These thin and Crispy Oat Cookies are rich and buttery, with golden, crisped edges and a delightful crunch with every bite. If you’re a fan of crispy cookies over chewy ones, this easy recipe is going to be a favorite!
This Crispy Oat Cookies recipe is a shining example of “less is more”. With a short ingredients list and a simple method, you’re rewarded with a cookie that is perfectly thin and crispy, rich and buttery. There are no toppings, fillings, mix-ins, or frostings. Believe me, you won’t miss any of those frills!
THis Easy OAT COOKIES Recipe Was A Labor of Love. Cookie Love!
Soft and chewy cookies have always been my favorite. But then I was introduced to a fabulously crunchy, buttery oat cookie at our local Kowalski’s, and I couldn’t get it off my mind. This recipe was truly a labor of patient, enduring love. It took me many tries, not to mention lots of oats and butter, to get this cookie just right. I’m still surprised by how much I love this not soft and chewy cookie!
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
- The simplest pantry ingredients. You likely already have everything you need for this recipe.
- Crispity-crunchy texture, through and through. These are not chewy oatmeal cookies, or even oatmeal cookies with crisp edges and chewy middles. They’re delightfully crisp from edge to center, and even “snap” when you try to bend them.
- Rich buttery flavor. Butter and brown sugar create a lovely caramel-like depth.
- Excellent storage. These cookies keep much better (and longer) at room temperature than your average soft and chewy cookie recipe. They also freeze really well.
I have one more crispy cookie recipe that’s crunchy all the way through — try these awesome Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Here’s a quick look at what goes into these crispy oat cookies. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for exact measurements.
- Oats – After lots of recipe testing, I settled on quick-cooking oats for these cookies. They simply add better texture than thicker old-fashioned oats.
- Flour – All-purpose flour provides the base, along with the oats.
- Baking soda – Promotes browning and helps create the crisp, crunchy texture.
- Salt – Fine sea salt balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavor.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg – Just a little bit of each adds subtle warmth that goes so well with oats, butter, and brown sugar.
- Butter – Soften unsalted butter at room temperature so it mixes smoothly into the cookie dough.
- Brown sugar – Light brown sugar adds sweetness with caramel notes.
- Water – A small amount encourages those beautifully golden, crisp edges.
- Vanilla extract – A generous full tablespoon adds warmth and depth.
Key to Crispy Oat Cookies
I learned a few key things about creating cookies that are extra thin and extra crispy, instead of soft and chewy:
- No eggs means no added moisture and no puffing up while baking. This keeps the cookie thinner, drier, and “snappier”, similar to a classic shortbread cookie.
- Baking soda neutralizes the acid in the brown sugar, which creates a firmer cookie with crispy, crunchy texture. It also encourages more rapid browning.
- Water gives gorgeous golden, crisped edges to the cookie. I saw that water was included on the ingredients label of the cookies at Kowalski’s, so I experimented with it. In the oven, the water’s moisture evaporates quickly, which causes the sugars to crystallize and caramelize completely. This works really, really well, and added the final crispy goodness!
How to Make Crispy Oat Cookies
Here’s a step-by-step look at how these oat cookies come together.
- Prep the oven. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Pulse the oats. Add the oats to a food processor and pulse until they’re about halfway broken up. It should look like a 50/50 mixture of ground oats and visible oat flakes.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Transfer the oats to a mixing bowl and whisk in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Cream the butter and sugar. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Finish the dough. Add the dry oat/flour mixture and mix just until combined. Mix in the water and vanilla just until the dough combines and clumps into a dough. The dough will be thick. Now you’re going to portion the dough, about 1 tablespoon per cookie.
- Shape the cookies. Roll tablespoon-sized portions of dough into balls (about 1 inch in diameter) and place them on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving 2 to 3 inches of space between them.
- Flatten the dough. Use the tines of a fork to flatten each dough ball into a 2-inch circle, creating distinct ridges across the top.
- Bake. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the cookies are deeply golden and smell toasty.
- Cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
BRENDA’S TIPS FOR PERFECT CRISPY COOKIES
- Don’t skip the fork grooves. This adds more rugged surface space, where every single edge adds to the overall excellent crispy texture.
- Wet the fork if needed. If your fork is sticking to the dough when pressing the cookies, you can dip the tines in water and tap off the excess before pressing each cookie. Works like a charm!
- Bake until deeply golden. The browning and golden color give these cookies their signature crunch. If you remove the cookies too early, you won’t get that fantastic crisp texture.
- Use a thin metal spatula. These cookies are very thin. I find it works best to use a very thin spatula to transfer the cookies from the baking sheet to the cooling rack.
- Let them cool completely. The cookies continue crisping as they cool.
EASY VARIATIONS
- For some extra decadence, dip half of each cookie in melted dark chocolate or drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cooled cookies.
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt after baking, when the cookies are fresh out of the oven.
- Add a generous pinch of cardamom instead of nutmeg for a different flavor profile, with subtle floral and citrus notes.
HOW TO STORE
- Room temperature: Store the cooled oat cookies in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Freeze the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
MORE CLASSIC COOKIE RECIPES
Crispy Oat Cookies
Yield: 40 small cookies
These thin, crispy cookies are buttery and golden on the edges, with delightful crunch in every bite. Made with simple pantry ingredients!
Print
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 big pinch nutmeg
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at softened room temperature
- 1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Arrange oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Add oats to a food processor and pulse until halfway broken up. There should still be a lot of noticeable oat flake pieces.
- Transfer pulsed oats to a medium bowl. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
- With a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a powerful hand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl halfway through.
- Add dry oat/flour mixture to creamed butter/sugar mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape down bowl. Add water and vanilla, then mix until just combined and the mixture clumps into a dough.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into balls; they should be about 1" in diameter. Arrange dough balls on bare baking sheet, about 2-3" apart. You should be able to fit 12 dough balls on a 13" x 18" baking sheet.
- Press tines of a long-tined fork into dough ball to flatten into a 2"-diameter, roughly-formed circle. The tines will form distinct ridges in the top of the dough. If fork is sticking to the dough, dip tines into a glass of water and shake off excess water well; repeat this after each press.
- Bake for about 18 minutes, or until browned and toasty-smelling. Remove from oven and let rest/set for 1 minute before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. It's helpful to have a very thin metal spatula for this.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 58kcal Carbohydrates: 9g Protein: 0.5g Fat: 2g Saturated Fat: 1g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g Monounsaturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0.1g Cholesterol: 6mg Sodium: 69mg Potassium: 16mg Fiber: 0.2g Sugar: 5g Vitamin A: 96IU Vitamin C: 0.001mg Calcium: 11mg Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
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