Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies (Crispy Edges, Chewy Centers!)
Okay, you have to make these. They're my chewy oatmeal butterscotch cookies, and they taste like the best toffee you've ever had baked into a thick, chewy oatmeal cookie. They're made with browned butter, real homemade butterscotch, and loaded with crunchy hazelnuts and melty butterscotch chips. Crispy edges, fudgy centers, flaky salt on top. Just give the dough a day in the fridge. Trust me, it's worth it.
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories: 306kcal
Equipment
3-quart (3 L) saucepan
Instant read thermometer
Ingredients
To Be Toasted
- 180 g (2 cups) old-fashioned rolled oats (though quick cook oats also work – if using these, toast for a minute or so less)
- 75 g (½ cup) chopped hazelnuts (see tip in card if using whole, raw hazelnuts – fantastic here, just require a bit of extra work)
For the Butterscotch Base
- 227 g (8oz / 2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 200 g (1 cup) packed dark brown sugar
- 4 g (1 tsp) kosher salt
- 60 g (¼ cup) crème fraîche, room temperature – vanilla creme fraiche (by Vermont Creamery) is a nice touch!
- 20 g (1 Tbsp) golden syrup or light corn syrup
- 15 ml (1 Tbsp) blended Scotch whiskey, unpeated (otherwise the cookies will taste smoky) – I’ve also tested this with Rye and they are delish.
- 10 g (2 tsp) vanilla bean paste
For the Dough
- 1 large egg 50g, room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks 32g, room temperature
- 130 g (1 cup + 1 Tbsp) all-purpose flour
- 80 g (scant ⅔ cup) bread flour
- 26 g (3 Tbsp) malted milk powder (I use King Arthur, but any brand you can find locally is a-okay)
- 6 g (1 tsp) baking soda
- 1 g (½ tsp) ground cinnamon
Mix-ins and Finish
- 170 g (1 cup) butterscotch chips (any brand)
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Toast the oats and hazelnuts. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread 180g (2 cups) oats on one rimmed sheet pan with parchment and 75g (½ cup) hazelnuts on another. Toast both for 8 minutes, but stir the oats once halfway through. Cool both completely.
- Brown the butter. Melt 2 sticks (227g) unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling the pan constantly once it stops foaming, 6–8 minutes, until the milk solids at the bottom are deep amber and the butter smells like toasted nuts. Pull it the moment it hits amber; residual heat will carry it further.
- Build the butterscotch. Off the heat, wait 30 seconds, then add 200g (1 cup) dark brown sugar and 4g (1 tsp) kosher salt. Whisk until the sugar is fully moistened. Return the pan to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes. The mixture will look grainy and separated at first, then pull together glossy and smooth. Off the heat, whisk in 60g (¼ cup) crème fraîche (it will bubble and steam hard for a few seconds), followed by 20g (1 Tbsp) golden syrup, 15ml (1 Tbsp) Scotch, and 10g (2 tsp) vanilla paste.
- Cool the base. Let the mixture sit until it reads 85–90°F (29–32°C) on an instant-read thermometer, 20–25 minutes.
- Emulsify. Whisk in the whole egg, then two egg yolks, one at a time, whisking 20–30 seconds after each until the mixture is thick, glossy, and ribbons off the whisk.
- Add the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together 130g (1 cup + 1 Tbsp) all-purpose flour, 80g (scant ⅔ cup) bread flour, 26g (3 Tbsp) milk powder, 6g (1 tsp) baking soda, and 1g (½ tsp) ground cinnamon. Add to the wet mixture and fold with a spatula until only a few dry streaks remain, about 20 strokes.
- Fold in the mix-ins. Add the toasted oats, chopped hazelnuts, and 170g (1 cup) butterscotch chips. Fold until evenly distributed. The dough will look loose and glossy at this stage rather than stiff. This is expected.
- Rest. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate 24–48 hours.
- Scoop and shape. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the upper third. Line two sheet pans with parchment. Scoop the dough into 70g (3 Tbsp) portions, roll smooth, then flatten slightly into pucks about 1 inch (2.5 cm) tall. Arrange 6 per pan, spaced 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart. Let sit at room temperature 15 minutes before baking.
- Bake. Bake for 10-11 minutes, rotating the pan at the 8-minute mark, until the edges are set and browned and the centers still look puffed and visibly underdone. If you want a denser, more rippled cookie, lift the pan 4 inches (10 cm) and drop it flat on the oven rack once at 8 minutes and again at 10.
- Finish. Sprinkle immediately with flaky salt. Rest on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
Tip: If using whole, raw hazelnuts, they’ll need about 2 minutes longer. Bundle the hot hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove most of the skins; a few clinging bits are fine and add color. Coarsely chop the hazelnuts into roughly ¼-inch (6 mm) pieces.
Tip: If you’re in a hurry, you can scrape it into a wide bowl, set it over an ice bath, then stir for 6–8 minutes.
Tip: If you skip this step, the cookies will spread wider and flatter, with a thinner, crisper edge and a noticeably sandier chew where the oats haven't absorbed yet — bake them anyway if you're short on time, but chill the scooped pucks at least 1 hour first, which recovers most of the spread control if none of the flavor.
Tip: Pull them early. The center will collapse and set into chew during the first few minutes on the hot pan. A cookie that looks done in the oven is a cookie that will be crisp by the time it's cool.
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients. Volume measurements for flour, oats, and milk powder vary widely. Using a scale = consistency.
- Make-ahead: The dough keeps, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 48 hours. If longer, I recommend freezing.
- Freeze the dough: Freeze shaped picks on a sheet pan until form, then transfer to a freezer bad for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes. Baked cookies can be frozen for a few months, as well.
- Store baked cookies at room temperature (airtight container) for 4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 234mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 371IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg
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