Oatmeal scotchie cookies are a delicious classic! My team and I have had a fantastic time testing and retesting this recipe to help you make the perfect cookies. With just a few simple tweaks, you can make these butterscotch oatmeal cookies exactly the way you like them.
If you love thin cookies with crispy edges, a slightly warmer dough encourages a bit more spread in the oven. Prefer soft, extra chewy, and thick cookies? Chilling the dough and adjusting your bake time make all the difference. Follow all of my easy tips and tricks for making the perfect oatmeal scotchies every time!
A reader, Kerry, says: “I just made these today and they baked up perfectly. So delicious, and the texture is wonderful.” ★★★★★
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients For The Best Oatmeal Scotchies
These are the main ingredients you need to make oatmeal scotchie cookies. You can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.
Old-fashioned oats — after lots of testing, I’ve found that rolled oats offer the best consistency. In a pinch, you can use quick oats, but we don’t recommend instant oats. Instant oats will soak up too much moisture and affect the texture and spread of the cookies. Rolled oats offer a chewy oatmeal cookie with plenty of oaty texture and just the right amount of spreading.
Butterscotch chips — this is what makes these cookies “scotchies!” Don’t confuse these butterscotch-flavored morsels with toffee pieces. Toffee is a hard candy and will melt in the cookies. The butterscotch chips are designed to hold their shape like chocolate chips! Find them with the other chocolate chips and baking chips at the grocery store.
Unsalted butter and salt — starting with unsalted butter and adding a measured amount of salt ensures consistent results every time. And despite making a sweet recipe, salt is essential to getting the flavor balance on these cookies just right. If possible, stick to kosher salt or fine sea salt; iodized table salt can leave a bitter aftertaste. If you only have salted butter, go ahead and use it; just reduce the amount of salt you add.
Dark brown sugar — this is what gives the oatmeal cookies their caramelly flavor, activates the baking soda, and helps contribute to a perfectly chewy texture. If needed, you can make brown sugar using white sugar and molasses.
Large eggs — make sure they’re at room temperature to make it easier to mix the dough. Also, cold eggs can firm up the softened butter, causing it to clump. They need about an hour at room temperature, or you can soak them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
Cinnamon — for a hint of warmth. Ground cinnamon is the perfect pairing with oatmeal in cookies! If you want, you can play with adding other baking spices like a dash of allspice or a few grates of nutmeg.
Vanilla extract — for warmth and aromatic sweetness, vanilla is the way to go. Use a good quality extract, homemade vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste.
Can I make oatmeal scotchies without butterscotch chips?
Absolutely! While these classic oatmeal butterscotch cookies feature creamy butterscotch chips, feel free to use other baking chips instead. Regular chocolate chips or other flavored baking chips both work, depending on your cravings. Peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or caramel bits would all be excellent.
Don’t have any chips at all? Not to worry. You can still add texture with chopped toasted pecans, toasted walnuts, or roasted almonds. Chewy dried fruit pieces are also welcome! Just make sure you use something small like dried cranberries or raisins, or chop larger fruits (e.g. dried apricots) into smaller bits.
Chill The Cookie Dough To Control Spreading
The temperature of your cookie dough can make a big difference in how much the cookies spread as they bake. If the dough is on the colder side, the edges will set up faster before the center has a chance to warm through. The chilling time also allows the starches in the flour to soak up moisture in the dough. That means less spreading and a thicker, chewier cookie.
That’s why my team tested this oatmeal scotchie recipe three different ways: no chilling, 1 hour in the fridge, and 30 minutes in the freezer. You can see the comparison between each one below. The colder the dough, the thicker the baked cookies.
Why did my oatmeal scotchies turn out flat or too thin?
It likely has to do with your chilling approach. We found that the cookies baked straight from the mixing bowl ended up flat and thin, while the ones that had a quick chill in the fridge kept their nice round shape and had a heartier texture.
And the dough that got a quick trip to the freezer? Those were the real winners if you like thick cookies. They turned out perfectly thick and chewy, with just the right amount of spread.
Pro Tips For Making Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
Make sure to measure your flour correctly. Using too much flour will make the cookies hard, dry, and prevent them from spreading. A scale is the most accurate way to measure it. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff the flour and sprinkle it into your measuring cup before leveling it off. This fluff and scoop method prevents overpacking the measuring cup.
Use a cookie scoop for evenly sized cookies. A spring-loaded cookie scoop is a cookie baker’s best friend. It makes it super easy to create evenly sized cookies and is much faster than using two spoons to do the “drop” method. I used a #30 scoop for this recipe.
Underbake the cookies slightly for chewy cookies. You want to pull the cookies from the oven when the centers still feel soft. This produces the perfect chewy texture!
Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the pan. They will be somewhat soft right when they finish baking. Letting them rest for about 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack will help them firm up so they don’t bend or break when you pick them up.
How To Make Oatmeal Scotchies
Below, I’ve highlighted portions of the recipe in step-by-step process images along with instructions for making chewy oatmeal scotchies. You can find the full set of instructions in the recipe card below.
1. Grab a small tray and line it with some parchment paper. This is where your cookie dough is going to chill out before baking. Just set that aside for now. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set that aside, too.
2. In a large bowl, use a handheld electric mixer or the paddle attachment on your stand mixer to cream together the butter and both sugars. You want this to get nice and light and fluffy, about 3 minutes of mixing.
3. Once that’s looking good, start adding in the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Then stir in the vanilla.
4. Time to bring the dry and wet ingredients together! Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until it’s almost fully combined.
5. Toss in the oats and butterscotch chips and mix just until no dry bits remain.
6. Use a 2-tablespoon scoop to portion out the dough onto the lined tray. (You can put the dough balls close together at this point since we’re just chilling them.) Cover and pop it in the fridge for at least an hour, up to 3 days. (Or you can freeze it for 30 minutes if you’re in a hurry!) When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F and line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment.
Arrange the chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, but the centers are still a little soft and doughy. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Oatmeal Scotchies Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric hand or stand mixer
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment paper
- Cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (226g)
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar (220g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2½ cups old fashioned oats (270g)
- 1 (11-ounce) package butterscotch flavored morsels (310g)
Instructions
- Line a tray that can fit in your fridge with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and both sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating until well combined. Beat in the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until almost combined. Add the oats and butterscotch morsels and mix until no dry bits of flour remain.
- Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, scoop the dough onto the lined tray. (The dough balls can be close together.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 72 hours. Or, freeze them for at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange the chilled dough balls on the baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes each, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown and the centers are still slightly doughy. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Continue baking the remaining dough balls. Cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
- The gram weight of the oatmeal is slightly more than the package label says. Occasionally, an ingredient measured at home doesn’t quite match the package’s given serving size by volume and weight. In the case of Quaker Oats, 1 cup of dry oats is listed as 80g on the label. I tested this several times, and when measuring the amount given on the label, it doesn’t fill a dry measuring cup. Instead, 1 cup of properly measured dry rolled oats equals 112g. A few readers have asked about this. I always recommend using the gram amount given in the recipe since that is what has been tested. I hope this helps clear up any confusion!
- You can refrigerate the cookie dough before scooping it if you’d like (for 2-3 days). Make sure to let it sit at room temperature for an hour so it’s easier to scoop into cookies.
Nutrition
Storing & Freezing
Once your oatmeal scotchies have cooled completely, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Add a slice of fresh bread or a few large marshmallows to help them stay chewy. These cookies stay nice and soft and chewy for days, so they’re perfect for stashing away for snacking or sharing.
For longer storage, you can freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months. Make sure to let them cool completely before storing, and consider using small pieces of parchment paper between each chewy cookie to keep them from sticking together in a stack. Remove as much air as possible from the freezer bag to ward off freezer burn.
Freezing the cookie dough: Scoop the dough into balls and arrange them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Pop that tray in the freezer until the dough is solid, then transfer the frozen balls to an airtight container or freezer bag. The dough will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to bake, just take out however many dough balls you need and arrange them on a baking sheet. For thinner cookies, let them thaw for 30 minutes at room temperature or bake them at 325°F so they spread more. For thicker cookies, bake directly from frozen and add a minute or two of baking time as needed.
More Cookie Recipes To Try
Try one of my other popular cookie recipes next!
Chewy oatmeal raisin cookies are a classic for a reason. Mine are perfectly spiced, thick, and chewy, just like grandma used to make!
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a deliciously hearty twist on traditional chocolate chip cookies. If soft and chewy is your preferred cookie consistency, they’ll be right up your alley.
Can’t get enough chocolate in your life? My fudgy double chocolate chip cookies will solve that for you.
If your pantry stock is running low, you’ll love my easy Nutella cookies. They’re moist, soft, and chewy with a prominent chocolate-hazelnut flavor that’s hard to resist.
Whenever I see the hatch marks on classic peanut butter cookies, I can’t help but feel nostalgic. My recipe yields the perfect balance of salty-sweet flavors with a melt-in-your-mouth consistency.
If you’ve tried this Oatmeal Scotchies recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Matthew says
Made a 3x batch and they turned out wonderful. My partners work loved them.
Jim says
I make this recipe a few times a year with my granddaughter. Everyone loves them. If you find that they don’t quite taste how you remember them as a kid, many of the older versions of this recipe called for a half teaspoon of orange extract. Adding the subtle orange flavor made them taste just like Mom’s for me. Both ways are great.
James says
Great recipe, but if you feel like something is missing from the way you remember them tasting as a kid, it could be that the older recipes for this cookie included a half teaspoon of orange extract. I tried it with the added orange flavor the second time I made them, and it was closer to how I remember my Mom’s version tasting.
Kerry says
I just made these today and they baked up perfectly. So delicious, and the texture is wonderful. I added a grating of fresh nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom along with the cinnamon because I love that combination of spices.
Tammy Long says
These were awesome. The only thing I did different was use Crisco butter instead of real butter. I also used new baking soda and they could not have been any better.
Rosebuddy says
My batch came out wonderfully. I used less butter and less oatmeal because if too much butter is incorporated at too high temperatures they will flatten out. I also only baked mine on 350f. Two trays on top of each other and switched after 6 minutes. Baked 12 minutes total.
Kay says
Mine were delicious, not flat , perfect!!! Thank you!
Cathy says
I’ll start with saying – taste and flavor – 125% … but, no matter what I tried, they spread out and were flatter than a pancake. I put the balls in the freezer for 10 minutes. I put the balls in the freezer for 15 minutes. I put the balls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. I followed the recipe to a T – Using my scale to measure everything. And yes, I DID have THREE pans of cookies, MANY more than the the recipe said of 14. If you have any help-hints – please pass them along.
Estela vargas says
GRACIAS!!!
Estela vargas says
GRACIAS.