German Oatmeal Cookies (Haferplätzchen) - Recipes From Europe (2024)

FAQs

What country invented oatmeal cookies? ›

While there are rumors that the first versions of oatmeal cookies originated in England, it's difficult to find any record of this. The creator of the first oatmeal cookie, or at least the first person who published a recipe for it, seems to have been Fannie Merrit Farmer in 1896 in the United States.

Rancid oxidized oil gets those bitter soapy flavors. I pick the oil over the baking soda because there is hardly any baking soda in these cookies! But a fair bit of oil.

Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can produce tough cookies. If the recipe doesn't call for an electric mixer, mix in dry ingredients using a wooden spoon. When dry ingredients like flour are "scooped" into the measuring cup directly from the container, it compresses, or becomes packed.

They may have cooked too long - I've done that, and they might be on the dry side then. If they're just too dry for your taste, try using a little more butter/shortening. Or try adding a little molasses.

The term "porridge" is used in Britain and Ireland specifically for oatmeal.

Lebkuchen was invented by monks in Franconia, Germany, in the 13th century. Lebkuchen bakers were recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm, and 1395 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg). The latter is the most famous exporter today of the product known as Nürnberger Lebkuchen (Nuremberg Lebkuchen).

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Keep Them Sealed

The key to keeping cookies fresh and soft is to seal them in an airtight container, like a resealable freezer bag. And here's a nifty little trick: add a piece of bread to the bag. You might think that the bread trick works because the cookies absorb moisture from the bread.

The best oatmeal cookies, like the kind we're sharing here, are soft and chewy through the center with crispy edges. They're studded with plenty of old-fashioned whole rolled oats and plump, sweet raisins.

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

Why are my oatmeal cookies too puffy? ›

Check package to make sure what you used contained at least 70% fat. A spread with less fat, diet "margarines" or spreads in tubs contain have too much water. The water creates steam, causing the cookies to puff.

Cookies become hard when the moisture in them evaporates. This can be caused by leaving them out in the air for too long, baking them for too long, or storing them improperly.

OVEN IS TOO HOT

Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.

If your oven is too hot or too cold, it may influence whether or not your cookies spread properly. If you didn't preheat your oven to the correct temperature before placing your tray of cookies in the oven, it will be too cold and your cookies won't have enough time to spread.

The Origin of the Cookie

The first cookies are thought to be test cakes bakers used to test the oven temperature. They date back as early as 7th Century A.D. Persia which is now Iran.

Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region. They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain.

The sugar cookie is believed to have originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. German Protestant settlers created a round, crumbly and buttery cookie that came to be known as the Nazareth cookie.