Aggression Cookies -- Have you made them?

[Beth]

I know, I posted the recipe a while back and have talked about them, but I haven't made them for some time because my boys got goofy about not liking oatmeal. I can't remember if I made them with butter or margarine in the past, but this time I am making them with margarine for the treat boxes on the vegan day.

I made a test batch yesterday (1/6th recipe -- made 2 dozen ) and they were darker and chewier than I remembered. Good, but chewy. I had dark brown sugar and used it for flavor, and I'm sure that had something to do with both the darker color and the chewiness. My son liked them, so I will do the rest the same, but I'm just curious now whether the difference was that great or if I remembered them crisper than they really were with the light brown sugar -- and again, might have been butter instead of margarine.

Here's the recipe for anyone who doesn't remember:

Aggression Cookies

3 c brown sugar
3 c butter or margarine
6 c oatmeal
1 T baking soda
3 c flour

Mash, knead, squeeze all ingredients in a huge bowl 'til you feel better, then form into balls and mash flat on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

[RebelYell18]

Lol I missed this the first time around! Love the name and method for making them!

[Beth]

Lol Love the name and method for making them!

That's the real fun of them, and the huge size of the recipe, but when I needed a vegan treat they were one of two cookie recipes I thought of. The other turned out to have an egg in it, so this was it. I got the recipe over 30 years ago from someone I worked with and it' has always been fun to share. This time, I can pass it down to the next generation.

BTW, in 30+ years, this will be the first time I make a full recipe. Maybe more. I've usually done a third and recommended that as an easy way to make a more normal size batch, but the 1/6 worked easily too. Maybe I'll try them again later with the light brown sugar and with butter to see if it's my memory or the variations at play.

[funniegrrl]

Brown sugar has molasses in it, and dark brown has more, so ... it would be reasonable to me that they would have a SLIGHTLY higher moisture content than the ones you made before. Also, if you used a different brand/type of margarine, there may be a difference in moisture levels there, too.

[Beth]

Thanks for the reply and input. I learned a long time ago that buying a different brand of margarine would change my baking results, so I have bought Parkay -- what my mom bought and therefore what I grew up working with, ever since. If they change it, I am sunk. If I used margarine, I'm sure it would have been Parkay, but since I got married, I know I have used butter for more cookies -- at least the ones I didn't grow up learning to make with Parkay.

I knew the brown sugar would have some impact -- just surprised if it would be this much. If no one has made them -- or no one who has made them sees this, I will have to do an experiment to satisfy my curiosity. But for now, DS likes them this way, so I'll go with it. Going to start baking them tonight. Making the brownies tomorrow.

[over50newbie]

Beth - what an interesting recipe! I have a quick question for you ...

When you say "oatmeal" what do you mean? Do you mean oatmeal already prepared? Or do you mean dry oats - if so, what type - quick cooking dry oats or whole oats?

Thanks,

Lynette

[Beth]

Uncooked rolled oats. I used old fashioned with Parkay and dark brown sugar and got moist, chewy cookies (tad sweet -- may not pack the brown sugar so much) and a request from my 15 year old, who has avoided anything with oats for years, to not change a thing. Except possibly the name.

I was talking to him about the recipe and how I got it when I was still in school. He asked why they were named "Aggression Cookies" -- if you were supposed to give them to people you didn't like. We talked about how the recipe was written -- to take out your aggression in making them. We talked about maybe calling them Therapy Cookies. Now that I think about it -- would that imply they needed chocolate?

[Dawna]

What an interesting idea. Has anyone ever made these with butter? I think my grandson would get a kick out of this, plus I always have the ingredients in the house (except margarine, thus the question).

[Beth]

I'm sure I have made them with butter in the past. Once I married DH, who is a butter/no margarine person, I have only used margarine in the everyday cookies of my childhood that my mom made with margarine (a couple of the holiday traditions have to be made with butter). I use butter for most of my other baking, especially in a simple cookie where the flavor would come through. I may have made them first with margarine since that was what my mom would have had at the time I first got this recipe.

I have always liked the flavor of them, butter or margarine, so that shouldn't be an issue for you. They are somewhat delicate while warm due to the lack of egg, so you might want to bake on parchment or cool slightly before removing from baking sheets. I just can't be sure whether they were still a chewier cookie or if they were crisper with butter. Why don't you make some and let us know?

[RebelYell18]

i was talking to him about the recipe and how i got it when i was still in school. He asked why they were named "aggression cookies" -- if you were supposed to give them to people you didn't like. We talked about how the recipe was written -- to take out your aggression in making them. We talked about maybe calling them therapy cookies. Now that i think about it -- would that imply they needed chocolate? :d

yes!

[Beth]

Maybe we need primal therapy cookies (the original, ideally made while grunting, yelling or otherwise letting it all out) and refined therapy cookies (with chocolate, ideally dark and rich, made quietly and privately and eaten while talking with girlfriends on your cell phone or talking about the experience on Facebook).

[RebelYell18]

Maybe we need primal therapy cookies (the original, ideally made while grunting, yelling or otherwise letting it all out) and refined therapy cookies (with chocolate, ideally dark and rich, made quietly and privately and eaten while talking with girlfriends on your cell phone or talking about the experience on Facebook).

Hehehe, sounds like I should plan on doing a little of both next time!

[over50newbie]

[QUOTE=Beth;1653033]Uncooked rolled oats. I used old fashioned with Parkay and dark brown sugar and got moist, chewy cookies (tad sweet -- may not pack the brown sugar so much) and a request from my 15 year old, who has avoided anything with oats for years, to not change a thing.

Thank you - these are now officially on my "to try" list now.

Lynette

[hostilis]

Thanks for the info. It helps me a lot..

[Beth]

I hear an echo! I know I didn't make them with spam. Two posts reported.