“Something Different”

Whirling Up a Batch of Oatmeal Cookies

BY DANA JACOBI, AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH

I cannot resist the cookbook section in secondhand bookstores, and rarely escape without acquiring some unexpected treasure. Most recently, I discovered Mary Meade’s Magic Recipes, A Cookbook for the Electric Blender, by Ruth Ellen Church, a home economist who also wrote for a newspaper.

The revised and enlarged, deluxe edition updated her 1952 original for the more sophisticated tastes of 1965, with color photographs of meticulously molded salads and well-dressed meat loaves that could easily have been used in the Kraft Food television commercials of the day. Its recipes include the expected (“Sauces Smooth as Silk”), the abominable (“Codfish Delight,” baked in cheese sauce), as well as some delicious surprises. Tuna Pâté, a tangy spread made with chili sauce, parsley, Worcestershire sauce and cream cheese, has become one of my favorite stuffings for celery and cherry tomatoes.

Advising that the blender makes “meal preparation...less work and more fun,” Church trills over its ability to liquefy leftovers into creamy soups, and to make salad dressing perfectly emulsified. What seduced me, though, was her use of the blender for cakes and cookies. Not just whirling up Raisin Cream Icing, mind you, but actually making the liquid part of the layer cake batter for pineapple-upside-down cake and for oatmeal cookies.

For the cookies, eggs, butter, sugar and a banana go into the blender. The banana is included for flavor, since generous use of butter and eggs was considered indispensable. But it also let me easily update the recipe by reducing the amount of fat called for in this spicy treat. The result is the kind of serendipity that makes digging through old cookbooks rewarding as well as nostalgic.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies - Makes 2 dozen cookies.

• Canola oil spray
• 3/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant)
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 large egg white
• 3 Tbsp. butter (preferably unsalted), cut in 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 small banana, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Set baking racks in top and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 2 baking pans or cookie sheets with oil spray.

Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice in a mixing bowl. Mix in oats, raisins and nuts.

In a blender on medium speed, mix egg white, butter and sugar until smooth. Blend in banana and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Pour banana mixture into bowl with dry ingredients, mixing with spatula until well combined. Batter will be fairly stiff.

Drop batter by walnut-size spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies at least 2 inches apart. Flatten them slightly with the back of a wet spoon, wetting spoon frequently between cookies, to make 2-inch cookies.

Bake 10 minutes. Switch position of pans in oven. Bake an additional 5 to 8 minutes or until cookies are golden brown and almost firm in the center when pressed with a finger. Transfer cookies to a baking rack and cool. Stored in airtight container, these cookies keep up to 1 week.

Per cookie: 76 calories, 3 g. total fat (1 g. saturated fat), 13 g. carbohydrate, 1 g. protein, <1 g. dietary fiber, 42 mg. sodium.

“Something Different” is written for the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) by Dana Jacobi, author of The Joy of Soy, and recipe creator for AICR’s Stopping Cancer Before It Starts.

AICR offers a Nutrition Hotline (1-800-843-8114) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday-Friday. This free service allows you to ask a registered dietitian questions about diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR is the only major cancer charity focused exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. It provides a range of education programs that help Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S. It has provided more than $65 million for research in diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR’s Web address is www.aicr.org. AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.

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