Oats were likely first eaten by the Scottish people. Other countries such as Rome and England looked down on the Scots for eating a food used as animal feed. The English used to say, “A grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.” The Scots would reply with.  “England is noted for the excellence of her horses; Scotland for the excellence of her men.”

Oatmeal cookies derived from the Bannocks that were eaten by the ancient people of Scotland during the 5th century. During the middle ages the Scots added spices, raisins and nuts to the Bannocks that came to be known as oatcakes.  The Quaker Oats company popularized Oatcakes in the early 1900’s in the US by printing the recipe on their Oat packages. The recipe was reformulated twice more by Quaker Oats in the 1900’s to bring us the Oatmeal cookies we love today.

Oatmeal Cookie Recipes: