This crispy oatmeal cookie is one of my favorite homemade cookies. Think sugar cookie meets oatmeal cookie. There’s nothing better than the crisp edges for this crispy oatmeal cookie recipe, yet the center is still a bit chewy. It is an easy cookie to make and one of my favorite things about it is that it’s a refrigerator cookie. That means that you can mix the cookie dough, chill it, and bake-off cookies as needed. They really are the best oatmeal cookies and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
How to Make Crisp Oatmeal Cookies
It is so easy to make this crispy oatmeal cookie recipe. Start by making sure that you have room temperature butter so that your butter and sugar mixture cream together nicely. I prefer light brown sugar for my cookies, but if you prefer dark brown sugar that’s fine too. Just know that the color of the cookies will be darker too, so be careful that you don’t overbake them.
This recipe calls for 3 cups of oatmeal, so it makes for a very thick dough once you add the flour mixture and oatmeal to the creamed mixture. If you use the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, or an electric mixer, you can mix in the oatmeal on low speed. Don’t over-mix the dough. Mix just until the oatmeal is combined. You may prefer to use a spoon for this step, or at least for the final stir after you scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Ingredients for Oatmeal Cookies
One thing that makes this crispy oatmeal cookie recipe so easy is that it doesn’t have many ingredients. And, they are all simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. I use Quaker Oats Old-Fashioned Oats, but you can use whatever oats you prefer. You can even use quick oats if that’s what you have on-hand.
This recipe has a lot of butter in it, and it really is the key to getting the perfect texture and flavor in this cookie. So, while many times you can substitute shortening for butter, I definitely do not recommend that for this recipe. It changes the taste and texture of the cookie. You certainly won’t get the same crispy and chewy texture that you get by using butter. Also, make sure that you use unsalted butter.
If you want to add a little more texture and fiber to the cookie, you can substitute either whole wheat flour or oat flour, for the all-purpose flour. This crispy oatmeal cookie recipe doesn’t use a lot of flour, so if you choose to use a substitution you may want to start small and use one cup flour and half a cup whole wheat. If you like the texture and taste with that, then next time go 50/50 on the flour blend.
This crispy oatmeal cookie recipe calls for nuts, although I never include them. I prefer the flavor and texture of the cookie without them, but I’m sure they are delicious with whatever nut you like. You could also grind the nuts if you want the flavor, but you don’t want big chunks in the cookies.
Refrigerator Oatmeal Crisps
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Butter (Softened)
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1.5 Cups Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 3 Cups Oats
- 1/2 Cup Nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and sugars together.
- Mix in eggs.
- Add vanilla.
- Add flour and baking powder. Mix just until combined.
- Add oats and nuts (if desired) and stir until combined.
- Using a piece of parchment paper, freezer paper, or waxed paper, place a spoonful of dough onto paper and roll into log.
- Refrigerator dough until firm.
Notes
- You can make the log as thick as you’d like. A thicker log makes bigger cookies.
- Chill the dough logs for at least 30 minutes.
Tips for Making Crispy Oatmeal Cookies
The size of the cookie will depend upon how thick you make the roll of dough. And, how thick you cut the dough. I prefer a smaller cookie, so I divide the dough into 2 equal portions, and I roll those into half-inch logs. You could make thicker 1-inch logs if you want large cookies like you’d get at the bakery. I don’t stress too much about keeping the logs circular, but if you want a perfect circle you can use a paper towel roll, or glasses to keep your logs from getting flat on one side as they rest in the refrigerator.
These crispy oatmeal cookies get their crispness from the granulated white sugar that’s used in the recipe. And, because the cookie dough is refrigerated the cookie will spread when baked. But, the brown sugar, and oatmeal give the cookies their chewy centers.
Don’t overbake these cookies. You want to pull them out of the oven as soon as the cookies start to color around the edges. This will give you crispy edges and chewy centers. If you want more of a crispy interior, cook them a little longer but still don’t overbake. Pull the cookies out of the oven when they still look underbaked and let them cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
I prefer to bake cookies one cookie sheet at a time so that I can place them in the middle position of the oven rack. I bake one sheet while I get a second cookie sheet ready to go with parchment paper and the cookie dough slices. This way I’m not using a hot cookie sheet to bake my 2nd batch. But this recipe does make a lot of cookies, so to speed things up you may prefer using two cookie sheets at a time and rotating them half-way through.
You can also modify these cookies in a number of ways. Add some chocolate chips to the cookie dough before you form the logs. Or, add some M&Ms to the top of the cookies half way through baking. When I make this crispy oatmeal cookie recipe during the holidays, I roll the cookie dough logs in colored sugar before refrigerating. This way they come out with a little extra crisp and color around the edges.
If you opt to include nuts, toast your nuts before adding them to the cookie dough. Toasting the nuts brings out their flavor, and really boosts the flavor they give the cookies.
On top of the great flavor in these cookies, and how easy they are to make, I also love them because they store really well. With most chocolate chip cookies, and other cookies I bake, I typically don’t like the cookies after 1 or 2 days. I find that they usually get too hard, and they just aren’t that enjoyable. But this crispy and chewy oatmeal cookie holds up really well. I store them in an airtight container, and they taste just as good after a few days. Even up to a week I still find them delicious and that is not something I say about many cookie recipes.
Recap of Crispy Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
My recipe card for this cookie calls them refrigerator oatmeal crisps. It really is the perfect name to sum-up this crispy oatmeal cookie recipe. It’s an easy refrigerator cookie that’s perfect for a bake sale, or party when you need to make a lot of cookies and you want them to store well. And they really are easy to make. No cookie scoop, food processor, or fancy equipment necessary. Stick with just a medium bowl and spoon if you want to keep it simple.
I hope you give these cookies a try and love them as much as I do. Making a batch is a great way to enjoy tasty cookies, while also getting the added benefit of oatmeal. Yes, I know it’s a cookie and it’s still not healthy. But, to me the addition of oatmeal makes them a treat that is a little healthier than most. The cookies from this crispy oatmeal cookie recipe pair perfectly with a glass of milk, or a cup of tea. Afternoon tea anyone?
Related Articles: If you like oatmeal cookies but prefer a more traditional thick and chewy cookie, you should check out these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Give this recipe a try and then let me know what you think. Follow me on Pinterest to share your thoughts after trying this crispy oatmeal cookie recipe and let me know, is it your new favorite cookie?
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