Whenever I eat an oatmeal cookie, I think of my grandma. As a kid, my sister and I visited my paternal grandparents for a week. I have only a couple of memories from that visit. I went to King’s Island (an amusement park near Cincinnati) for the first time. My sister and I weren’t allowed to ride any of the rides, because she was convinced that they were too dangerous. I can laugh about it now. Believe me, I didn’t at the time.
Also, I remember that my grandma baked a batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Because she baked these glorious treats, they were the best cookies I had ever tasted. It didn’t matter to me that I hated raisins. I just picked them out of the cookies and left the raisin carnage on my plate.
My grandma has been gone for many years now. Sometimes, when I miss her, I make a batch of oatmeal cookies.
After dilly-dallying around with countless recipes, this one’s the clear winner. These cookies have a great texture—chewy, hearty, and bit crumbley, yet they’re not dry. The only modification that I made to the original recipe is that I added one teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest, which enhances the butterscotch flavor.
Although this is my favorite Oatmeal Scotchies recipe, my all-time favorite cookie recipe is still my grandma’s recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. From time to time, I’ll bake a batch. I still pick out the raisins.
Oatmeal Scotchies
Adapted from: Nestle
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (not instant)
2 cups butterscotch chips
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. (If you line the sheets with aluminum foil, even with non-stick spray, the cookies still have a tendency to stick.) Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest in a small bowl. Set aside. Next, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Continue to beat the butter mixture and add the flour mixture gradually. Then, stir in the oatmeal and butterscotch chips until they are well combined with the dough. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto your cookie sheets. (Just a head’s up—they will not spread as they bake.) Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Allow the cookies to slightly cool on the baking sheets (2-5 minutes). Then, place the cookies onto wire racks to cool completely.
