Crisp Oatmeal Cookies

I know most people's oatmeal cookie recipes are for a soft, slightly chewy cookie, but not mine.  My father came across these cookies at some point in my teens and it was the only oatmeal cookie he'd ever liked - partly because it wasn't soft and chewy; he prefers crunchy cookies.  He wheedled the recipe out of whoever he got the cookie from, and the rest was history.  Because these were the only oatmeal cookies I ever made, it kind of stands to reason that my own children like crunchy oatmeal cookies best.  And some of them won't eat other oatmeal cookies at all unless there's a layer of icing in between two of them. :)

Oatmeal Cookies
1/2c. soft butter
1/2c. shortening (we use palm kernel shortening by Spectrum, but Crisco will do)
2c. light brown sugar
2 eggs
2c. all purpose flour
2tsp. baking soda
1 to 2tsp. cinnamon ( I use 1 heaping teaspoon)
2c. quick oats
1tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350.

Cream together sugar, butter, and shortening.  Beat in eggs.  Mix the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon, and then add to the creamed mixture.  Sir in the oatmeal and vanilla.  Cover and chill mixture for 1 hour.  Roll into balls, slightly smaller in size than a walnut (actually, we've taken to just using a small cookie scoop), and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  We like to bake ours until they are turning darker around the edges.  They should be puffy when you pull them from the oven, but they will deflate in just a few seconds.  If you bake these and they stay softer, increasing your baking time by a minute or two should get them crunchier.

The mixture will keep for a few days in the fridge, but if it's been refrigerated for awhile, you'll need to let the dough warm up a bit on the counter before you start forming and baking them, otherwise it will be hard as a rock, and the cookies may not flatten out as much or bake up as crisp.