Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies

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These Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip 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.

Jump to:

• Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies
• What are Oatmeal Scotchies?
• Ingredients in Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies
• How to Make Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies
• How to Make Oatmeal Scotchie Bars
• Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookie Tips
• Can I Freeze Oatmeal Cookies?
• Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies

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 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.  

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.

Ingredients in Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies

• Butter - we like to use unsalted butter for this recipe.
• Brown Sugar - for these cookies we suggest using light brown sugar.
• Sugar - regular granulated sugar.
• Eggs - any kind of large eggs will work.
• Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract tastes best.
• Flour - we use all-purpose flour
• Baking Soda - this gives the cookies a little bit of lift and chew.
• Salt - we like to use sea salt.
• 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 Chip Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. 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.
3. Gradually add the egg and vanilla and beat on low until the eggs are fully incorporated (you may need to stop and scrape down the sides).
4. 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.
5. Scoop and roll the dough into 1 ¼" balls and place on ungreased baking sheets about 2" apart.
6. 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!

How to Make Oatmeal Scotchie 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.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookie 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.

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.

Here are some more cookies with oatmeal that we love:

• Chia Oatmeal Energy Balls
• Nutella No-Bake Cookies
• Monster Cookies
• White Chocolate and Coconut Cookies
• Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

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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.