There is nothing better in this world than a delicious and simple dessert made with only a few high-quality ingredients and these buttery oatmeal cookies are just that kind of dessert! These are old-fashioned oatmeal cookies that are so delicious and so easy to make and they taste so much better than store-bought.
Now there are all different types of oatmeal cookie recipes out there and I am sure they are good, but I am going to show you how to make old-fashioned oatmeal cookies without raisins that are chewy on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside and they are buttery and delicious.
These cookies have the perfect firm outside and chewy texture and they check all those boxes for the ideal oatmeal cookie for me. An added bonus is how easy they are to make.
If you love simple buttery sweets as much as I do, make sure to check out our buttery and rich pumpkin cake too!
What You Will Need
The ingredients are very simple in this recipe and you will have many if not all of them already in your pantry.
- Old-fashioned oats: This is the best type of oats for these cookies. They will hold up to the heat of the oven.
- Flour: The base of the cookies.
- Brown sugar: Adds richness and sweetens the cookie.
- Vanilla: This is vanilla extract.
- Granulated sugar: This is what you roll the cookie dough in before baking. This is the traditional way to make these cookies.
- Butter: You want to use unsalted butter so your cookies do not come out too salty.
- Eggs: The eggs are the binder that holds the ingredients together and gives it lift.
- Baking soda: Baking soda is the leavening agent and will help the cookies rise. The weight of the oats needs a powerful leveling agent to help the cookies rise a bit and baking soda is just that.
- Spices: Cinnamon and salt.
How to make buttery oatmeal cookies
Making these buttery oatmeal cookies is so simple. Here are the steps:
- Cream: Cream the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in one bowl.
- Mix: In a separate bowl, mix flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine: Combine wet and dry ingredients until a dough forms.
- Scoop: Scoop out your dough and roll it into a ball.
- Roll: Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar then place them on a sheetpan.
- Bake: Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes.
- Cool: Let it cool then enjoy!
Some of my favorite additions
If you want to add some additions to your oatmeal cookies, all you have to do is fold them into the dough before baking. Here are some of my favorites:
- White chocolate chunks
- Chocolate chips
- Craisins ( I love these sweet and tart cranberries)
- Nuts (walnuts and pecans are particularly yummy)
You can get creative with this oatmeal cookie! Honestly, there is never a wrong (or mostly never) way to create a cookie. Baking should be all about your preferences.
Recipe Tips
- Roll the dough in sugar: Before baking my trick to making these cookies really stand out is to roll them in granulated sugar before baking. It really seals the outside beautifully and gives that distinct oatmeal cookie look (along with tasting delicious).
- Use Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar adds just enough molasses into the recipe to keep the cookies chewy but also leaves a slightly crisp outside. Dark brown sugar will make the cookies too soft. If you use dark brown sugar, mix it with regular sugar to balance this out (The quantities for this are in the recipe card below.)
Freezing And Storing
- Freezing the dough: The oatmeal cookie dough can be frozen after shaping the cookies and rolling them in sugar. You can bake them from the frozen state when you want a quick cookie treat. You will only need to add a few minutes or so to the cooking time when doing this.
- Freezing the cookies: You can freeze the baked cookies by letting them cool, adding them to a freezer-safe container or bag, and placing them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Storing: I find the best way to store these chewy cookies is to place them in an air-tight container on the counter. They will last up to one week this way.
I hope you give these chewy oatmeal cookies a try and remember how amazing oatmeal cookies can be!
FAQS
Old-fashioned oats are what you need to make oatmeal cookies because they stand up to the baking. Quick-cooking oats would turn to mush in the cookies.
The key to moist oatmeal cookies is using butter and brown sugar. Butter will make sure your cookies stay moist and full of flavor and the molasses will keep them extra chewy.
Pairing ideas
Here are some of our favorite things to pair with these oatmeal cookies:
More cookie recipes
If you love these buttery oatmeal cookies, you will also like these:
Buttery and Delicious Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar packed down when measuring If you only have dark brown sugar then substitute with half regular sugar and half dark brown sugar.
- 1 cup unsalted room temperature butter
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar for rolling the cookies in before baking
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Make sure to let your oven stay heated at this temperature for at least 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl add your butter, brown sugar and mix well with a mixer until smooth and creamy1 cup unsalted room temperature butter, 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar packed down when measuring
- Next, add your vanilla and your eggs and mix until it all comes together1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 2 large eggs
- In a separate bowl, add your flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and mix it all together3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 ½ cups All-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Add these dry ingredients to your bowl of wet ingredients and mix until it all comes together
- Using a small ice cream scoop (or a heaping tablespoon) start to scoop out your dough and roll it into a ball.
- Place sugar in a shallow bowl.¼ cup granulated sugar
- Take each ball of cookie dough and roll it in your granulated sugar then place on to a sheet pan leaving 1 inch of space around your cookies since they will spread.
- Keep doing this until all of your dough is scooped and rolled into the sugar
- Once you have done this, gently press down your cookie balls into a flat disc about ¼ inch thick with the back of a spatula or spoon.
- Place your cookies in the oven and bake for 12-18 minutes until the cookies begin to brown a little on the sides and on the top.
- Once they are cooked, remove from the oven and let them sit on the sheet pan for 10 minutes
- After 10 minutes remove from the sheet pan to a cooling rack and let them cool for another 15 minutes before eating.
- Enjoy
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Rosie Hoffman says
Do you have recs for ratios if I use spelt flour or whole wheat? Or mix those with APF? Also would coconut sugar with a splash of molasses work in place of the brown sugar?
Melissa says
Hi Rosie. I have not tried these cookies with spelt or whole wheat flour so I cannot offer advice. It sounds like it would be delicious though and those flours would really compliment the flavor.
Chandra says
These cookies are very tasty. Of the oatmeal cookie recipes that I've tried, this is the best by far. The butter flavor really comes through and compliments the oatmeal and vanilla. This recipe is a keeper!
Melissa says
I am so glad you enjoyed them Chandra 🙂
Jill says
Oatmeal cookie recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter, how many cups?
Melissa says
Hi Jill. It is one cup 🙂 I've updated the recipe to reflect this.
Melissa says
I am so glad you enjoyed them!
Sam says
Everyone devoured them! Such a delicious crinkle crust and nice and chewy
Melissa says
Love hearing that 🙂