Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies Recipe

These Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies (also called Oatmeal Scotchies) are soft, chewy, and loaded with butterscotch chips! No chilling required!

If you love oatmeal cookies, check out these Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies and these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies next!

I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m saying it again: I love cookies.

I will take a stack of freshly baked cookies over a slice of cake any day, and I have no problem stealing from my stash and eating them straight out of the freezer.

I have a few requirements for perfect cookies, and these Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies tick all the boxes.

What are perfect Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies:

They have to be soft, but not fluffy.

They have to be chewy and a little crispy around the edges,

They have to not too thick and not too thin.

And most of all? Loaded with butterscotch chips. I loooooove oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips!

Looking for more of the best cookie recipes?

My mom is the expert on this one. She has a few recipes that she’s stuck with over many, many years because they are perfect. I’ve shared quite a few of them here, including:

• Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Mom’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• The Best Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to make other varieties of oatmeal cookies:

You can absolutely feel free to swap out the butterscotch chips and hint of cinnamon for other varieties. Here are a few ideas:

• Leave out the cinnamon if it’s not your thing (I personally love the warmth it adds!).
• Swap out the butterscotch chips for white chocolate chips and add in toasted macadamia nuts or dried cranberries.
• Swap out the butterscotch chips for chocolate (a little boring, yes, but delicious just the same!).
• Swap out the butterscotch chips for raisins (yes, I said it!).

General Tips for Making these Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies:

• Make sure your butter is room temperature. Too cold and you will have thick fluffy cookies (instead of chewy) and too warm and you will have thin cookies that spread all over the pan.
• Use large, rolled oats for the best chewy texture in these Oatmeal Scotchies.
• Don’t skip the salt. Yes, it’s a tiny amount, and I often used to wonder about the little bit of salt always added to baked goods. The salt balances the sweet out perfectly and takes them from good to totally irresistible.
• Make them your way: if you like a thinner cookie, feel free to press the cookie dough balls down slightly (or a lot) before baking. If you like thicker cookies, feel free to just leave them in balls. I recommend doing one test bake, so you can see how the cookies will bake up to get your desired thickness as oatmeal cookies bake differently than other kinds.

How long to bake oatmeal cookies:

As with all cookies, you really want to find that sweet spot for bake time.

If you bake too long, you will end up with dry, round Oatmeal Scotchies that you need to chase with a huge glass of milk (not that I ever recommend cookies without milk 😉 ).

If you bake too little, you will end up with raw centers and cookies that you can’t scrape off the pan because they’re too flimsy.

I baked these cookies about 9 minutes at 350, just until they are golden around the edges and maybe just a touch glossy in the center (I mean, the tiniest bit!).

The cookies will continue to set somewhat on the hot pans out of the oven, so a little underbaked coming out of the oven is actually okay.

Keep in mind that there can’t really be a set rule as far as bake time goes, because as you open and close the oven door the temperature will fluctuate slightly, the type of pans you use will factor in, and it’s important to do a visual check for cookie perfection.

How to freeze Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies:

Having a freezer stash of homemade cookies is one of my greatest pleasures. They’re perfect for quickly adding to lunches, picnics, dessert trays, or for those days you have unexpected company drop by right around coffee break 😉

The best part is that cookies freeze perfectly, and for quite some time, so you never have to worry about a loss of quality (only quantity!).

To freeze these Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies, place in a large freezer bag or freezer-safe container and seal completely. You want to ensure a tight seal to prevent freezer burn.

They are fantastic eaten right out of the freezer (just don’t ask me how I know….), but if you want to thaw them there are a few different ways:

• You can simply place them on a plate and let sit at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes.
• You can place them on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 20-30 seconds or until thawed.
• If you really want people to think you’ve overdone yourself, you can place them on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet in the oven at 225 degrees F for 5-8 minutes for freshly baked cookie flavor.