The Irish are known for their delicious stout beers as well as their steel cut Irish oats. Oatmeal cookies are a fiber-fortified delicious treat that can be enhanced with the addition of these two classic Irish ingredients.

Traditional steel cut Irish oats can be much more flavorful than typical rolled oats due to their lack of processing and therefore they greatly enhance a recipe.

Add a bit more Celtic flavor with the addition of a few tablespoons of stout beer.

Originally brewed as a 'stout' version of a porter beer, the dark, velvety, creamy taste of stout will add a smooth and pleasant texture to the rich flavor of your beloved oatmeal cookie.

Brewed in the vein of traditional Irish stouts, Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout makes a great addition to this recipe. A rich and bold yet smooth-bodied beer, Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout has oozing flavors of espresso, chocolate and flaked oatmeal. Not too overpowering, this brew is just the thing to breathe new life into your timeless cookie recipe.

Of course, you can use any stout you'd like -- Lakefront's Snake Chaser, Murphy's, Guinness, Bell's Cherry, Dragon, Great Lakes Blackout, Beamish or another -- in this recipe, too.

Ingredients
1⁄2 lb. butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon molasses
3 tablespoons stout
1 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/2 cup flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups steel cut Irish oats, quick cooking variety
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3⁄4 cup raisins (optional)

Directions
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Sift together dry ingredients -- flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
• Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugars. Beat until light. Blend in egg, molasses, stout and almond extract. Alternately add dry ingredients and oatmeal. Fold in walnuts and raisins if desired.
• Drop rounded spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes until done.
• Try not to eat all the cookies by yourself in a single sitting.