Chewy Flax & Oatmeal Spice Cookies

This past weekend I made a trip back to Red Deer to visit my parents and some friends. Despite the iffy weather, my friend Jenna and I decided to be brave and go to the farmer's market on Saturday morning. I felt a little sorry for the vendors - violent gusts of wind threatened to blow tents away and topple displays. But we had hot coffees and lots to talk about, plus we ran into several people we knew, so it wasn't all bad.

Going to the Red Deer farmer's market always reminds me of these flax oatmeal cookies that my mom and I discovered there years ago. They were made by some women selling flax seeds and other flax products (back when flax was the "new" superfood everyone was going crazy for). Anyway, the cookies were delicious, so we bought some seeds and got their cookie recipe, which also includes oatmeal and raisins. High fibre = healthy = I can eat as many as I want, right? Yes. I like that logic.



I wish I knew the name of the farm or outfit who was selling flax all those years ago so I could give them credit for this recipe, because it has become a favourite standby of ours. I tried Googling them but came up with nothing. Maybe they never existed at all. Maybe they were ghosts... handing out delicious secret recipes from the Beyond... Yeah, we'll go with that.

Chewy Flax & Oatmeal Spice Cookies
Adapted from an unknown source (in my mom's recipe box)
Makes about 2-3 dozen

1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups oatmeal (I used 50/50 rolled oats and quick-cook oats)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup flax seeds

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C and line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir to combine; gently fold in the raisins and flax seeds.

Roll the dough into ping pong ball-sized lumps (or tablespoonfuls for smaller cookies) and place at least 2 inches apart on your baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the bottoms look brown and the tops no longer appear wet. Let them cool on a cooling rack and keep them stored in an airtight container. 

I'm going for it.