Oatmeal butterscotch cookies are simple to make. The cookie dough is made with old fashioned oats, butterscotch chips and cold butter. This simple, no chill cookie recipe bakes up soft and chewy cookies with crispy edges.
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Something about butterscotch brings back fond memories of childhood. These oatmeal cookies have the perfect soft chewiness from the oats and dark brown sugar. With a hint of cinnamon and sweet butterscotch chips, you get the best ever nostalgic cookie flavor.
I’ve been baking cookies for multiple decades now and oatmeal cookies run a very close race with sugar cookies as my very favorite. Ya’ll love my coconut oatmeal cookies, butterscotch oatmeal bars and no flour monster cookies so I’m sharing today my favorite thick and chewy butterscotch oatmeal cookies.
With soft middles and lightly crispy edges, they are full of texture. And because I know you are busy, like me, you will love that this cookie recipe uses cold ingredients and needs no time to chill! Plus, I'm spilling my secret to keep your oatmeal scotchies thick. See the expert tips section below 🤫.
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💭 why did my oatmeal scotchies spread so much?
I have tested oatmeal cookies more times than I can remember. In my opinion, the oven temperature plays a huge roll. At the right temperature butterscotch oatmeal cookies bake nicely. If the oven is too hot, the butter will melt too quickly giving you a flat (but still delicious) cookie.
🛒 ingredient notes and substitutions
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
I played with oats to flour ratio in this simple cookie recipe. The recipe was also tested at different oven temperatures, 350°F, 375°F and 400°F. 350°F is the magical temperature for this oatmeal butterscotch cookie recipe.
Butter ~ I prefer to bake with unsalted butter so I can control the saltiness. If you only have salted butter, leave out the kosher salt. The butter is used cold, just cut it into small cubes.
Butterscotch ~ a necessary ingredient for the classic oatmeal scotchie flavor. I tested with Nestle Toll House butterscotch morsels and Target’s Good and Gather butterscotch chips. Both worked great!
Cornstarch ~ my secret ingredient for thick oatmeal cookies! If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out with no other changes to the recipe. The cookies will spread more and won’t be as thick.
Brown sugar ~ I prefer dark brown sugar, but light brown also works just fine.
Old-fashioned rolled oats ~ use the spoon and level method to measure, if not using a scale. The spoon and level method is to spoon the oats into the measuring cup versus scooping.
🍪 how to make no chill oatmeal cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare baking sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat the cold and cubed butter and kosher salt until softened.
Scrape up and down the bowl. Then add the dark brown and granulated sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
Scrape down your bowl and add pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined.
Scrape up and down your bowl again. Add the baking soda, cornstarch and cinnamon and mix on low until fully combined. Then add the all-purpose flour and blend until a few large streaks of flour remain.
Scrape up and down the bowl. Add in the old-fashioned oats and butterscotch chips and mix on low until just combined. Using a cookie scoop (I use a size 30 scoop) place cookie dough on prepared baking sheet.
This shows one of my test batches, baked at 400°F. I was able to rescue the cookies back to round with the cookie scoot. The high temperature makes the butter melt too quickly, giving flat, crispy cookies.
The cookies do spread a bit, I put 8 cookies per half sheet pan. Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for a salted version. Add a few extra butterscotch chips to the top of each baked cookie, if desired.
Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Remember to pin this recipe to Pinterest! Use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of this page.
👩🏻🍳 expert tips for the best thick and chewy cookies
My secret 🤫 do the cookie scoot for thick and perfectly round cookies. For oatmeal cookies, I typically start with a 3.5 inch biscuit cutter and then repeat a second scoot with a 3 inch biscuit cutter. This helps the oatmeal butterscotch cookies get nice and thick. See the recipe card if you need to learn how to do this.
Follow the recipe ~ I develop recipes and test them multiple times, making lots of mistakes along the way. Once I am happy with a recipe, I test it a few more times to make sure it is consistent. Even one small change by you can change the outcome.
Hold some butterscotch chips aside to press on top of the baked cookies to give them that bakery style look.
Use a scale to measure your ingredients. I know I say this all the time, but weighing your ingredients is the most accurate and will give the best results. This is the scale I use in my kitchen and if your budget is tight, this Escali scale is also fantastic!
Do not grease your cookie pans, which can make your cookies spread more. Use parchment paper or silicone baking mats instead.
Don't over bake the cookies! You want to remove the cookies from the oven when the edges are set and the middle is still a little soft, even a little raw looking for oatmeal and butterscotch cookies. They will continue to bake and set up as they cool.
🫙 how to store
Cookies stay fresh in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Baked oatmeal butterscotch cookies freeze well, in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. This is by far my favorite way to store cookies for freshness. The cookies will thaw at room temperature in about 20-30 minutes.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram if you make these Chewy Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
📖 recipe
Chewy Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams in parenthesis DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold and cubed (226g)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed (200g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (219g)
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (240g)
- 1 ½ cups butterscotch chips (260g)
- flaky sea salt if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare baking sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat the cold and cubed butter (1 cup/226g) and kosher salt (½ teaspoon) on medium-high (speed 6 on KitchenAid) until softened, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape up and down the bowl.
- Then add the dark brown (1 cup/200g) and granulated (1 cup/200g) sugars and mix on low until incorporated, then turn up to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, stop and scrape the bowl at least once during this time.
- Scrape down your bowl and add pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (1 tablespoon) the eggs (2 large), one at a time, mixing on medium (speed 4) until combined, about 30-45 seconds per egg. Scrape up and down your bowl again.
- Add the baking soda (1 teaspoon), cornstarch (2 teaspoons) and cinnamon (1 teaspoon) and mix on low for about 15-30 seconds, until fully combined. Then add the all-purpose flour (1 ¾ cups/219g) and blend on low until a few large streaks of flour remain. Scrape up and down the bowl.
- Add in the old-fashioned oats (3 cups/240g) and butterscotch chips (1 ½ cups/260g) and mix on low until just combined.
- Using a cookie scoop (I use a size 30 scoop. Each cookie dough ball weighs 44g), place cookie dough on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. The cookies do spread a bit, I put 8 cookies per half sheet pan.
- Bake 12-14 minutes, until edges are lightly browned, but centers still look soft and unset. For a thicker finished cookie, do the cookie scoot when they are hot out of the oven. Use a biscuit cutter, cup or overturned bowl that is slightly larger than the cookies to “scoot” the cookies back into a smaller, round circle. Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for a salted version. Add a few extra butterscotch chips to the top of each cookie, if desired. (I typically use a 3.5 inch biscuit cutter for my cookie scoot and then follow a second time with a 3 inch cutter, to create a thicker cookie).
- Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
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