There was a bag of butterscotch chips in the pantry that kept getting passed over. Not ignored exactly…it’s just hasn’t been the right moment.

Butterscotch is one of those flavors I have to be in the mood for. Apparently, today is that day. Today is also the day I felt like an old-fashioned oatmeal cookie. So, me being me, I decided I’d combine the two and make some butterscotch oatmeal cookies (I mean why not, right?).

These are the kind of cookies you just throw together. Yes, they’re really that simple. Mix, scoop, bake, and 15 minutes later, there’s a tray of warm, chewy, melty, butterscotch chip cookies on the counter waiting for you.

Why You’ll Love These Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

These are the kind of cookies that are different (in a really good way). The oats give them a thick, hearty texture, so they feel like a letimate oatmeal cookie. They’re quick to mix up and they turn out soft and chewy every time. The fact that they’re made with simple pantry ingredients doesn’t hurt either.

And if you like this combination, my peanut butter oatmeal butterscotch cookies are a really good next step. It’s the same idea, just a little richer and way more indulgent.

Ingredient Notes

• Use room temperature unsalted butter for these cookies. Room temperature butter is soft but not greasy. If it’s too warm, the cookies will spread like crazy.
• You can use light or dark brown sugar, but I find that dark brown sugar is my go-to because it gives the cookies a deeper, slightly richer flavor and more chew.
• Only use old-fashioned rolled oats. They give the cookies structure and that classic oatmeal texture. Quick-cooking oats are too small to make good oatmeal cookies.
• Butterscotch chips are sweet. Like really sweet, so don’t go overboard. Around 1/2 to 3/4 cup seems to be the “sweet spot” (pun in tended, haha).
• The cinnamon is important for the overall flavor and balance of these cookies. They need a little warmth, so don’t skip it.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt and set it aside.
3. In a larger bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing for a minute or so, just until combined.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined (it’s totally okay if some flour is still visible because we’re going to mix them again when we add the butterscotch chips and the oats).
6. Gently fold in the rolled oats and butterscotch chips gently using a rubber spatula or large wooden spoon (my utensil of choice).
7. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spaced a few inches apart to allow for some spreading.
8. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The centers should still be soft and the cookies will be slightly puffed up (they’ll settle as they cool).
9. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Don’t overmix the dough. After adding the dry ingredients to the wet, mix until just combined. Overmixing can make the cookies too dense or tough and we want soft, chewy cookies.
• These cookies bake up misshapen because they have a lot of chips and do a decent amount of spreading. You’ll need to gently reshape them after baking to make them round.
• Letting the dough sit for 20–30 minutes before baking helps the oats hydrate a bit and gives you thicker, chewier cookies, but this step is completely optional (99% of the time I don’t do this, full transparency here).
• The cookies will be very soft and fragile when they first come out of the oven (this is totally normal and what we’re going for). After reshaping them, let them sit on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes to set up before moving them to cool completely.

Storage Recommendations

Store these butterscotch oatmeal cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4–5 days. They’ll stay soft and chewy as long as they’re well covered. Add a slice of bread to the container to help keep the cookies soft, it works like magic.

You can freeze the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies at room temperature before eating. You can also scoop the dough into balls and freeze and bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 extra minutes to the bake time.