Gumdrop Cookies

Gumdrop Cookies

A little over a year ago I bought a box of things from a garage sale. From between the pages of a very old book, a dilapidated recipe card fell out that read: Gumdrop Cookies. It didn’t even have directions, oven temperature or bake time but at the very end, in cursive handwriting, it read: “Kids loved these – + took along to eat on the way home”. My heart dropped and I immediately knew I had to make these cookies.

           Okay, I let a year go by, I know. But the recipe card was lost in the move to Portland and this year has truly been one of the craziest of my life. However, a fateful Tuesday brought this recipe card back to me from the left-hand drawer in the back corner of my desk, as if it was waiting for me all this time.

           Now, truth be told, I don’t like gumdrops that much. I don’t know if anyone really does anymore. So, feel free to sub out any gummy candy in this recipe. Dots? Yes. Swedish Fish? Sure. Twizzlers? Why not! But I figured, for the sake of the kids in the back seat of their mom’s car, who enjoyed these cookies very much, I would make them true to form. Just this once.

           And they are delicious. Soft, buttery and chewy. They remind me of the classic cookies that used to sit at grandma’s house. The ones that didn’t need to be perfectly styled with pooled chocolate melted on top or flaked sea salt added at the very end. Just a true to form… cookie. With its many lumps and deformities.

           This is why I love baking the way I do. It connects us to people we don’t even know, from a time I don’t even remember. Maybe these “backseat-kids” have been looking for their mom’s famous gumdrop cookies just to find them placed on the internet by me. Maybe it’s just another nostalgic recipe on my blog. Either way, I’ve done my part.

Gumdrop Cookies
Gumdrop Cookies
Gumdrop Cookies
Gumdrop Cookies
Gumdrop Cookies
Gumdrop Cookies
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Gumdrop Cookies

A nostalgic recipe from a card that I found at an estate sale.

  • Author: Karlee Flores
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 27 minutes
  • Yield: 18 large cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup shortening (or butter)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups gumdrops (or any gummy candy)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the shortening (or butter), brown sugar and sugar together. Add in the eggs and mix until combined. Sift the oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together and add to the wet mixture. Fold in the gumdrops.

Roll out cookies by hand using a large cookie scoop to measure. Place at least 2-3 inches apart on a lined cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes.

Keywords: cookies, gumdrops, gumdrop cookies, vintage

4 thoughts on “Gumdrop Cookies”

  1. I love this so much, the story melts my heart! These would be great for a bake sale. Hope the kids from backseat find this post! ♥️

  2. I am so excited for this recipe. It’s not mine or my family but I definitely had gumdrop cookies growing up. So fun you discovered this. Thanks for making and sharing.

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