Soft, chewy and bursting with butterscotch, Oatmeal Scotchies are oatmeal cookies at their best. Cinnamon sugar flavor and a lightly crisped exterior make these extra delicious!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time12 minutesmins
Additional Time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr27 minutesmins
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: butterscotch oatmeal cookies, nestle oatmeal scotchies, oatmeal butterscotch cookies
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and cornstarch together. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine butter and brown sugar together with a hand mixer on high speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another minute.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low, just until combined. Add in the old-fashioned oats and combine on low speed. Fold in all but 1 cup of the butterscotch chips.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Drop cookie dough by about 2-3 Tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Don’t overbake. The edges will start to brown first. The middle of the cookie may seem like it’s underbaked, but it will continue to bake when it’s taken out of the oven.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to sit on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes. Press a few of the reserved butterscotch chips into the top of the cookies. Transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
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Notes
Using a cookie scoop like this one is the easiest way to get beautiful cookies that are uniform when baked.
STORAGE: Store cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to a week. Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months.
FREEZING DOUGH: Dough can be frozen, unbaked for up to 3 months. I recommended rolling (scooping) the dough into balls before freezing. When baking, add and additional 1-2 minutes to bake time for the frozen cookie dough.
Why use melted butter? Results in a chewier cookie on the inside.
Why does the butter have to cool? Using hot butter will melt the sugar and produce an oily, thin cookie.
Cornstarch. Adding this to the cookie results in a chewy texture that is soft and a cookie that is thicker than without it.
Why all DARK brown sugar? Real butterscotch has brown sugar and butter as the primary ingredients. It helps to emphasize the underlying flavors of the butterscotch. It also results in a more moist, soft cookie than using granulated sugar. Light brown (or a combination to make the 1 ½ cups) can be substituted. You could also add 1 Tbsp of molasses to the cookie dough if using light brown sugar. Using the dark brown also produces a slightly sweeter cookie.
All ingredients should be room temp to allow them to combine better.
Refrigerating the dough allows the cookie to hold its shape better when baking. If refrigerating the dough for more than a couple hours, leave the dough out on the counter for about 30 minutes before baking to allow it to soften and be scoopable. Refrigerated dough also has an enhanced flavor, and helps the cookie to brown. It also changes cookie texture as the flour is able to absorb and break down the sugars.
Pressing the butterscotch chips on top after baking kept them on top of the cookie and helps them look enticing. This is totally optional. If you skip this step, add all the morsels to the cookie dough instead.
Do not sub quick oats. They will absorb all the moisture leaving a dry and crumbly cookie.