Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oh, the comfort I find in the smell of fresh baked cookies.  You know, I think we all kind of revert back to our childhood and when our moms or grandmas baked us cookies.  It just smelled like home.  One of the first recipes I tried to make with Splenda, was this Oatmeal Cookie Recipe.  I have had this recipe for as long as I can remember.  I know it was the one that my mom had and when I asked her where she got it, she said that she figured it came from the oatmeal box.  So I did a little investigation and looked on my oatmeal box, knowing that you almost always use the same brands of products that your mom did...why?...because your mom did...but the recipe wasn't the same.  So either they have changed the recipe on the oatmeal box, or my mom just doesn't remember where the recipe came from.  She is probably going to read this so I should say that I am sure they changed the recipe on the oatmeal box.

So, this is a Low Sugar recipe.  You just can't really make cookies without using brown sugar and as of right now, there is only a blend product for brown sugar.  The great news is that you should only use 1/2 of what the recipe calls for which means it takes the true sugar amount down to 1/4 of what the recipe calls for.  Now I just can't really want any oatmeal cookies that don't have raisins in them, and while raisins don't have any refined sugar, there are natural sugars in all fruit.  I personally don't have any issues with natural sugars; it is the refined sugar that I have worry about.  But if you need to stay away from all types of sugar, you may just want to leave the raisins out.

Ingredient list:

• 3/4 c. shortening
• 1/2 c. Splenda Blend brown sugar
• 1/2 c. Splenda granulated
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 t. vanilla
• 3 c. uncooked oats
• 1 c. flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2-1 c. raisins (to your liking)

Start by preheating your oven to 335 F.  Mix all of your wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer:  Shortening, sugar substitutes, egg, water and vanilla.

Of course, you can always go old school and mix it together with a large wooden spoon.  Maybe you can skip your workout for the day!

 Stir in your dry ingredients:  oatmeal, flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Please note that by stirring in the dry ingredients just until incorporated, your cookies will be softer and more tender.  I use a big spoon-shaped spatula.

Finally, mix in your raisins.  You can add other optional ingredients as well.  You might try nuts, sugar-free chocolate chips, etc.  Use your imagination, depending on your own tastes.

 Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.  As you prepare the dough to put on the pan, take a look at my tip about forming your cookies, since Splenda based cookies will not spread while cooking.


Eleven (11) has always been my go to number when baking cookies.  I have mentioned before that I really enjoy soft, chewy cookies.  By only baking them for 11 minutes, they will come out of the oven still a little soft and not really completely cooked.  But here is the trick.  Leave them on the hot pan for 3-5 minutes more before moving them to a cooling rack.  They will finish cooking and you will have the most chewy cookies.