When you’re craving a delightful blend of chewy, sweet, and comforting,  Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies are the perfect solution. This delectable twist on the classic oatmeal cookie combines the nutty flavor of oats with the rich and buttery goodness of butterscotch chips. If you’re a fan of chewy cookies, you’re in for a treat! 

What are Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies and Why You Will Love Them

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies are a unique treat that balances the wholesome goodness of oats with the indulgent sweetness of butterscotch. They offer a wonderful combination of flavors and textures, making them a favorite for many. The oats add a hearty chewiness, while the butterscotch chips bring a delightful burst of caramel-like sweetness. Whether you’re a cookie connoisseur or simply craving a sweet pick-me-up, these are the perfect cookies for you. Be sure to check out my Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Coffee cookies.

This oatmeal butterscotch cookie recipe is different from most oatmeal scotchies cookies. These cookies are thin, with deep golden brown crispy edges, and rich butterscotch flavor, and are a family favorite, like these Butterscotch Blondies.

Ingredients

The complete recipe you can find below on the recipe card.

  • Unsalted butter, softened
  • Granulated white sugar
  • Light and dark brown sugar. The combination will intensify the butterscotch flavor and give the cookies its chewy texture.
  • Large egg at room temperature
  • Vanilla extract
  • All-purpose flour
  • Cake flour
  • Baking soda
  • Salt
  • Old-fashioned oats, do not use rolled oats.
  • Butterscotch chips
  • Salt flakes (optional)

How to Make Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

These chewy oatmeal cookies can be made using a stand mixer, or a hand mixer.

  1. Spread the oat over a pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 5 minutes. Ground two tablespoons to a fine powder. In a medium bowl mix the oats, oat powder, flour, salt, and baking soda.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, and sugar until light and airy.
  3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to blend.
  4. ​Mix in the dry ingredients followed by the butterscotch chips.
  5. Scoop 4 cookie dough balls space them over the cookie sheet and bake.
  6. ​Mid-baking, remove the cookies and use a large cookie cutter to swirl the cookies and shape them. Repeat post baking.

Tips

  • Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature.
  • The large amount of butter and sugar and the low amount of flour are why these cookies spread three times their raw size. If you prefer them chubbier, increase the amount of all-purpose flour by 1 cup.
  • Use a medium-sized cookie scoop (1 1/2 tablespoons) 
  • You can add a hint of cinnamon or a dash of nutmeg for extra flavor.
  • Don’t overcrowd the baking sheet to ensure even cooking.
  • Allow the baked cookies to set before inverting them to a wire rack.

Storing and Freezing

To keep your Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. To freeze, place the baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container or zip-top bag, and they will keep well for up to eight weeks. Thaw at room temperature when you’re ready to enjoy them.

FAQ’s

Can I use quick oats instead of old-fashioned oats?

While instant oats can be used, old-fashioned oats are preferred as they provide a heartier texture to the cookies.

How can I make gluten-free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies?

You can use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend in place of regular flour to make these cookies gluten-free.

Can I substitute butterscotch chips with chocolate chips?

Absolutely! Feel free to use chocolate chips or any other chips of your choice for a different flavor profile.

Butterscotch morsels are not available to me, what else can I use? 

The brown sugar also helps with the flavor of the cookies, you can substitute the chips with caramel chips, chocolate chips, or chopped nuts.

More Cookies Recipes You Might Enjoy

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies, Butter Meringue Cookies, Popcorn Cookies

butterscotch oatmeal recipe
5 from 3 votes
Print

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Chewy cookies with intense butterscotch flavor

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword oatmeal butterscotch cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings 24 Cookies
Author Adapted from Cookie Love by Mindy Segal

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup +2 TBS Old Fashion Oats (90 g / 3 oz)
  • 1 Cup Unsalted butter softened (226 g / 8 oz)
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar (100 g / 3.5 oz)
  • 1/2 Cup Light brown sugar (100 g / 3.5 oz)
  • 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar (100 g / 3.5 oz)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 Large Egg, room temperature
  • 1/2 Cup Cake flour (60 g / 2 oz)
  • 1/2 Cup AP Flour (60 g / 2 oz)
  • 1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1 tsp Sea salt flakes
  • 1 Cup Butterscotch chips (180 g / 6 oz)

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350F and line 3 half-sheet cookie pans with parchment paper.

  2. Spread the oat on one of the pans and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool

  3. In a spice grinder or a food processor, grind 2 TBS of the baked oat into a fine powder.

  4. In a bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color about 4-5 minutes. Stop the mixer halfway and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

  5. In a small bowl, beat the egg and vanilla extract together then add it to the butter mixture.

  6. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, mix for another 10 seconds.

  7. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salts, oats, and powdered oats use a fork to fully blend then add the butterscotch and toss to make sure all have been coated with flour.

  8. Add the flour mix to the butter mix, beat for 5 seconds turn the mixer off, and finish mixing using a rubber spatula.

  9. Using a cookies spoon (1 1/2 TBS size) scoop the cookie batter and place 4 cookies on a cookie sheet, leaving 2-3" space between each cookie.

  10. Reduce oven temperature to 340F (160C).

  11. Place pan in the middle oven rack and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven tap the pan against the counter, and use a large cookie cutter to gently twirl the cookie and make it round.

  12. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for another 4-6 minutes.

  13. Remove from the oven and twirl the cookies again with the cookie cutter. Allow cookies to cool before removing from the oven.

  14. Repeat with the remaining of the dough.

Recipe Notes

  • Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature.
  • The cookies spread to very thin cookies, for thicker cookies, increase the all-purpose cookies by one to one and a half cups.
  • If you like add to the flour mixture a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg.
  • Store the cookies at room temperature for up to three days.
  • To freeze, place the cookies in a freeze bag and freeze for up to eight weeks. Allow the cookies to reach room temperature out side of the bag.
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21 Comments on " Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies: A Sweet and Satisfying Treat "

  1. Dikla

    These look SOOOOOO good! Yummy 🙂

    1. Dikla

      These are SOOOOOO Good!!!

  2. Dikla

    Do you mean let them cool before removing them from the pan? Don’t leave in the oven right? Also it’s like 77 in my house….. summer so they were pretty melted dough should I chill it at all?

    1. Dikla

      Hi Kristin,
      Yes, I mean let cool in the pan after removing from the oven. Once out of the oven, the cookies are very soft, and moving them right away might tear the cookies, just make sure they are hard for the most part and can be safely moved to the cooling rack. For me, it was about 10 minutes after taking out of the oven.

  3. Dikla

    Can the baked cookies be frozen? I’m trying to get a head start on Christmas baking.

    1. Dikla

      I never tried to freeze these ones. I think they might lose some of their crispiness but will keep their flavor.

    2. Dikla

      Go ahead and freeze the dough. Just let it fully come to room temperature before you preheat your oven and bake them.

  4. Dikla

    Hi I can’t get butterscotch chips here. Can I change it with something else? Or how 1st o u make it?

    1. Dikla

      You can use chocolate chips or white chocolate chips. You will still have the butterscotch flavors coming from the brown sugar but not as much.

  5. Dikla

    5 stars
    We call these oatmeal scotchies in Ohio and these are my favorite!! Can’t wait to try this one!

    1. Dikla

      thank you so much LouAnn!!

  6. Dikla

    I just made these, and they are so good! I thought it was a lot of salt in the recipe, but it’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty. Also love the rounding technique, I can definitely use that for other cookie recipes. My boys tasted them right after they cooled down and loved them too! I like that they are crispy but you still have the chewiness from the oats. I wonder if they will stay crispy with the humidity here in Manila? Will find out tomorrow!

    1. Dikla

      thank you so much Noel! so glad you liked the cookies!

  7. Dikla

    5 stars
    Over the years, my husband has frequently reminisced about the thin, crispy, and chewy oatmeal scotchies cookies he remembered eating in his childhood, but every time I tried to make them, according to the butterscotch morsel package recipe, they were a disappointment; thick, plump, with no crisp, no chew, with no lingering buttery, salty sweetness that he dreamt about since his youth. He never complained of course, but I knew he was being polite when he ate just a few, saving the rest “for the grandkids”. Let me tell you, with this recipe, I nailed it!! Finally! He ate nearly the entire stack of huge, round, perfect cookies, caring less whether the grandchildren got a single bite! Thank you so much! He felt so special that I took the time to find the recipe for his favorite childhood treat. It is a keeper for sure and will likely be the only cookies I bake on a regular basis. They are just perfect.

    1. Dikla

      Thank you so much Cindi for taking the time to write this comment, it made my week!!!!
      So happy to hear your husband loved the cookies so much and that they made him feel special. He is one lucky man to have you, sounds like you have been searching for this special recipe for him for years now.
      Baking is a love language for sure!

  8. Dikla

    5 stars
    Well these are perfect cookies. Salty/sweet, crispy/chewy,
    and they go great with cold milk. I didn’t round off my first batch and they really didn’t get wonky, so I just left them as-is. Didn’t matter because my kids inhaled them. So, so delicious. I’m in the middle of making my second batch and my 8 year old said, “you should make these again!” Lol.

    1. Dikla

      That is amazing Steph!
      I agree, these cookies are good no matter what they look like, LOL. Thank you for sharing.

  9. Dikla

    These are wonderful! Used some to make ice cream sandwiches 🙂

  10. Dikla

    I have tried these cookies twice & they seem to be too oily. I don’t know if I should cut the butter in half or not.

    1. Dikla

      That is how the cookies are, as they set, they feel less oily. You can cut the butter in half, but they won’t spread as much.

  11. Dikla

    This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!

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