cookie failure

I have the best recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. Ever. But there is one slight problem...they never come out right. To tell this story I must start from the very beginning:
I was working as a nanny for two very awesome girls who loved to bake. It worked out great for me, as I also enjoy being in the kitchen, so we baked all the time! They loved oatmeal raisin cookies so we continuously baked the previously mentioned fabulous recipe and always enjoyed the perfectly textured (thin and chewy with crispy edges...mmm!) treats. However, whenever I have attempted to make these cookies elsewhere, they have been dramatic failures. First I blamed my seriously crappy oven, then I used my someone else's oven but accidentally used wax paper instead of parchment (a nasty smell I will never forget) and finally, now that I've moved into the perfect place, I decided to test it out once more.
Failure.
Prepared to chow down on the best cookies ever, I was rudely met with cookies unlike those I had dreamed of. While the cookies were still enjoyable, they were not those aforementioned perfect, perfect cookies. I cannot figure out what has gone so terribly wrong, but my latest conclusion has lead me to believe that nannying those girls is my only hope to oatmeal raisin cookie perfection. Sigh.

ps: to pull myself out of the great depression of these failed cookies, I angrily enjoyed eating the ENTIRE batch by my lonesome.