5"), delicious cookies.

Recipe from: Seconds of A Pinch of This and a Handful of That, 1830-1900 by The Daughters of the Republic of Texas.


These cookies may have been taken to some of these fun parties!

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