Revisiting A Favorite Recipe

Oatmeal Scotchies

You can thank me later. These cookies have been a family staple of ours for years and years. It's the recipe from the back of the Nestles butterscotch chip bag. We have always baked the one-pan bar cookie version because it's faster than making multiple pans of drop cookies. But we discovered that the bar cookie version of the recipe is no longer on the butterscotch chip bag. 

Not to worry. I have the recipe saved here on the blog. I posted it back in 2012. The actual dough recipe is the same for drop cookies and bar cookies, but the pan size and cooking time are things you need to know if you want to make them in one pan. So I think it's due for another appearance here.

Little Sister may have inherited her Mimi's sweet tooth. She cut these into giant bars! They are very rich, so you might probably want to make yours a little smaller. She made these completely by herself. We just left her alone in the kitchen. She's got mad kitchen skills. She even manages pans in and out of a hot oven by herself.  

OATMEAL SCOTCHIES

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats

11-oz. package butterscotch morsels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and butterscotch morsels. Press dough into a greased 10x15-inch jelly roll pan. 

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan. Cut into bars.

Makes 4 dozen bars.

There are many comments online with brutal reviews saying the Nestles chips are not what they used to be. Evidently the recipe has been reformulated with many saying they have an artificial taste. Mommy says she can tell there's a difference but she's used them anyway. Next time we may try another brand.

Here is a quick peek at some of our granddaughter time this summer. We spent the weekend at the lake on one of those rare weekends with cool temps and low humidity. Low humidity is a big deal in the Deep South. And yesterday we had a "girls day" of shopping in town. Lunch out at a favorite restaurant was a treat. We have enjoyed having this part of the family with us since school got out for the summer. By this time next week it will be just us two old folks here at home. We are soaking up the time with the girls. 

Daddy-O starts every little one out sitting in his lap as they "drive" the boat. And now Baby Girl has graduated to solo driving. Rest assured this was on a Monday morning when the lake was empty and Daddy-O was standing right beside her. I got him to step aside long enough for a quick pic. It's always safety first for us.

As grandparents everywhere are aware, there comes a time when the grandchildren get busy with their own things (as they should) and spending weeks with grandparents isn't the treat that it once was. Not that they don't love us, but they are expanding their world. Big Sister is on her study abroad right now. We have loved seeing photos she posts, but goodness knows life on the farm isn't the same as life in Paris!

We know we are slowly moving in that direction with Little Sister as she starts middle school so we treasure each of these visits. And we are thankful that we still have smaller ones coming along.