This makes a flatter, chewier cookie with a little crispiness around the edges. The beauty of this recipe is that you can customize it based on the ingredients you have on hand: substitute any amount of the oats with leftover dry cereal, granola, etc.

In this batch, I swapped one cup of the oats for a cup of sunflower seed comfits I had leftover from the holidays. I’ve also used packets of flavored oatmeal that needed to be used up. If you go this route, take out some of the sugar as this stuff already comes sweet. (3 packets of Quaker Oats = 1 cup)

I don’t have a record of any source for this recipe, and the last time I made it was five years ago, so I can’t remember if I might need to cite a source. Since I’m usually reasonably good at doing that, I’m guessing that I cobbled this recipe together from a few sources so I could make a cookie out of old oatmeal packets, as one does, I suppose.

Makes roughly 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ginger extract or dried ginger (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla and ginger extract.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Add dried fruits last.

Cover and chill the dough for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease cookie sheets.

Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls or use a 1 1/4-inch cookie scoop, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with your (clean) palm or a large fork.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.