Pat's Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

These oatmeal cookies are built for crunch. A high ratio of butter and sugar to flour means they spread thin in the oven, and those lacy, browned edges are where all the flavor concentrates. If you’ve ever wanted an oatmeal cookie that snaps instead of bends, this is the one.

Creaming the margarine and both sugars until truly fluffy is what gives these cookies their crispy structure. All that air gets trapped in the batter and creates pockets that crisp up as the sugars caramelize.

Stir the flour in by hand, a quarter cup at a time. Overmixing with an electric mixer at this stage develops too much gluten and makes the cookies tough instead of crisp.

Kitchen Tips

• For extra-thin cookies, flatten each ball with a sugar-coated glass bottom before baking. The sugar prevents sticking and adds sparkle
• Pull them at 12 minutes when they’re golden but not dried out. They firm up considerably as they cool
• If using raisins, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes first. Dry raisins pull moisture from the batter and can make the cookies too crisp
• Let them cool completely on a wire rack. Moving them too early and they’ll crumble

Variations

• Use old-fashioned oats instead of quick for a chewier, more textured cookie
• Add chocolate chips instead of raisins for a crispy chocolate oatmeal cookie
• Swap nuts for toasted coconut flakes for a tropical crunch