Vanishing Act

The first thing I ever baked for Joe, way back in high school when we first started dating, were Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from the recipe on the side of the Quaker Oats container. Joe and his father LOVED those cookies and asked for them all the time. Eventually I branched out and started baking a variety of different things, and those oatmeal cookies sort of fell by the wayside. They popped into my head this past Sunday morning, however, and I decided to take a trip down memory lane and make Joe this treat. I wasn't feeling patient enough though to make batch after batch of cookies, so I visited the Quaker website and saw that the cookies could easily be made into bars, which is what I did. The bars are thick and moist with all the same fantastic flavor of their cookie counterparts. The house smelled amazing while they baked and Joe thoroughly enjoyed the bars. Sometimes you can't beat the "classics!"

Vanishing Oatmeal Cookie Bars

1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well. Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered. Makes 24 bars.