This is the best oatmeal cookie recipe ever!  Courtesy of my mom.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups Quick Oats
• 2 oranges (you will be using only the peel)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your cookie sheet (personally, I prefer to use parchment paper – the cookies just slide right off, without having to grease anything).  The first thing you need to do is grate your orange peel.  Do not take the peel off of the orange before you grate it, as it is easier to grate with the peel still on the orange.  Only grate the orange part of the peel, stop when you get to the white part.
2. Cream the sugar, brown sugar, and the shortening.  Add your eggs and vanilla, and mix them well.  Combine your flour, baking soda, and salt, and add it to the mixture.  Stir in the oats and the orange peel.  (At this point, if you have been using an electric mixer, you will need to switch to mixing by hand.)
3. Drop the cookie dough on the cookie sheet by spoonfuls, and roll it into balls.  Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, then let stand for 3-4 minutes before moving them to finish cooling.

Yield: About 5 dozen