Sometimes, you just want a classic cookie: something with a solid flavor combination that just about everyone knows and loves.
That’s what I was going for with these Oatmeal Scotchies. I wanted a cookie recipe that I could throw together and bring anywhere without having people look at me like the flavor combination was crazy. It’s a standard that people are either familiar with and love, or that people have yet to discover but quickly learn to obsess over.
These cookies start with a bit of brown butter, and, confession: I never knew how to brown butter until I came up with this recipe. I would always see the words in recipes for pasta, combined with butternut squash and sage, but I never really gave it a try until I started looking up different ingredients and the way each component affects a cookie recipe. What I found was that browning butter is an incredibly easy step hiding behind a name that sounds deceptively involved, and it adds a depth and nuttiness that definitely helps take this classic cookie to another level.
All you really need to do is melt the butter on a medium high heat, stirring constantly for about five minutes once the butter gets all bubbly. Remove it from the heat, swirl for fifteen seconds, enjoy the aroma, and chill in the freezer for a quick ten minutes before throwing it into a bowl with your sugars.
In addition to that, these cookies get a little extra boost of vanilla, and plenty of cinnamon to play off the sweetness of the butterscotch without overwhelming the tastebuds. Add a little bit of sea salt on top, and there’s a sweet and salty combination that makes these irresistable.
My favorite stolen technique makes it way back onto the blog with these cookies: smashing them. Let me tell you, it might seem annoying to have to smash these down twice, but it’s really worth it. Plus, when you’re going back to the oven every 7-8 minutes, it makes the bake on these feel like it goes by so much quicker than normal! Pressing the cookie down gives it the size you want from an Oatmeal Scotchie, pushes the edges out so that they crisp up, and creates the perfectly chewy texture in the middle. You can bake these normally without the smashing, but they’ll be small, fat rounds with a much doughier center.
Trust me on this though, you want the full experience. It’s worth it.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 23 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
|
- 1/2 cup brown butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg large
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2/3 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
Ingredients
|
|
- Brown the butter: Cut your butter evenly into cubes and line them on the bottom of a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, melt the butter. Allow it to bubble and foam for about five minutes, stirring occasionally with a spatula to keep the heat evenly distributed and to keep the milk solids from sticking to the bottom of the pan. After five minutes, remove the pan from the heat and swirl for 15 seconds. It should start to smell a bit nutty and the color of the butter will be noticeably darker. Pour the butter into a small bowl or ramekin and stick in the freezer for ten minutes to keep it from cooking. There will be brown grainy bits at the bottom, you want to scrape all of that out of the pot--that's where most of the flavor comes from.
- While the butter is cooling, combine your flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat together your brown butter and sugars until fluffy. The butter will want to stick to the sides of the bowl--just use a spatula to scrape it off.
- Add the egg and vanilla, mixing to combine fully between each.
- Add your dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing until just combined. Stir in the butterscotch chips and chill your dough for 30 minutes before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a large scoop, line about 4-5 cookies on the baking sheet. Slightly flatten the tops and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt (the extra bit of salt on top really balances out the sweetness of the butterscotch on these!).
- This is where the fun part comes in: place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will be domed and puffy. Grease the bottom of a ramekin and smash the cookies down. Bake for an additional 7 minutes and smash once more. Let bake another 7-8 minutes. (They should take a total of 22-23 minutes in the oven).
- Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately transfer them over to a wire rack to cool.
It might seem strange to have to babysit these while they bake so you can smash them twice, but doing so really helps to ensure the extra crispy edges and the chewiness of the middle, giving these the perfect Oatmeal Scotchie texture and bite! It's worth it--I promise.