The 140-Year-Old Oatmeal Cookie Recipe That Stands the Test of Time
Date-filled oatmeal cookies
Some recipes are classics for a reason. They can be made over and over and passed down from generation to generation with little modification, if any. The Reddit thread, r/Old_Recipes, has people searching for that long-lost recipe they remembered from when they were a kid. And the recipe cards posted on this thread are the real deal: swoopy cursive letters on stained, bent-cornered index cards, waiting patiently to be made again in your kitchen with love.
While perusing the thread for some tasty inspiration, I came across user the2ndbreakfast's post for a soon-to-be favorite recipe that has stood the test of time for more than 100 years: date-filled oatmeal cookies.
Said to have been picked up from a family friend named Hildred—who they described as being a "kind, strong and intelligent lady"—the OP said that Hildred called the cookies her "spring cleaning" cookies due to the "cleansing effects of the dates and oatmeal." Calling them "so good," they then noted that the taste immediately "transported me back in time to my childhood."
Of course, with a claim like that—and with me being a stickler for anything warm and tasty—I knew I had to give these a try. So, I did what anyone in my position would do. I grabbed the ingredients and got to work on this classic cookie.
Get the recipe: 140-Year-Old Date-Filled Oatmeal Cookies
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Ingredients for the 140-Year-Old Date-Filled Oatmeal Cookies
For these cookies, you'll need flour, softened butter, shortening or lard, buttermilk, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and oatmeal. For the filling, you’re going to need chopped dates, brown sugar and flour.
Related: The 150-Year-Old Cookie Recipe That's Wildly Simple
How to Make the 140-Year-Old Date-Filled Oatmeal Cookies
You work on this recipe from the inside out, which means you start by making the filling. Boil a cup of water in a saucepan, then add in the dates, brown sugar and flour. Whisk that all up, then stir the mixture over medium to low heat until it comes together into a thick paste. Set the filling aside and move on to the cookie dough.
There were no step-by-step instructions on Hildred's recipe, so I just used my basic knowledge of cookie baking here, mixing the dry and wet ingredients separately before slowly adding the dry ingredients to the wet.
Roll the dough into small balls about 2 inches in diameter and press flat (these cookies will not spread or rise significantly). Spoon filling (I used a generous teaspoon) into the middle of each cookie, before topping with more dough and sealing all the edges.
Bake at 350°F until they just start to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your cookie. My cookies were hefty and took about 17 minutes to bake.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Related: Only Martha Stewart Could Make Flourless, Butter-Less Chocolate Chip Cookies Taste This Good
What I Thought of the 140-Year-Old Date-Filled Oatmeal Cookies
We’re not going to talk about the fact that I slightly burned all five of my fingers reaching for one of these gems in the hot oven. I’m gonna skip straight to the part where I tell you what an amazingly classic and tasty cookie this is.
For inspo before making these cookies, I pulled out my photo album, which has pictures of my grandma Rose and my great aunt Marie (who, coincidentally, made the best oatmeal molasses cookies in the whole world) sitting casually at the kitchen table in twirly 1950's skirts and impeccably coiffed hairdos. This recipe made me feel like I was sitting around that kitchen table with them. My house smelled warm and delicious and each bite of these soft oatmeal cookies tasted just like pure nostalgia.
The date filling was subtle and added a sweet surprise to each bite. The cookies themselves aren't too sweet and because of the addition of shortening, they're perfectly circular, crumbly without being crispy and golden on the bottom. You really can't celebrate a sharp chill in the air and crunchy fall leaves under your feet any better than with a warm oatmeal cookie like this one straight out of the oven.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Tips for Making 140-Year-Old Date-Filled Oatmeal Cookies
1. No buttermilk? No problem. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, use a scant half a cup of regular or nondairy milk (I used extra creamy oat milk, which worked perfectly) and add in a tablespoon of white vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes to curdle and then you’re ready to use.
2. Remember to soften your butter. If you’re like me and always forget to soften your butter, there is a brilliant trick out there. Slice your cold butter and put on a plate. Boil some water in a ceramic bowl, dump it out and immediately place over your plate of butter. Wait a few minutes and you'll have softened butter in no time.
3. Check your dates. Even though I used a bag of pitted dates, once in a while, you will find a pit or two, and that is not something that you want in your nice soft cookie.
4. Mix by hand for ease. the2ndbreakfast said on Reddit that this recipe was labor-intensive, but I didn’t think it was. They also said they used a food processor to blend the dough, which I thought was overkill and, plus, I wanted the whole oats to shine through in the cookie and give it some texture. I mixed the dough by hand, but a stand mixer or handheld mixer would also work well here.
Up next: Here's What Happens to Your Body if You Eat Oatmeal Every Day
