Pineapple Oatmeal Cookies

When I looked at this photo on the computer, I decided that I should have taken it from another direction.  But it is too late.  That last cookie has been eaten.

This recipe is one that my mother got from a friend when I was in elementary school.  The recipe fit Mother's criteria.  There was brown sugar in it which is better than white sugar.  There is oatmeal in it.  Oatmeal is always good. And there is fruit in it.  My youngest son recently asked his wife to make them so she asked me for the recipe.

Pineapple Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening (oleo or butter)
1 egg
1 cup crushed pineapple drained
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream the sugars and shortening together.
Stir in the egg.
Add drained pineapple and oatmeal.
Add flour.  (I always measure the spices into the flour and sift them with the flour into the batter.)
Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees until cookies are slightly brown on the edges.  8 to 12 minutes.  I check them every 2 minutes after the first 8 minutes.  The cookies have to be brown enough on the bottom so they can be lifted from the pan but not so brown that they lose their softness.  These cookies are so soft that they stick together if stacked.

 A 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple drained yields about 1 1/2 cups of pineapple.  I don't like to waste the 1/2 cup so I add it to the batter and add a little more flour if necessary.

1/2 cup nuts can be added to the batter if you like.

Tom and I were married when my youngest sister was twelve.  She copied this recipe along with many others on index cards as her wedding gift to us.  Here is the original recipe.  This is the entire set of directions.  I had to search my memory banks to come up with the details.  I think I have remembered them all.