after-school treat can be a sweet way to let your school-age children know how much you care. Creating that treat with your children can also be a fun family activity when crowded school year schedules make it harder to spend time together. 50, whether you make these delicious cookies before you meet the school bus or wait to let your children sprinkle the raisins in the batter, Maple Oatmeal Raisin Chewies can be a much-appreciated after-school snack. For wholesome country good- ness, many parents use Shedd’s Spread Country Crock, which comes in several forms—tubs, sticks or a convenient squeeze bottle. These sticks have the added benefit of speeding the baking process. They make it easier to whip up some cookies when you only have a few free minutes. Because they are made from a blend of vegetable oil, they whip up straight from the refrigerator and do not have to soften like butter does. Spreadable Sticks are great for cooking, baking and spreading— gliding smoothly over bread or toast. As an extra bonus, they contain less fat and calories than butter or margarine. Maple Oatmeal Raisin Chewies about 5 dozen cookies 14 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. salt 1 cup (2 sticks) Shedd’s Spread Country Crock Spreadable Sticks 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 eggs Only have a few minutes to bake an after-school treat? Use spreadable sticks for country goodness and speedy mixing. 1 Tbsp. molasses 2 tsp. imitation maple flavoring 2 cups uncooked quick cooking oats 2 cups crisp rice cereal 1 cup raisins Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheets; set asice. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinna- mon and salt; set aside. In another large bowl, with electric mixer, beat Shedd’s Spread Country Crock and sugars until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat eggs, molasses and maple flavoring until blended. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture just until combined. With wooden spoon, stir in oats, cereal and raisins. On prepared baking sheets, drop dough by table- spoonfuls, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes or until cookies are golden. On wire rack, cool 5 minutes; remove from baking sheets and cool completely.
