Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies | Cookies and Cups

These soft and chewy oatmeal butterscotch cookies are filled with tender oats, decadent butterscotch morsels, and plenty of cinnamon spice in every bite!

Why You’ll Love These Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Buttery and spiced oatmeal butterscotch cookies are crispy at the edges and soft in the centers. They’re everything you want in a perfect oatmeal cookie. With one major bonus: butterscotch chips! These oatmeal butterscotch cookies are the first to disappear at bake sales, potlucks, and holidays. Here’s why:

• Irresistible texture. Who can resist soft oatmeal cookies packed with chewy oats and spice, just like grandma used to make?  These are also called oatmeal scotchies, and they’re an easy old-fashioned oatmeal cookie recipe with amazing texture. 
• Filled with butterscotch. These butterscotch cookies are lightly spiced with cinnamon, irresistibly buttery, and loaded with butterscotch morsels that melt away with every bite.
• Make-ahead-friendly cookie dough. You don’t need any fancy ingredients to make perfect oatmeal butterscotch cookies. The cookie dough is quick and easy and freezes beautifully, and the baked cookies stay nice and soft for days.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You need only a few baking staples to make classic oatmeal scotchies from scratch. Check out some notes on the important ingredients below, and don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card for the full amounts and recipe instructions.

• Butter – Brought to room temperature.
• Sugar – Both dark brown sugar and white sugar. I use slightly more brown sugar than white sugar, for extra flavor and softer cookies. It’s the same ratio that I use in my chewy chocolate chip cookies.
• Eggs
• Vanilla – Make sure to use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
• Salt
• Cinnamon – For a touch of spice. You can also use ground nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice.
• Baking Soda
• Flour
• Oats – Extra chewy oatmeal cookies call for old-fashioned rolled oats (see below). 
• Butterscotch Morsels – You’ll find butterscotch chips in the baking aisle alongside the chocolate chips.

Old Fashioned Oats vs. Quick Cooking Oats

The best oats for oatmeal cookies are old-fashioned oats, also called rolled oats. Quick-cooking oats will also work. The main difference between the two is texture: old-fashioned oats are whole oats, while quick-cooking oats have been chopped in half, to make them cook quicker (go figure!). The finer texture will yield a softer, less chunky oatmeal cookie. If you love your oatmeal cookies hearty and chewy, however, rolled oats are the way to go.

How to Make Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

The base for this oatmeal butterscotch cookie recipe is the same one I use for my iced oatmeal cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies. It’s a quick and buttery, no-chill cookie dough that comes together in a few easy steps: 

• Make the cookie dough. First, cream together the butter and both sugars. Next, beat in the eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Slowly mix in the flour and oats.

• Add butterscotch. Finally, fold in the butterscotch morsels.
• Portion the cookie dough. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet. Leave a bit of extra room, about 3 inches, between each cookie to account for spreading.

• Bake. Bake the cookies at 375ºF for 12-13 minutes, then leave them to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving the cookies to a wire rack.

To Chill, Or Not to Chill

Chilling the dough for this recipe isn’t necessary. However, chilling will deepen the flavors, and it does come in handy if you’re preparing the dough ahead of time. If you refrigerate the dough, keep it airtight and let it come to room temperature again before baking.

Tips for Success

Here are my top tips for making the best chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with creamy butterscotch morsels:

• Make sure to use room-temperature butter. This means softened, but cool to the touch. Butter that’s too warm will cause the cookies to over-spread in the oven.
• Check that your baking soda is fresh. If you sprinkle a bit into a bowl of vinegar, it should bubble right away. Baking soda that’s old or expired will be flat (and so will your cookies!).
• Use a cookie scoop. It makes portioning the cookie dough way easier, and your cookies will be uniform in size.
• Line the baking sheets. Use parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat. This helps to keep the bottoms of the oatmeal cookies from browning too much and also controls spreading.
• Don’t overbake. Overdone oatmeal cookies will be hard, dry, and not soft and chewy. The cookies should look slightly underdone when they come out of the oven, and they’ll continue to set up as they rest on the baking sheet afterward.
• Add chocolate chips. In addition to butterscotch morsels, add milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate chips. Also, try my classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! 

Can I Freeze the Cookie Dough?

Yes! If you’d like to prepare your oatmeal butterscotch cookie dough ahead of time, it freezes well. The best way to freeze cookie dough is to portion it into balls and pre-freeze the dough on a baking sheet. Once solid, transfer the frozen cookie dough to a freezer bag. 

Bake the cookie dough balls straight from the freezer, following the recipe directions. Remember to add an extra minute or two to the baking time.

How to Store Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

• To Store. Store these oatmeal butterscotch cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature. 
• Freeze. Baked cookies can be kept frozen for up to 2 months. Make sure to cool them to room temperature first and store them in a freezer-safe container or sealable bag. Thaw the cookies at room temperature before serving.

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