Crispy Oatmeal Cookies
I’ve heard a rumor that crispy oatmeal cookies can match or even beat the soft, chewy, raisin-packed oatmeal cookies that I know and love. I was skeptical (very), but I decided to give them a shot a few weekends ago. The idea behind these cookies is that you use a bit more leavening powder to make the oatmeal cookies spread out during baking and therefore crisp up.
But are crispy oatmeal cookies really good?
YES! And they are stackable.
Stacks nicely.
In the cookie universe, I like to think of oatmeal cookies as healthy. Sure, they have some butter and sugar as all cookies do, but the oats lend a real heartiness and lots of fiber. So they’re kinda healthy cookies!
Crispy Oatmeal Cookies
Yield: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
14 Tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup brown sugar
Zest of one orange (optional)
1 large egg
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Cup all-purpose flour
3/4 Teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
2 1/2 Cups rolled oatsDirections:
1) Add butter, sugars, and orange zest to a large bowl.
2) Using a hand mixer or stand mixer (or I guess a fork/whisk combo attack), cream the butter into the sugar on medium speed.
3) Add a large egg and vanilla extract.
4) In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients except the rolled oats.
5) Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into butter mixture.
6) Mix in oats, 1/2 Cup at a time.
7) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a parchment-lined baking sheet place 2 Tablespoon balls of batter with a good amount of space in between each ball (8 per tray)
8) Using a spatula (fingers), mush the dough down until you have small disks that are about 1/2 inch high.
9) Bake for 14-16 minutes and if they appear to be cooking unevenly, rotate the sheet halfway through.
10) Once the cookies are lightly browned around the edges, take them out and let them cool on a wire rack. Let them cool on their baking sheet.
It might look like a lot of ingredients for cookies, but most of them are standard pantry ingredients.
A cookie is born.
Making the Dough
This dough is really no different for from a standard dough. Start by adding your butter, sugars, and orange zest if your using it (I totally recommend it) to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer (or I guess a fork/whisk combo attack), cream the butter into the sugar on medium speed.
Ok. I added an orange also.
After a few minutes you should have a smooth, thick mixture that would be delicious if you were to eat it with a spoon.
Don’t eat it though!
Instead, add a large egg and your vanilla extract.
Just one.
In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients except the rolled oats.
Then slowly incorporate your dry ingredients into your batter.
After everything is mixed together well, mix in your oats, 1/2 Cup at a time. Don’t mix your oats into your dry ingredients first because it will make it hard to get your flour and leavening things equally distributed.
My measuring cups are color coded.
Cooking the Cookies
Once your batter is mixed well, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. On a parchment-lined baking sheet place 2 Tablespoon balls of batter with a good amount of space in between each ball.
You should get 24 balls out of the batter. I only got 23 because I’m crazy like that and I didn’t really measure them.
Seriously though, don’t put more than 8 of these on a sheet at a time. You’ll thank me later.
I arranged mine like this:
Nice and neat.
Then, using a spatula (fingers), mush the batter down until you have small disks that are about 1/2 inch high.
Squished.
Bake these for 14-16 minutes and if they appear to be cooking unevenly, rotate the sheet halfway through.
Once the cookies are lightly browned around the edges, take them out and let them cool on a wire rack. And here is the important trick to these cookies: Let them cool on their baking sheet. Don’t take them off.
This will mean they’ll continue to crisp up a bit while they cool, but they won’t burn. If you’re cookies are touching, feel free to cut them apart a bit.
Wow. These seriously spread out.
After they cool completely, you can eat them immediately or, if you’re like me, form a cookie structure of some sort.
Fantastic texture and flavor.
It’s very possible that these crispy cookies converted me from the oatmeal cookies I know and love. They were packed with flavor but still really light and had a perfect texture.
Plus they’re pretty straightforward to make. And they’re healthy!
Basically, there’s no reason to not make these cookies! And that rumor I was talking about at the beginning of this post… yea… I think I’m going to start spreading it.
Emily @ Joyful Abode - "McDonald's also doesn't use organic eggs, and their "cheese" is probab..."
Amanda - "This may have been addressed in earlier comments, but I confess I have..."
Maggie - "My bf and I got a food processor for Xmas and we thought ....what are ..."
shotaiken - "You've inspired me to try my hand at a vegan version of these! I've ne..."
Amy - "I like to make these for breakfast, but instead I drop a Thomas muffin..."
Chris - "Damn....this would have rocked this morning, I should've read this yes..."
Mmm, classic cookies!
[Reply]
T-Davis replied: — April 27th, 2011 @ 10:01 am
These cookies are amazing! I am a vegetarian, so I made the following changes to the recipe:
-I used 2 sticks of smart balance butter produce
-the zest of one orange, plus the juice
-powdered egg substitute
-whole wheat flour
These changes created a wonderful orange oatmeal cookie! The egg substitute didnt change the taste or texture, and I will definetly be making this recipe again!
[Reply]
I love crisp cookies, these look perfect!
[Reply]
That’s how I like them…crispy! Never understood why folks like them chewy.
[Reply]
I’m curious…could I put raisins in these crispy cookies? Or are raisins really more of a soft oatmeal cookie thing?
~Claire
[Reply]
@ Claire… I wouldn’t. I think they might just caramelize and/or burn and they might stop the cookies from spreading evenly and therefore crisping up.
You could try it but I make no guarantees :) I would stick with zest. It works great to add flavor.
[Reply]
My grandmother’s friend used to make these. They are some of the best cookies I’ve ever had. Delicious!
[Reply]
Yikes! These oatmeal cookies have more butter than flour and hardly look healthy. Is it possible to cut out half the butter and lighten up cookie?
[Reply]
I like ‘em crispy and chewy. And raw, if I’m being completely honest. ‘Cause there’s nothing better than cookie dough. These look great! Thanks for the recipe!
[Reply]
This recipe is right out of Cooks Illustrated, Jan 08, I think. For a variation, add toasted chopped walnuts and dried cranberries while cutting the oatmeal to 2 cups.
[Reply]
My cookies have ended up like a mound and chewy. I yearn to make thin crispy like yours!
[Reply]
@Iona. But there’s 2.5 Cups of oats! :) It works out to be about 1 1/2 – 2 Teaspoons of butter per cookie. I wouldn’t substitute it because they turned out so perfect. They are actually very light as is.
@Wennie. Yep! The book I linked to is just a compilation from Cook’s Illustrated. It’s an excellent book.
[Reply]
These look delicious! I love a crispy cookie.
[Reply]
I love watching America’s Test Kitchen and they always have such good pointers! I think I prefer crispy cookies too especially when it comes to oatmeal. They just taste more wholesome that way.
[Reply]
I managed to get 14 cookies out of this recipe, though I have that problem with all cookie recipes. :P I always make big cookies! They turned out awesome though! Great recipe. Maybe next time I’ll try and make them smaller (or you know, not).
[Reply]
These look awesome. I have a suggestion for a somewhat healthier (less butter) recipe for chewier oatmeal raisin cookies: http://www.goeggless.com/2008/11/eggless-chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies.html. I made them (substituting a frozen banana for the apple sauce) a few weeks ago, and they were the best I’ve ever made. Check it.
[Reply]
I'm so used to trying to perfect the chewy cookie, I haven't even tried a crispy one. Maybe I'll fair better with this one. It looks great!
[Reply]
I sent this link to my Dad, who likes to try new things and loves oatmeal cookies, and he has made them twice since. His favorite, now. He didn't have a tool to grate the orange peel so he just squished up the orange pulp and juice and threw it in (no rind) and he loved them. He may have increased the oatmeal a bit to absorb some juice, but they turned out perfect.
[Reply]
Pingback: Crispy Oatmeal Cookies Recipe | The National Cookie Network
I love crispy cookies, so I tried this one. It turned out fanastic, except… it wasn't all crispy, the middle part is a bit chewy (not that anyone at my house complained, haha), Was it supposed to turn out that way? The snags I hit while cooking were 1) determining the amount of butter – where I live a stick of butter = 227 grams, how bout you? – 2) room temp butter, i don't think i was patient enough, it might've still been a bit cool when I began mixing. Would those factors be the cause to my prob?
[Reply]
Nick replied: — May 22nd, 2010 @ 4:53 am
1 Cup of butter = 227 grams. But a stick (at least in the US) is only 1/2 a cup. I used 14 Tablespoons which is a bit under 1 Cup (16 Tablespoons = 1 Cup).
If you're weighing which is always a good idea honestly, the recipe would call for 199 grams of butter.
The room temp thing just makes it easier to mix. Shouldn't affect the final cookie that much as long as you still get everything mixed well.
Other than that I'd say that maybe your cookies just needed another minute or two in the oven. That should crisp them up :)
[Reply]
Great cookie
[Reply]
I just made these cookies yesterday. DEEEEEELICIOUS! And I’m not even a big fan of oatmeal cookies! The Boyfriend loves them, and so did all my coworkers. I put craisins in mine and it turned out wonderfully. I’m planning on making them with chocolate chips next.
Thanks for the great recipe!
p.s. Boyfriend’s favorite all-time recipe is what he calls the “Macheesmo stuffing” (from way back when). He asks for it to be made on his birthday. That too is a keeper!
[Reply]
These cookies are exactly what I was looking for, as I love a crispy cookie. The orange zest is a great addition. I am off to make another batch!
[Reply]
I don't bake a lot. Or, you know, ever. Could I add a bit of ginger to this recipe?
[Reply]
Jas replied: — July 2nd, 2011 @ 2:14 pm
I bet ground ginger and/or cinnamon would be great. I alays add cinnamon to my oatmeal cookies. = )
[Reply]
Extremely good! I have been looking for a crispy oatmeal cookie. Yum!
[Reply]
Yummy, these look great.
My recent post Asylum Fit Test
[Reply]
These came out amazing! My father-in-law loves crispy cookies and oatmeal are his favorite so this was a total WIN-WIN! I made some with raisins (I just put them on top before baking) and also made a batch where I cut the sugar by half and added half a cup of chocolate chips and 1/4c of chopped walnuts! So good! Thank you for sharing!
[Reply]
Nick replied: — December 15th, 2011 @ 8:00 am
Awesome Tracie! Glad you liked them. Thanks for posting the changes you made. Sounds delicious.
[Reply]
I just try this recipe but I added 1/2 cup of cranberries and it turns out superb coz cranberries are sour type, so it’s good. But this recipe a little too sweet and too buttery. I’m going to minus off some of the sugars and butter on my next attempt. And then it will be healthier! :)
[Reply]