Recipe: Cracklin' Oat Bran Cookies

Do you have a cookie fiend in your home? We surely do. These crunchy and crispy cookies are a family favorite and ideal for a holiday party, picnic, school bake sale or other special event.

Please don't tell my family how nutritious these home-baked cookies are. I promise I won't tell your family, either.

Cracklin' Oat Bran Cookies

First, gather these essential ingredients for your Cracklin' Oat Bran Cookies:

2 cups Kellogg's Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal

1 '¾ cups plain flour (unsifted)

1 teaspoon baking soda

'½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

'½ teaspoon nutmeg

'½ cup margarine (1 stick), softened

'½ cup granulated sugar

'½ cup brown sugar, packed firmly

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

'½ cup raisins (optional)

Follow these easy instructions to make and bake Cracklin' Oat Bran Cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F).

Pour Kellogg's Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal (or a similar cereal) into a large zippered plastic bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag, and seal it tightly. Use a wooden rolling pin to crush the cereal into small nuggets. (Try to not smash it into powdered form.)

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set this aside for a moment.

In a large mixing bowl, mix margarine, sugar and brown sugar. Mix these ingredients well, using an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat well.

Begin adding the flour mixture and the crushed cereal, alternating until both have been fully added. Mix thoroughly.

Stir in raisins, if desired, using a sturdy wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

Roll Cracklin' Oat Bran cookie dough into golf ball-sized mounds. Place these on an ungreased non-stick cookie sheet. Tamp cookie dough mounds gently into disks, using a flat spatula.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees (F) until cookies are golden brown. Do not overbake!

Let cookies sit on baking sheets for one to two minutes to set before removing them gently to a counter or cooling rack.

Warning: These delicious high-fiber cookies will go fast!