These Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies are loaded with butterscotch chips, brown sugar, and oats, making them epically soft, chewy and flavorful.  This is sure to become your new favorite oatmeal cookie recipe.

Looking for more butterscotch recipes? Be sure to also try our Butterscotch Coconut Pie or these Butterscotch Cookie Bars.

Oatmeal butterscotch cookies cooling on a wire rack.

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

These deliciously chewy oatmeal butterscotch cookies start with a regular oatmeal cookie base but don’t stop until they are packed full of buttery, molassesy, sugary butterscotch morsels.

They have the perfect amount of chew and taste extra great with a nice cold glass of milk.  If you want to mix it up a bit, you can easily try adding any combination of chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts), raisins, regular chocolate chips and cinnamon.  

butterscotch oatmeal cookies dough on a baking sheet.

Key Ingredients

  • Butter – we like to use unsalted butter for this recipe.
  • Sugar – you will need both granulated sugar and light brown sugar to make these cookies.
  • Eggs – eggs help to hold the batter together, but they also help keep the cookies chewy.
  • Baking Soda – this gives the cookies a little bit of lift and chew.
  • Oats – you’ll want to use old-fashioned rolled oats for these cookies.
  • Butterscotch Chips – this is where the butterscotch flavor comes from (obviously).  You could also substitute half regular chocolate chips if you wanted.

How to Make Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

  1. Cream the butter and sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar and cream at medium speed until light and fluffy, or about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Mix together the cookie dough. Gradually add the egg and vanilla and beat on low until the eggs are fully incorporated. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and whisk.  Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture then mix on low speed until almost completely combined.  Add the oats and butterscotch chips and mix by hand using a rubber spatula until completely incorporated.
  3. Scoop and roll the dough. Scoop into 1 1/4″ balls and place on ungreased baking sheets about 2″ apart.
  4. Bake. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.  Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!
A stack of chocolate chip butterscotch oatmeal cookies.

Recipe Tips

  • Don’t overmix the cookie dough!  This is true of any cookies made with glutinous flour.  Too much mixing will start to overdevelop the gluten and make them tough.
  • Be careful not to bake these too long.  Even an extra minute or two can put cookies over the edge, making them hard and crunchy when they are meant to be soft and chewy.  
  • Likewise, keep in mind that the cookies will continue baking on the hot baking sheet even after you remove them from the oven.  That’s why we suggest letting them cool for just 1 minute on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Using an ice cream scoop to portion your cookie dough is quick and helps ensure they are all the same size.
A cooling rack with old fashioned butterscotch cookies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I freeze oatmeal cookies?

Definitely!  You can either freeze the unbaked, portioned cookie dough or the fully baked and cooled cookies. 
 
When you want to bake the frozen dough, you don’t even need to let it thaw.  Simply transfer the frozen cookie dough to your ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven as directed, adding an extra minute or two to the total time.

What are Oatmeal Scotchies?

Oatmeal Scotchies are just another name for Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies.  They get their name from (you guessed it) the oatmeal and butterscotch!  They are also typically soft, chewy cookies that are very difficult to stop eating.

Can you turn these into Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars?

To make this recipe into bar cookies, gently press the oatmeal and butterscotch dough into an ungreased 9” x 13” baking pan and bake at 325 degrees.  The bake time for these will increase to roughly 30-35 minutes since they are thicker than the regular cookie version.

Once they are baked and cooled completely, you can cut them into whatever sized cookie bars you would like.

4.46 from 11 votes

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies Recipe

Author The Carefree Kitchen
These butterscotch chip oatmeal cookies are loaded with butterscotch chips, brown sugar and oats, making them epically soft, chewy and flavorful.  This is sure to become your new favorite oatmeal cookie recipe.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Yields4 Dozen

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, room tempreture
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 11 ounces butterscotch chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar, and sugar and cream at medium speed until light and fluffy, or about 3-4 minutes.
  • Gradually add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low until the eggs are fully incorporated (you may need to stop and scrape down the sides).
  • In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and whisk. Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture then mix on low speed until almost completely combined. Add the oats and butterscotch chips and mix by hand using a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. Do not overmix.
  • Scoop and roll the dough into 1¼" balls and place on ungreased baking sheets about 2" apart.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Notes

Storing instructions: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cookie | Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 141IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
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These deliciously chewy Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies start with a regular oatmeal cookie base, but don’t stop until they are packed full of buttery, molassesy, sugary butterscotch morsels.  They are sure to become your new favorite oatmeal cookie recipe.

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4.46 from 11 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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6 Comments

  1. In the oven as I text this. I chose to make as bars. Can’t wait!

  2. Mary Schultz says:

    Can you make these cookies as bars instead?

  3. Right next to caramel, butterscotch is an absolute favorite! Adding them to oatmeal to make such a chewy delight is a top score in my book!

  4. Oh yum, I absolutely love the oatmeal and butterscotch combination in these cookies. Will make again, for sure!

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