National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Oatmeal cookies first made an appearance during Rome’s attempts to conquer England. The English and the Scots carried oatmeal cakes in their saddlebags to provide quick energy during the conflict. The Romans scoffed at this practice, referring to the fact that oats were, at the time, intended only for consumption by horses. However, they soon realized that their rivals might be on to something as the conflict dragged on and on. Oatmeal cookies in various forms have been popular since that time.

Five Fun Facts:

Oats were one of the earliest cereals cultivated by man. They were known in ancient China as long ago as 7,000 B.C. The ancient Greeks were the first people known to have made a recognizable porridge (cereal) from oats.
Seventy-five percent of U.S. households have oatmeal in their cupboard.
Oatmeal cookies are the #1 non-cereal usage for oatmeal, followed by meatloaf and fruit crisp.
Oatmeal is heart healthy. More than 37 scientific studies show that eating oatmeal daily as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may help reduce the risk of heart disease.
The portrait of the Quaker man on the Quaker Oats package has been updated just three times since its creation in 1877, once in 1946, again in 1957 and, most recently, in 1972.

Five Oatmeal Cookie Recipes:

Chewy Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies -Everyone should have a chewy oatmeal cookie recipe in their repertoire. This basic recipe takes well to fresh blueberries, but can be made with any other additions you like – try raisins, chopped dried apricots or chocolate chips. The combination of canola oil-based margarine and canola oil allows the best of both worlds – you get a fluffy cookie texture with little saturated fat; the canola oil delivers moisture and tenderness along with heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies– Move over chocolate chip, everyone knows there is nothing so tempting as an oatmeal raisin cookie.
Blueberry & White Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cookies– These easy cookies are a real snap to make – just stir and bake.
Updated Oatmeal Raisin Cookies– Just because we are trying to eat healthier these days doesn’t mean that our cookies should suffer. This version of oatmeal raisin cookies has actually been proven to taste just as good as its margarine and white sugar and flour counterpart, i made a batch of each one weekend and we couldn’t tell them apart!
Bev’s Chocolate Chip Cookies – This update to the classic chocolate chip cookie features less sugar and adds protein by trading almond meal for rolled oats.