Oatmeal Lovers' Sugar Cookies

Directions

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (or lightly spray)
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until thoroughly mixed.
3. Add oatmeal and flour; mix well. Divide dough in half; place one ball back in the mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lightly dampened towel to keep it from drying out.
4. Place the other ball on lightly flour-dusted bread board and roll out to 1/4" to 3/8" thickness using as little additional flour as possible to keep from sticking. You can either score into squares with a knife or make round cookies as follows:
5. Using cookie cutter design of your choice, cut out shapes and lift cookies off bread board with a spatula to the prepared baking pans leaving an inch or so between. Sprinkle coarse sugar crystals over top of each.
6. (Alternately you can pinch off dough in small egg-size balls, place on lightly floured bread board, press with your palm or use a rolling pin and flatten to round cookie shapes about 3/8" thick.)
7. Bake at 350 degrees F. about 13-15 minutes until cookie edges barely begin to brown (see Photo 2 for color of baked cookie bottom). Remove from oven and place pan on wire rack for 5 minutes without disturbing. Then carefully lift each cookie to wire rack to cool. Cookies are fragile when warm, but after cooling become firm.
8. Yield: Varies depending on size but figure about 3 dozen cookies.