Sometimes I send gifts late. I like to extend holidays and birthdays by shipping out a present a week after the occasion just to make people feel loved longer. It has nothing to do with forgetfulness or a lack of preparedness. Nothing. That’s exactly what I did with these chewy oatmeal raisin cookies; they arrived in Lucas’s dad’s mailbox the Wednesday after Father’s day just to make sure he felt loved longer than every other dad in the world.

Okay, I confess, the delay wasn’t entirely intentional. The first batch of oatmeal raisin cookies turned out like crunchy granola bars. Sure, I like granola bars as much as the next guy, but they’re not what I look for in the ideal cookie. And oatmeal raisin cookies need to be chewy, sweet, and nothing like a crumbly healthy flavorless blob. Thanks, Martha, for that fail. I had to make the crucial decision to refrain from mailing them even though I wouldn’t have time to try again until the weekend. Best decision ever. These re-do cookies are in-cred-ible.

During Parents’ Weekend my freshman year in college, my mom brought me two plates of the most addicting cookies I’d ever eaten. I grew up with her cookies, but these were something entirely new. They were super chewy and tasted like…toffee? butter? was there oatmeal in them? Whatever they were, they didn’t last long in my dorm hall. Ever since I got a kitchen of my own, I’ve been asking her for that recipe, and she always responds with, “Hmmm, I don’t remember what cookies I made? Toffee, you say?” Then, just when I’ve given up all hope for an edible oatmeal raisin cookie, she e-mails me this recipe, “I remember you really liked these when I made them for you in college.” MOM!!! YOU’VE BEEN HIDING THIS RECIPE FROM ME FOR 9 YEARS!!! (And geez, has it REALLY been 9 years since my first year in college??). These baked treats are just as divine as I remember, and the flavor is so rich that you’ll be shocked there’s no toffee in the recipe. The results are much thinner than your mama’s traditional thick oatmeal raisin cookies, but I find each bite even more delightful. These flatter versions will never be left lonely on the plate at the end of a party like their chunky counterparts. I gotta hand it to my mama, this lady seriously knows how to make some rockin’ cookies. Lucas’s pop, Roy, gave the morsels two big thumbs up (and I’ll be surprised if there are any left!). I’m not even the least bit upset that I accidentally doubled the recipe and had to eat two dozen. By myself. In one sitting.

Not-your-mama’s oatmeal raisin cookies

Makes 4 dozen

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup raisins (I actually took the raisins out of half the batter and prefer it that way…something about dried fruit in my cookies bugs me).

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal