Thanks to melted butter, these light oatmeal cookies require very little time to prepare and taste amazing. Pack these cookies with your favorite type of dried fruit, nuts and even chocolate. Make these cookies as written or follow our suggestions for making them vegan. Both versions are delicious! Jump into the ultra-light oatmeal cookie recipe Or read on to see our tips for making them.
Melted butter makes oatmeal cookies easy!
We have already shared on the blog one of our favorite oatmeal cookie recipes. They are soft and chewy in the middle and we really like them. However, it takes them a little longer to prepare and a few more dishes to wash from these particularly light cookies. Instead of calling the butter at room temperature that needs to be creamed to sugar, in these light cookies, we use melted butter to make the cookie batter. No need for creaming or mixers!
By the way, if you prefer to use melted coconut oil instead of butter, go for it! Coconut oil is lovely in these cookies. We have provided our tips below in the recipe.
How to make cookies
With this simple recipe for oatmeal cookies, You will have fewer tools to clean, there is no need for time to soften the butter, cooling the cookie dough is optional, and you can freeze the batter for the cookies on another day. These just might be the best oatmeal cookies ever!
- In one bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and salt).
- In a second bowl, whisk together the sugars, egg and yolk, vanilla extract and melted (or browned) butter. (I’m talking about the browned butter option below.)
- Combine the two mixtures, then add the oats, dried fruit and nuts.
You can bake the cookies immediately and as large as you like. For extra large cookies use 3 to 4 tablespoons of dough and for smaller cookies, use about 1/2 cup of cookie dough. I have given baking times suggested in the recipe below.
Try browning the butter for extra flavor
If you have another 5 minutes free, try browning the butter before adding the cookie dough. Since the recipe already requires melted butter, you have the option to brown the butter, which adds a rich nutty flavor to the cookies. It’s optional and the cookies are great when made with regular melted butter, but it’s something you need to think about.
When I have another 5 minutes, I go for browned butter. It makes the cookies even better!
Left some rolled oats left? Try our daily recipe for oats.
Turn these into vegan oatmeal cookies
Another thing I love about this easy recipe is that you can easily adapt to being vegan and vegetarian! The vegan cookies are not so spread out, but they have a wonderful taste and have a chewy texture in the middle. Here’s how to customize the recipe:
- Replace melted vegan butter or coconut oil with the butter required in the recipe. When using coconut oil the batter will look a little greasy, don’t worry, the cookies are baked just fine.
- Replace flax eggs with the whole egg + the egg yolk required in the recipe. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons whipped flaxseed flour with 4 1/2 tablespoons water. Leave the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, then use the eggs instead in our recipe.
Prepare ahead and freeze the cookies
The cookie dough will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to rake them first into cookie dough balls, making them quick and easy to bake! Although these cookies are baked immediately, one advantage of making this batter in advance is that a cool cookie dough makes the baked cookies chewy, thicker and even more flavorful.
You can also freeze the cookie dough.
- Line a pan with baking paper.
- Pull out mounds of cookie dough on the baking tray. You can cram the mounds of cookies, just do not let them touch.
- Freeze until hardened.
- Transfer the frozen mounds of dough to an airtight container or plastic bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to bake one or more cookies, bake the frozen cookies without thawing. This will add another 3 to 5 minutes of baking time.
More of our favorite cookie recipes
Oatmeal cookies are especially light
- PREP
With this easy recipe for oatmeal cookies, you will have fewer tools to clean, there is no need for time to soften the butter, cooling the cookie dough is optional, and you can freeze the batter for cookies another day. These just might be the best oatmeal cookies ever! If you have another five minutes to make these cookies, try browning your butter before adding it to the cookie batter. Brown butter adds a nutty richness to the cookies. (Here’s our guide to browning butter and we provide instructions below.)
Makes 18 cookies
Watch us prepare the recipe
You will have to
1 cup (125 grams) of flour for each purpose
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon thin sea salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, optional
10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar packed
1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (150 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup (70 g) raisins or dried fruit
1/2 cup (60 g) chopped nuts, optional
directions
- Prepare the butter
- Prepare a cookie batter
- Bake cookies
You can use plain melted butter or browned butter for this cookie recipe.
For regular melted butter, melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove, then cool. When they cool to the touch, use the melted butter in the recipe below.
For browned butter (our favorite), melt the butter in a light pan over medium heat. Stir the pan occasionally to make sure the butter has melted evenly. When it melts, the butter will start to froth and the color will change from light yellow to golden and finally to brown. It only takes a minute or two.
When the browned butter exudes a nutty odor and the light golden brown butter, transfer the browned butter to a heatproof bowl to cool. When they cool to the touch, use the browned butter in the recipe below.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, whole egg, yolk, vanilla and melted butter or browned butter.
Transfer to a large rubber spatula, then add the flour mixture in 3 parts, stirring gently until they disappear. Fold in the oats, dried fruit and nuts.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius) and line a pan with baking paper or a silicone mat.
Roll cookie dough into balls (about 1 1/2 tablespoons dough) and place on baking paper. Leave 2 inches between the cookies to allow scattering. (For larger cookies, use 3 to 4 tablespoons of dough and spread them out 3 inches.) Gently press the top of the cookies down to help them spread more evenly in the oven.
Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time and turn once during cooking, for 9 to 15 minutes. The cookies should be a light golden brown color around the edges but look almost wet in the middle. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Adam and Joan’s tips
- Browning Butter: A complete guide is here to help you.
- Coconut Oil Substitute: We love coconut oil in these cookies. For a light coconut flavor, use unrefined coconut oil. For coconut-flavored cookies, use refined coconut oil. After mixing the batter together, set it aside for 20 minutes to give the oats some time to absorb the oil.
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies: Use vegan butter or coconut oil as a substitute for butter and flax eggs as a substitute for eggs. See the article above for exact amounts.
- Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies: The all-purpose gluten-free flour mixture should work beautifully in these cookies.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts listed below are estimates. We used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you’re making this recipe, take a picture and tag it #inspiredtaste – we love seeing your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition per serving: Serving size 1 cookie / Calories 184 / Total fat 9.1 g / Saturated fat 4.5 g / Cholesterol 37.9 mg / sodium 107.3 mg / carbohydrate 22.9 g / Dietary fiber 1.3 g / Total sugars 11.6 g / protein 2.8 g
