Flexible Oatmeal Cookies

I call these "flexible" because you can tweak them to suit your tastes.  I got this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens:  Homemade Cookies recipe book, copyright 2000, but I've changed it around a bit so that I can make it the way I like it.  They suggest using M&Ms or gumdrops as an add-in instead of the ones I've specified here, and I've always wanted to try them with dried cranberries instead, but here I'll just put the two I make and love.

Flexible Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter -- softened
2 cups brown sugar -- firmly packed
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3 3/4 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats

Beat the butter in an extra-large mixing bowl on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add the sugars, baking powder, and baking soda, and beat again until combined.  You'll have to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice.  Beat in the eggs, milk, and vanilla all at once, just until combined.  Beat in as much of the flour as you can, finishing up with a wooden spoon.  Then stir in the rolled oats.

Divide the dough in half.  Use one of each of the variations below to make your cookies, one in each half, or else double the amounts below and make all of one kind.  Once the additions are mixed in, drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto a cookie sheet.  These don't spread a lot, but they do a little, so I recommend parchment paper or non-stick pans, not a greased pan.

Bake at 375 for 9 to 11 minutes or until edges begin to brown but the centers are still soft.  Cool on the baking sheet for the first minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Variations

Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ever

1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

1 1/2 cup chopped Heath candy bars (about 5)
3/4 cup hazelnuts -- chopped

Makes about 3 dozen of each kind, so 6 dozen all together.