Dishpan Cookies ~Have you baked for anyone lately?~
I suppose I’ve always had a soft spot when it comes to homemade cookies. As a girl, my mother made fresh homemade cookies twice a week, every week!
She didn’t realize how long cookies would keep so she made small batches and replenished them with fresh every three days or so. Seeing as how money was so tight with a family of five on a police officer’s salary, Mama kept the cookies coming because she didn’t want us to do without treats when we couldn’t afford store bought. If you ask me, folks eating the store bought cookies weren’t getting nearly the treat we were!
I would have a very difficult time telling you what my favorite cookie is. That would be like telling you who my favorite person is! Rest assured, I have plenty of very well loved cookie recipes up my sleeve but on Mama’s advice, I am starting with these.
This recipe makes one of my favorite cookies and also one of hers. A very old fashioned tasting cookie, this reminds me of something I had in our lunchroom at school as a child. The first time I ever had these was about five years ago. I was on a twelve hour bus ride to Dallas, Texas to attend the Red Hat Society’s National Convention. A very kind lady had made a whole passle of these cookies to bring aboard the bus. One bite and I knew I had met my new best friend! A week or so later she was kind enough to mail me the recipe.
Living up to their name, dishpan cookies contain all sorts of goodness and the batter is generally far too massive to fit into a bowl in order to mix. I mixed these up in my favorite red dishpan. Please note that I am making a double batch but the recipe at the bottom is for a single batch. Y’all know how I like to double things! Half the effort, twice the outcome!
These are a GREAT cookie to give away. They travel well, freeze well, stay fresh longer than most cookies just sealed in a jar on the counter, and they also mail well. Even better, if you like crisp cookies, just bake them two minutes or so longer and you’ll have them! If you like chewy, bake them just until done. My family can never decide if we like these crispy or chewy, so I do half of the batch each way!
Now I have a question for ya! When was the last time you baked for anyone? Nowadays with all of the hustle and bustle of our lives mixed with the fact that the closest most people get to homemade is something bought at a grocer’s bakery section, nothing beats the thrill of receiving homemade cookies or other baked goods. It is so easy to buy things for someone, but baking for them lets them know that you put a lot of thought, effort, and love into the gift. Show your appreciation for someone, thank a dear friend just for being them, or give a batch of these as a gift for a special occasion. You’ll be happy you did and they’ll be a whole lot happier!
I like to make these cookies LARGE. I make so many different types of cookies that several years back I decided to make each type of cookie a particular shape or decorate it a specific way. For my grandmother’s tea cakes, I cut them with a frilled circular cutter and sprinkle the tops with pink or red decorating sugars. For these, I measure out 1/4 C sized balls and bake them to be extra large. This cookie is sturdy enough to handle the larger size plus it is a nice little gift when you simply put one cookie in a cellophane gift bag and tie it with curling ribbon, as I did this morning when I attached them to invitations for my daughter’s birthday.
I have a little neighbor, April, who I know is going to be a happy camper when she and her sister come home to find these tied to her front door handle!
Mix again….
Throw hand mixer in trash. That makes the fifth one you’ve burned up, gal! 
Ingredients
- 2 Cups light brown sugar
- 1 Cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 Cups Oil
- 4 eggs
- 4 Cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups quick oats
- 4 Cups cornflakes
Instructions
- In a very large bowl or dishpan, cream sugars, vanilla, oil, and eggs. Add flour, soda, and salt. Fold in oats and cornflakes.
- Drop by ¼ measuring cup onto ungreased cookie sheets. This batter might be a little dry and you may have to moosh it together with your hands to get it into a ball when you put it onto the pan.
- Bake for ten to twelve minutes at 375, or until edges are lightly browned. If you want them to be chewy, bake a little less, crispy, a little more. I always double this recipe and do half chewy, half crunchy. They keep really well and are great for breakfast. *This freezes well both as a dough and as a finished cookie.
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless.”
~Mother Teresa
Submitted by Vickie. Thank you Vickie!
P.S. Here is a lovely photo of a cotton field for you! They are in full bloom now and just beautiful. If you’ve never been to Alabama, I highly recommend you come this time of year. Aside from the fact that we wouldn’t wish a Southern Summer on our worst enemy, cotton fields and all of our fall festivals and fairs are an experience not to be missed!
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Oct 10 2008. Filed under Dessert, Holiday Favorites!.
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Thank you for the recipe, I’ll be making these to take to Phoenix at the end of the month for a BIG family reunion. Cookies always go welll with little ones around and for the big folks too. I’ll let you know how they were received. My family usually likes the cookies I made for them when they were little but it’s about time we change that and make them something else!
Take care and I love reading about your family….
Did you ever make “Ediable Crayons” for your kids? I made some for my 6 yr. old grandaughter last week-end and her eyes popped out of her face when she saw them!! They are so cute…
The edible crayons sounds interesting….please share!
id like to know about the edible crayons for my granddaughters…if you don’t mind sharing.
My little grandsons will be here from Alabama in a few weeks–please share the edible crayons recipe!
Can you please post or email recipe for “Ediable Crayons” .
Thank you!
Hi Kristy, thanks for the recipe. Love your cookbook and my girls (8 and 4yrs) have a great time trawling through it for inspiration.
Made these cookies with them yesterday and all the neighborhood kids loved them!!
Thanks again
Emm Tasmania Australia XXXX
P.S what is the weight of a stick of butter?? Have found conflicting results on web
a stick of butter equals 4 ounces or 113.4g
Are those frosted cornflakes??
Thank you so much for this recipe! I love these cookies and I have a couple of friends who make them but they won’t give me the recipe!! I am so happy now; I’m going to make these ASAP!!
I actually made up a batch of dough just like this today! Only I added about a half a cup of chopped pecans. I have always known this recipe as “Crispy Oat Cookies. They are not too sweet, and the men folk really like them.
i have the new cookbook and love it i have follow you even though i now live in virginia christy you are my favorite keep those wonderful recipes coming!!!!! keep up the good work
These look great! What a neat idea to mix them up in a dishpan! As far as baking for other people goes as a matter of fact I baked today, 3 cakes for my son’s welcome home (from Afghanistan) party and two of them were your recipes. The Butterfinger cake and the Hot Milk cake, which I’m so sorry to say, my daughter and I were unable to resist so we had ourselves just a little sliver! I must say, it was very good, I hadn’t expected such great flavor for such a simple cake. Thanks for your blog, I love it!
[...] Lewis - Dishpan cookies – my kids can’t stop eating [...]
Oh My Goodness!!!! We love these cookies! After reading your blog today, I couldn’t resist baking them! My husband thought they were awesome. I didn’t double the recipe, but, we have a LOT of cookies to share with friends & family! I will make these over & over! Thanks for sharing!
[...] expect from a Southern gal. And in true LA spirit, Christy came packin’! No, not heat… Dishpan Cookies, yo! Thanks, [...]
I’ve made these a couple of times before, but always in cooler weather. It was mid-nineties here today. I made a double batch, which I do every time, and I am almost positive I got all the ingredients measured correctly. But the dough was quite oily. They cooked up differently too…flattened out a lot more. I’m wondering if it had to do with the heat. It was probably somewhere in the eighties in the kitchen. I made these with my 5 year old grandson and he has been with me every time I have made them. They don’t look as perfect, but they still taste good.
Just wanted to share that I made a half batch last night for my 6 yr old to sell at our garage sale, we ran out in an hour- a woman bought 2 and drove back a few minutes later, cleaned us out and asked for the recipe
I referred her to your website and told her she could find it, and lots of other yummy recipes here. I will definately be making these again, oh and I added a cup of milk choc chips.
Oh WOW, thank you so much for sharing Debbie!!! I am so glad they were a hit!
Hi Christy, Debbie again – I see in the recipe post you mention the cookies and the dough freeze well, do the cornflakes get soggy after being frozen? I was contimplating whipping up a batch , scooping them onto a cookie sheet and flashfreezxing them and then bagging them for whenever I feel like a yummy homebaked cookie,. Would I bake them the same time frame and do I need to though them first?? Thanks,
FYI I tried to make these a little healthier seeing they were disappearing so fast
I made a 1/4 batch using these changes :I subbed brown sugar splenda for the brown sugar, white whole wheat flour for half the floutr egg beaters for the eggs, bran flaked for corn flakes and threw in some chocolate chips cause everything is better with chocolate 
I had too cook them a bit longer .
They didn’t brown on the bottom or get really crunchie but my husband and I both liked them well enough with the changed, W
[...] took two different kinds of cookies, Ann, and Paula and her boys tried them and liked them both! Dishpan Cookies and M&M Bar Cookies. I’m so glad you liked them and it was great getting to meet [...]
Hi christy, these sound wonderful. My only problem is that I havnt the slightest clue on where to find a dishpan! Haha
it seems like it’d be such a great thing to have in general.
you can find dish pans at wal-mart and I also found them at dollar tree
These cookies look great! I can’t wait to try them
) I have two big round Red Dishpans that I use for big batches of lots of things. I love to read all of your posts & your recipes are Awesome!!! I’m a Southern cook too 
))
Hi Christy,
My mother in law made these cookies and I have been making them since she passed.. In her recipe she substituted Rice Krispies for the Corn Flakes and added a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of chopped walnuts.. They are delicious but they dont last long around here.. I usually end up baking at least 3 or 4 double batches during my Christmas baking days… I also add a cup of unsweetened coconut..
They are to die for… or from..lol
Christy, you need to get a Kitchenaid mixer!!!! Then it won’t stop. I have fibromyalgia and can’t make cookies by hand or use a hand mixer, but when my old stand mixer wouldn’t mix cookie dough I knew I wasn’t ready to stop baking with my grandsons. I asked my hubby for a Kitchenaid mixer for Christmas and got one from QVC. I love it and am grateful I can still bake with grandma’s boys!!!!
I made these…..
hubby would not eat them.
That’s great!! That means there is more for you and your friends!
Cant wait to make these. I was trying to decide what to bake for the cookie exchange….my mama makes them with a bit of coconut and chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans).
Oh Yummy!!! Great additions!!
The Dishpan cookies and the Mud Hen are in my plans for this Christmas.
Thank you for sharing.
I hope you enjoy them Elizabeth!!!
Not sure if these are the edible crayons talked about at the front of the comments.
http://pinterest.com/pin/269723465152492970/#
Try Kenwood handmixers… They won’t smoke before you do….
Christy,
I have never tried the Dishpan cookies……….will do that soon.
I sure felt a pain in my back when I saw the picture of the cotton fields. I picked cotton on the family farm many many years ago and I can truly say that I hated every minute of it. You probably never seriously picked cotton, but I am sure a lot of folks out there understand what I am talking about.
I baked your Chocolate Chocolate Cookies last week and they are to die for.
Blessinngs.
JoAnn C.
I am so glad you liked the Chocolate Chip Cookies and hope you enjoy the dishpan cookies. I haven’t ever had to seriously picked cotton but many members of my family have and I have heard so many stories.
That is the cutest photo ever…..thanks, Christy.
Phyllis
I haven’t made these in years, and was looking for something to bake to send to the troops in Afghanistan. I think this is what they will get, and from what I’m reading, that’s all that will fit in one box. I’ll be making these next Sunday and mailing them out on Monday (before husband gets ahold of them). Thanks for the recipe.
That is so sweet of you Sandy!!! ~giggles~ Tell your husband he can have one if he will help with the dishes.
I’ve been making these since my middle age kids were small. we called them “cereal crunchies” and made them with Rice Krispies and added coconut. they disappeared faster than the oven could bake them. Here I am now…. a great grandmother and I still dig out that old recipe and bake them for our little 4 year old great grandson. Even my adult grandchildren eat them faster than I can make them.
What wonderful memories Jane!!
These cookies look great. The cotton fields look pretty. I first saw cotton growing along a road outside Phoenix Arizona, and that was only about 18 years ago. Probably no fields left. My mother in-law had to pick cotton as a girl, and she says she can still remember how hard it was on her fingers. Said that they were sharp and made her fingers bleed. No gloves then, I guess, that would have been in the 1930′s.
I grew up with cookies almost like these Dishpan Cookies. The only difference was that ours had pecans in them. My great aunt called them Ranger Cookies.
Can’t wait to try these. I am glad several people have added chocolate chips. Everything is better with chocolate!
I hope you like them Jen!!
cristy, thanks for this recipe, i wrote it down for half a batch, as i dont have a hand mixer and wanted it to fit my kitchen aid, also i dont have an extra dishpan. ( i use mine for dishes! AND there aint enough bleach in world to make me think its clean enough to mix food in!) I may also alter the recipe for gluten free flour for my sister who is allergic, i will let u know how they turn out.
The cookies look delicious and I will try the recipe. It is the beautiful cotton field that I wish to comment on. The field is beautiful until you have to pick the cotton. Picking cotton is one of my least favorite memories. However, I am thankful that it taught me to get an education (retired teacher) so that I would not have to pick cotton.
Christy, I am so glad I have discovered you and your blog. Love the quotes, stories and witticism…Keep ‘em coming. Going to a cookie exchange later this month and I thought I was going to make mud hens…now with these I don’t know! Maybe both…If I make smaller cookies, how many dozen can I get out of a single batch?
I just love Brady’s expression in the photo!
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I’m originally from Louisiana and I received this recipe from a wonderful lady who is deceased, about 35 years ago. Mawsie was a great cook and would make these cookies for her grandchildren. They are wonderful cookies and they make so many large cookies. Thank you for the reminder and for posting the recipe. I haven’t made them in a long time. I think I’ll make some for the Christmas holidays. Dishpan cookies are great!!!! I added chocolate chips to them one time.
What wonderful memories Debra! I hope you enjoy making the cookies and eating them even more!!
Christy~ How would you freeze these before baking? Would you scoop out the cookies and freeze or freeze the whole recipe together? And would you thaw them out before baking? Thanks so much.
Either one will work great. If you scoop out cookies, place them on layers of waxed paper in zipper seal bags. I usually freeze all the dough in a glob on one bag and thaw in the fridge before baking.
I’m excited to try these cookies! Do you think that dried cranberries or dried cherries would be ok to add?
On a side note, I have a recipe for sourgum cookies that makes 175 cookies… I have to mix the dough in my Momma’s canning pot because its so much stuff! They are the absolute best sourgum cookies:)
Yes! You can definitely add dried cranberries or cherries!
Whew! This recipe showed up at just the right time. The young lady my son is seeing now invited me to her Extension Homemaker Club Christmas meeting, which was held yesterday. On Wednesday I found out that there would be a cookie and candy exchange – and that there are 34 members! I made 2 batches of these cookies and put 5 nice size cookies in each gift bag. I think I tied the last twisty around 11:30pm. They are delicious and were very well received. I ended up with 36 bags and there were 4 left on my tray after the exchange. One of the ladies at the meeting said she loved your website and visited it often.
I’m going to make them again this weekend as gifts for the girls at the rubber stamp party I go to each month. This recipe is really getting a workout at my house.
Have a blessed Christmas with your lovely family!
Looks like one of the fields off Walltrianna!
Can’t wait to start baking these cookies – I’m gonna send them to work with my husband!
OH MY ME!! THESE ARE SOME OF THE BEST, MOST INTERESTING COOKIES I HAVE EVER MADE AND EATEN? EVERYBODY RAVES OVER THEM! (I AM SHOUTING!!!). I made a batch for my granddaughter’s 14th b’day party, 14 screaming girls, they were gone in no time and we are talking a LOT of cookiees, big ones!! And the funniest thing was parents walking out eating one and carrying two or three more with them. They were stopping to talk to me about the cookies and wanting to know “What’s in here? They’re crisp but soft but crunchy…..smack smack smack…what’s in them???” I had the best time. I’ve made more since and sent them to all my granddaugters teachers, which was a total of 9, and two bus drivers on little Christmas plates. They loved them. The ONLY issue I personally have with these cookies is that I cannot stop eating them. They must be given away fast!!! Making them again today with white choclate chips and chunky chopped walnuts. Bet they would be great with the white chips and chunky chopped macadamia nuts. mmmmm Thanks so much for sharing this fab recipe. My new fav.
Oh and my mail lady is going to get a stack of them in the mail box this week too (with a starbucks card).
Reading the recipe and then all the comments — especially Glynda’s above, has made me want to whip up a batch! Ok, I’ll try them! (Has anyone ever added chocolate to them?) I know I’m only asking what others have thought of too! LOL!
Oh so delicious! Thanks for sharing! Thinking about selling these at our Farmers Market this summer. I’m always looking for simple yet tasty recipes. These are a keeper!
Since their introduction this past Christmas, this cookie has become a family favorite! I’ve made them several times since then, including Mother’s Day….they’re Mom’s new favorite. She said they remind her of an “old fashioned” cookie. As a helpful hint, I switched to my dough hook when mixing in the oats and corn flakes. It works great when the batter gets really stiff.
Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Haven’t seen a link to the edible crayon recipe…sorry if it came through earlier but here is a link to copy and paste. Don’t know if it is the same recipe as the poster was referring to but it looks cute and easy. If the link does not work I found this on a blog titled “The Girl Who Ate Everything”.
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/05/edible-crayons-for-teacher-appreciation.html
Boy for having 3 cups of sugar in them these are not very sweet tasting cookies. We really liked them.
I have commited to bake 10 dozen cookes for a church outreach week, where we go out into the community, taking homemade cookies to school teachers, police department, fire department, women’s shelters, etc. We also do maintainence and repairs to children’s homes, shelter’s and small churches that need a helping hand. Then I come across this recipe. Talk about devine guidance! I plan to separate this double recipe into smaller batches and add different additions to each batch. (chocolate chips, white chocolate, nuts, raisins, M & M’s , and whatever I come up with) I think it will be great. I’ll use my Kitchen Aide stand mixer with the dough hooks. I love reading all the posts and get ideas and advise from all you good cooks. Thanks, Christy, keep ‘em coming.
What a wonderful thing you are doing Pat!! I know the people of your community feel truly blessed by the work you and your fellow church go’ers are doing for them. I hope that everyone loves the cookies and my you be blessed beyond measure!!
[...] Dishpan Cookies - These look so yummy I can’t wait to try them! [...]
In your dishpan cookies, if I wanted to get rid of the oil, how much butter would you use as a substitute? Or maybe butter and applesauce for a lower fat option? Love the surprise crunch of the cornflakes. Ate two dozen of them last weekend…could not stay away from the cookie jar!!
Ok, I don’t bake much, so this may be a dumb question; but, is the flour in the recipe all- purpose or self-rising? After reading all the comments, I MUST try this recipe! By the way, I just found your site (and recipe) on Pinterest! Will be following you now!
Hi Vickie, it is all-purpose. And let me say, Welcome to Southern Plate!!! I am so glad you found me and just thrilled to have you here!!! I hope you enjoy the cookies!
How many would you say a single or double batch would yield, guesstimating?
If you make the size cookies called for in the recipe (1/4 cup) , a single batch will make approximately 3 dozen cookies.
These sound like the perfect thing to bake and send to my daughter in Afghanistan!