Cakey Oatmeal

Well, almost everything.

The Minimalist is one of the people who has helped me go farthest in my cooking journey. His no-nonsense, approachable instructions gave me the courage to learn such family favorites as pizza dough, potato pancakes, golden cupcakes, chicken pot pie, and even sweet potato samosas. When I received How to Cook Everything a few Christmases ago, my yougest actually asked, "Mommy, do you wish you were married to Mark Bittman instead of Daddy?" 

Unfortunately, the cookie section of his book is not as reliable as the others. Though there's a nice eggless gingersnap recipe, and some passable refrigerator cookies, after trying the oatmeal cookie recipe once again, I have to swear it off for good. 

Possible sources of the problem: 2 cups, not 3 of oatmeal; not enough cinnamon (but I think that's true for almost every cookie recipe); baking powder instead of baking soda; milk (why?); and finally procedure--Bittman advises adding dry ingredients alternately with the milk, which is great for a cake, but if I want chewy, somewhat flat cookies that are overwhelmingly made of oats, I've got to go back to my old standby. Bonus: I get to add a stick of butter, too.