My great aunt used to make these cookies during the 1930s with basically nothing but lard, molasses, and oatmeal. She always wrote the recipe on a scrap of paper with no oven temp or time. I finally gave it a shot last Sunday using her exact instructions. The dough was so dry I thought I messed up something major. But after 12 minutes at 350 they came out chewy and almost like a soft granola bar. I learned that old recipes like that relied on feel more than exact measurements. Has anyone else tried a vintage recipe that looked wrong but turned out perfect?