Best Oatmeal Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is baking soda or baking powder better for oatmeal cookies? ›

Include both baking powder and baking soda ~ Many oatmeal cookie recipes call for just baking soda in the batter. Adding baking powder, too, gives more rise to the cookies and creates a really nice soft-and-chewy middle. The amount of dough used for each cookie definitely matters in making these the best cookies, too.

Overbaking is the most common cause of hard oatmeal cookies. Cookies continue to cook on the baking sheet even after they're removed from the oven, so try taking them out when they're just lightly golden and still a bit soft in the middle. They'll firm up as they cool, resulting in a chewier texture.

Oatmeal: For the perfect, chewy texture use old-fashioned (or rolled) oats. You can use quick oats, just be aware it will change the texture of the cookies.

The bread/apple trick

Here's a baker's trick you'll find in our new Monster Cookies recipe: Adding a piece of fresh white bread to the storage container will keep cookies from becoming hard or stale.

Baking soda is generally about three times stronger than baking powder, so adjust your recipe accordingly. Baking soda and baking powder can produce cookies with different textures. Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies.

Baking powder: Baking powder can be used to replace baking soda, though not at a 1-to-1 ratio. Because the former is not as strong as the latter, it's important to use three times the amount of baking powder as baking soda. Be aware, a slightly bitter, off-putting taste might result from using that much baking powder.

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.

Baking powder

Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate and acidic salts. The reaction of these two ingredients results in a cookie that is soft and thick, but slightly harder.

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

When it comes to the two types you probably already have in your kitchen—rolled oats and quick oats—you can use them in recipes interchangeably. If you need quick oats, but only have rolled oats, just pulse the rolled oats a few times in the blender to get the textural effect your recipe needs.

Is it better to use quick oats or old fashioned oats for oatmeal cookies? ›

Old fashioned oats provide a chewy, nutty texture and flavor to oatmeal cookies. They are thicker and heartier than quick oats (instant oats). I don't recommend using quick oats because the cookies won't have as much texture and you want a nice and chewy oatmeal cookie that is hearty with lots of texture going on.

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

Chilling the dough also improves the way your cookies taste. "In terms of flavor, you'll notice more depth of flavor from the vanilla and the sugar will taste sweeter," says Haught Brown. "In terms of texture, chilled cookie dough produces a more evenly golden-brown cookie with a crisper edge and chewier center."

Cool down your dough for a tastier, chewier cookie.

There's a few reasons why, but one important part is it gives the butter in your dough a chance to firm up before baking. The colder your dough is before it heads into the oven, the less it will spread during baking, which makes for loftier cookies.

First, we substituted baking powder for baking soda. The baking powder gave the dough more lift, which in turn made the cookies less dense and a bit chewier. Second, we eliminated the cinnamon recommended not only in the Quaker Oats recipe but in lots of other recipes.

In other words, if the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of soda, use 3 teaspoons, or one tablespoon, of baking powder. And if the recipe originally called for both soda and powder, you need to add both the original amount of powder called for, plus the amount you are substituting for the soda.

BAKING SODA: When baking soda is combined with an acid, like the cocoa powder, baking powder, and brown sugar in this recipe, it produces carbon dioxide, which helps the cookie dough rise and eventually spread. It also helps the cookies caramelize, raising the pH level in the dough for peak browning.

Using both of these leavening agents ensures your cookies rise properly and have the texture you're looking for. So, if you're trying out a new cookie recipe requiring both baking ingredients, don't be scared to give it a shot. Just keep in mind that you can't swap one for the other and expect the same results.