Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Scotchies Cookies

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Scotchies — Soft, chewy, and hearty without being too dense! They’re thick enough, but not overly thick, and are just enough to sink my teeth into. Best of all, they’re loaded with sweet butterscotch chips!! 

Oatmeal Scotchies Recipe

These butterscotch chip cookies are a tasty trip down memory lane. My grandma used to make them and I hadn’t had them in ages. So I changed that.

They turned out to be my favorite oatmeal cookie to date. I’m like Goldy Locks and her porridge with oatmeal cookies, but I finally nailed my perfect oatmeal dough base.

I have four other oatmeal cookie dough bases, as well as countless other cookie recipes that use oatmeal. These cookies gave me everything I wanted.

They’re soft, chewy, and hearty without feeling like I need to strap a backpack on and take them mountain hiking. Sometimes oatmeal cookies get a little too oaty and hearty. I want a cookie, not a granola bar.

Conversely, if there aren’t enough oats used, I find myself wanting more texture and more chewiness.

They’re thick enough, but not too thick. Sometimes really thick oatmeal cookies turn dry or cakey, a total deal-breaker. Plus, really thick cookies take longer to bake, and you run the risk of the bottoms getting too dark before the tops are set.

Conversely, they’re not too thin. There’s nothing worse than biting into a paper thin cookie that just sort of disappears. I don’t like thin cookies in general, but thin oatmeal cookies are particularly unsatisfying.

Best of all, they use butterscotch chips. I just love butterscotch and I find it’s very under-represented in recipes in general. After making my favorite peanut butter to date, I vowed to use more butterscotch in my baking.

For anyone who dislikes raisins in your oatmeal cookies, your wishes have been granted. No raisins, nor chocolate.

Just loads of butterscotch.

Oatmeal cookies, when done right, are some of my favorite cookies. I found myself going back for one more, one more. The chewiness, the hearty texture, the nuttiness of the oats, and nostalgic memories of gobbling vast quantities of my Grandma’s oatmeal cookies make these my new favorite oatmeal cookies.

And the abundance of sweet butterscotch chips doesn’t hurt, either.

What’s in Oatmeal Scotchies? 

To make these oatmeal butterscotch cookies, you’ll need: 

• Egg
• Unsalted butter
• Light brown sugar 
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Old-fashioned oats
• All-purpose flour
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Butterscotch chips 

How to Make Oatmeal Scotchies 

Cream together the egg, butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stop, scape down the sides of the bowl, and add the oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Beat to just incorporate. 

Add the butterscotch chips in last and gently mix to combine. 

Using a cookie scoop or your hands, form the cookie dough balls. I made 20 medium-sized cookies and suggest using a cookie scoop so they’re all uniform. 

Place cookie dough balls on a plate and chill for at least 2 hours. 

Before baking, flatten each mound slightly with the heel of your hand so they cook through evenly.

Pull them from the oven at the 9 to 10 minute mark. They’ll look quite under-done and glossy, but these cookies in particular firm up dramatically while cooling on the trays. Don’t wait until the tops look done to pull them because they’ll set up far too firm and crunchy, and the bottoms will get much too dark.

And then they won’t be Soft and Chewy. They’ll be Crunchy and Crispy, which isn’t my thing.

Do I Have to Chill the Dough? 

Yes! Before baking, you must chill the dough. It’s too soft coming out of the mixing bowl for immediate baking and if you don’t chill it first, I guarantee the cookies will spread out into thin puddles.

Chill it for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days. Bake as many mounds as you want at one time, and keep the remaining dough in the fridge.

Can I Use Quick Oats? 

No, quick oats are more finely ground that old-fashioned oats and will make your oatmeal scotchies dry. 

How to Store Oatmeal Scotchies 

Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Tips for Making Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies 

Make sure to add a little salt to the cookie dough. It won’t make the oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies taste salty, it just enhances the overall flavor and balances out all the sugar. 

When measuring the butterscotch chips, I measured 1 heaping cup. Don’t be skimpy on the butterscotch! 

I prefer my oatmeal scotchies to be well spiced, so I wasn’t shy about adding the cinnamon or nutmeg. Adjust to your preferences, as needed. 

Enjoy!

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4.33 from 31 votes

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Scotchies Cookies

By Averie Sunshine

These homemade oatmeal scotchies are soft, chewy, and hearty! Best of all, they’re loaded with sweet butterscotch chips!! 

Prep Time: 11 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 20

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Ingredients  

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• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick
• ▢ ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats, not instant or quick cook
• ▢ ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ pinch salt, optional and to taste
• ▢ 1 heaping cup butterscotch chips

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Instructions 

• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl and hand mixer), add the egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high to cream ingredients until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Stop, scape down the sides of the bowl and add the oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, optional salt, and beat to just incorporate, about 1 minute.
• Add the butterscotch chips and beat momentarily to incorporate.
• Using a 2-inch medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), form dough mounds (I made 20). Place dough mounds on a large plate. Flatten mounds slightly. Cover plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough; cookies will spread and bake thin and flat.
• Preheat oven to 350F, line 2 baking sheets with Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mats, parchment, or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. I bake 8 to a tray.
• Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until edges are set and tops are barely set, even if slightly underbaked in the center and glossy. Cookies may not appear to be done, but they firm up dramatically as they cool. Baking longer results in cookies with dark or burnt bottoms and that set up too crisp and hard and don’t stay soft over time.
• Allow cookies to cool on trays for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 185kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 52mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 14g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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