Oatmeal Scotchies – these soft and chewy butterscotch oatmeal cookies are packed with flavor. They are a favorite with everyone who tries them!
I cannot believe I haven’t shared the recipe for these oatmeal scotchies before! They are one of my family’s very favorite cookies. We like them even better than oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips. And that’s saying something, because we love chocolate around here!
Butterscotch morsels are sweet and creamy, and probably highly underused in most households. Which is a shame, because they are so tasty! It’s amazing how they turn a simple oatmeal cookie into an irresistible treat. It is hard to stop eating these babies!
I like them best slightly warm, but they are also mighty tasty at room temperature. They have a touch of cinnamon in them, and it is a perfect compliment to the sweet butterscotch chips.
When you’re in a chocolate chip cookie rut, give these cookies a try, I bet you’ll love them! I’ve taken them to potlucks before, and always come home with an empty plate.
My recipe calls for more flour than similar recipes for oatmeal scotchies I’ve seen. I like my cookies to puff up and be soft, not turn out flat and crispy. The extra flour helps with that. These cookies are a favorite since childhood, and they really are delicious!
And because they are chock full of oats, they are a totally healthy after school snack, right? OK, maybe not. But they sure are yummy!
How to Make Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
(To skip my tips, scroll to the bottom of the post to see the recipe card.)
Ingredients needed:
- butter, softened to room temperature (I use regular salted butter. It’s best to let it come to room temperature on the counter, so you don’t end up with cold chunks and melted spots from the uneven microwave heating.)
- granulated sugar (regular white table sugar)
- brown sugar (Dark brown sugar adds a nice rich flavor to oatmeal cookies, but light is fine too.)
- eggs (I use large eggs in all my baking.)
- vanilla extract
- all purpose flour (I like to use unbleached flour.)
- baking soda
- baking powder (I add a bit of baking powder to most of my cookie recipes so they puff up nicely.)
- salt (Adds flavor and balances out the sweetness of the cookies.)
- ground cinnamon
- old fashioned oats (I find that quick oats are a little too powdery for cookies, and they end up dry. If all you have is quick oats, I’d decrease the flour by 1/4 cup.)
- butterscotch chips (I always buy name brand, I haven’t enjoyed the off flavor of store brand butterscotch morsels.)
Cream butter and sugars in a large bowl till creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients, oats, and chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheets.
I like to use a cookie scoop for my dough so that the cookies are all the same size. They bake more evenly that way. I do like to form them into balls after I have scooped them, but you can skip that step.
Bake at 375° for about 8-10 minutes.
PRO TIPS:
-I have learned that different brands of oatmeal make a difference in the outcome of oatmeal cookies. If the oats are thinner and coated with powder, the powder acts like flour, and the cookies can be dry. Thick old fashioned rolled oats work the best.
-If your butter is too cold, the cookies won’t spread as much. If it is too soft, they can spread too much and end up thin and more crunchy.
-For pretty bakery style cookies, press a few butterscotch morsels into the top of each cookie dough ball before baking.
How to store oatmeal scotchies?
These cookies store perfectly at room temperature for up to a week if stored in an airtight container. They will start to dry out, but they will still be tasty.
Can I freeze these cookies?
Yes, they freeze well. Let them cool completely, then place them in heavy duty ziplock freezer bags. They will keep in the freezer for about 4 months.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
I personally don’t recommend freezing oatmeal cookie dough. The oats absorb the moisture in the dough as they sit, and the cookies tend to be crumbly.
I prefer to bake all of the oatmeal cookies while the dough is freshly made, and freeze the baked cookies.
MORE TASTY BUTTERSCOTCH RECIPES:
- Butterscotch Nut Bars
- Chewy Butterscotch Zucchini Blondies
- Butterscotch Cupcakes with Butterscotch Frosting
- Homemade Butterscotch Pudding
Oatmeal Scotchies Recipe
Oatmeal Scotchies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 3 cups oats old fashioned work best, not quick oats
- 2 cups butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cream butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl till creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
- Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, oats, and butterscotch chips.
- Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto silicone lined or lightly greased cookie sheets.
- Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.
Nutrition
See all my COOKIE RECIPES.
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Any adjustments for high elevation?
I live at a high altitude and they work just fine for me as written.
These are excellent!! Great recipe. Don’t skip the baking powder, as it really does give these a nice texture. Perfect cookie.
Yes, it does give them a better texture. They’ve been a favorite of mine since college, so I’m glad you loved them!
Can you premake them and bake them when you are ready?
Most cookie dough I like to premake, but with oatmeal cookies, the oats tend to soak up the moisture in the dough, leaving me with dry cookies. So if I know I’ll be chilling or freezing the cookie dough, I add a bit less flour. That tends to do the trick.
Yummy !! This is a different recipe than I used at Christmas ( off the Nestle bag) it was just as yummy this recipe made them fluffy with a chewy crunch they are delicious 😋 wish I would have thought to make a half batch because now I’ve got these delicious cookies (66) is just me and the hubby and he loves them just as much as me !! I’ll be giving some to family members before we eat them all
So glad you loved them! We have the same problem at our house now that we just have two kids left at home. The cookies do freeze well, and that helps me not eat all of them. But of course sharing them is a great way to spread the joy. 🙂
I made these today! Delicious 😋 I pressed the dough into a 9x 13 though because I was short on time. Worked great!!
Thanks for the tip Kirstie! I’m happy to hear that it worked so well. 🙂
Just made these today. I cut the recipe Because its dangerous to keep that many in my house! Yummy!!
Haha, yes! I have to freeze half of mine!
These are the best cookies ever!!
I can’t believe you haven’t shared these yet either! These are on my top 10 list of recipes I got from Kara at college, and that’s truly saying something, because you cooked wonderfully.
Thanks Melanie! I was seriously shocked when I searched my recipe index and discovered they weren’t there. How could I have let that happen? Crazy!