These oatmeal roll out cookies are so deliciously chewy and hold their shape well enough for decorating with royal icing or buttercream.

ingredients you’ll need

butter– I always use unsalted butter in my recipes so I can accurately tell you how much salt to add, but the truth is that when I’m just baking personally, I use salted butter and nothing is ever too salty. Use what you have, but make sure that it has come to room temperature, about 66-70 degrees. Butter straight out of the fridge will not cream as well, which will either require too much creaming (creating too aerated of a mixture) or the final dough will have little pebbles of butter that will melt in the oven, causing uneven cookies. Make sure the butter hasn’t softened too much and become melty or squishy.
sugar– I use granulated sugar and brown sugar in this cookie recipe. Granulated sugar gives a nice crisp edge, but brown sugar gives great chewiness and flavor.
flour– Flour provides the structure for this cookie, and this recipe has the perfect amount for the dough to both hold its shape, yet not be too floury and hard.
oats– Some of the flour is replaced with oats in this recipe. They have a nutty flavor and add a chewiness to the texture of the cookie.
egg– An egg will give the cookie structure and tenderness. A whole egg is the simplest choice and works perfectly here.
salt- Diamond Crystal kosher salt is the best for baking, so I recommend grabbing a box if you can. It will last you for a long time if you just use it for baking! If you don’t have this type of salt, swap for regular table salt and use half the amount called for.
vanilla– Vanilla is essential for flavor in this recipe, and I recommend using vanilla bean paste instead of extract if you can. I love to use vanilla bean paste because the flavor is more intense, but vanilla extract is great as well. I love The Spice House, Heilala, and Nielsen-Massey. (Make sure to check your local Costco store for big jars of Nielsen-Massey at an amazing price!)
cinnamon– optional, but also not recommended when using the lime cream cheese frosting
baking powder– gives a lighter texture to the cookie

*You can use my code EMILYLOGGANS for 10% off at The Spice House. I love to get my vanilla, almond extract, salt, and spices from there!

supplies you’ll need

hand mixer or stand mixer– A stand mixer makes this process so incredibly easy, but a hand mixer works just fine, especially if you’re just making a single batch.
spatula– A spatula is essential to scrape down the bowl throughout the process. Without scraping, you’ll end up with an unevenly mixed dough and cookies that are inconsistent.
scale– If there’s one thing I can convince you of, please let it be a kitchen scale. 🙏🏻Using a scale makes everything easier with baking, and it ensures you get the same results every time. Flour is so easy to over-add with volume measurements, and a scale solves that problem.
parchment paper– I always roll my dough between two sheets of pre-cut parchment paper, which is by far the best way to roll out dough.
guided rolling pin– Rolling dough evenly is tricky with a regular rolling pin, but with a guided rolling pin, dough comes out evenly every time. It’s such a time saver and one of my favorite kitchen tools.
baking sheets– I use these cookie sheets for years, and they are amazing.

these oatmeal cookies are delicious with a simple american buttercream

oatmeal cut out cookies

Print Recipe

These oatmeal roll out cookies are so deliciously chewy and hold their shape well enough for decorating with royal icing or buttercream. Try them with lime cream cheese frosting or royal icing.

Author: Emily Loggans
Yield: 2 dozen 1x

Ingredients

Scale

226g unsalted butter (salted is fine), room temp (1 cup | 16 Tbsp)

100g granulated sugar (½ cup)

110g light brown sugar (½ cup, packed)

1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or ½ tsp regular table salt)

1 egg, large

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

270g all purpose flour (2 ¼ cups)

100g old fashioned oats, lightly chopped in a food processor (1 ¼ cups before chopping)

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp baking powder

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a mixing bowl with a hand held mixer, beat the butter on low speed until smooth. Add the sugars and salt and beat on medium-low until combined and slightly lightened, about 1-2 min. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the egg and vanilla and beaut until the mixture is fully combined and emulsified, scraping the bowl well. (Don’t over mix at this stage, or the dough will be too aerated and cause some spreading during baking.)

Add the flour, oats, cinnamon, and baking powder. Mix on low speed until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go.

Roll the dough to ¼″ between two lightly floured sheets of parchment paper, flouring the dough as needed. (This dough can be a bit stickier.) Refrigerate the dough for two hours or overnight. (If you’re in a rush, a quick 20 minute freeze will do the trick.)

When it’s time to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

Dip cutters in flour and cut shapes in the dough, placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze the cut shapes for 5-10 minutes before baking to help prevent spread, if desired.

Bake for 6-8 minutes for smaller shapes and 8-10 minutes for larger shapes or until the center is no longer shiny. Don’t over bake, or you won’t have a chewy cookie.

Cool on the sheet pan for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

For unfrosted cookies, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
The unfrosted, baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container. You can also freeze the unbaked dough for up to two months.
I originally tested this recipe with 250g flour. Using 270g will help the cookies hold their shape really well and spread less for cutting shapes to decorate with royal icing. (recipe here) If you want more chew, and you don’t care about a tiny bit of spread, use 250g for the best texture. If you want even less spreading, you could up the flour to 290g.
To halve this recipe, use one egg yolk.
The cinnamon in the cookie is optional if it doesn’t fit the flavor profile. Alternatively, you could even use more cinnamon. Or add additional warming spices like nutmeg.
Add ½ cup of finely chopped raisins or chocolate chips for an oatmeal raisin or oatmeal chocolate chip cookie vibe.