Oat Flour Oatmeal Cookies

This oat flour oatmeal cookie idea has been on my mind for years. Like way before my oat flour chocolate chip cookies came into existence. It just seemed so simple to me: if your cookie is already oat based, why wouldn’t you use oat flour in it? 

Think of it like this: if you like oatmeal cookies (or love, we love them) then chances are you like the oat flavor and the particular texture you get from using oats. Using oat flour then just accentuates these qualities. 

Recipe Origins 

I started working on this recipe using this ‘small batch oatmeal cookie’ recipe from the early bbs days. One issue I struggled with a lot in the testing process was the over-spreading of the cookies. Because oat flour has no gluten, the cookies had no structure and were turning into flat pancakes in the oven. In addition to fiddling with the sugar quantities and the leavening, a double lengthy chilling process fixed the issue. 

The first ‘rest’ is at room temperature, this is mainly for the oat flour to hydrate into the wet ingredients of the cookie dough. It’s a short, half an hour, covered and on the counter rest. 

The second ‘rest’ is a long chill period in the fridge, not only will the dough bind together better after the chill, the butter solidifies and the flavor deepens. It’s worth the wait – I promise. 

Recipe Ingredients 

Rolled Oats: old fashioned rolled oats, not quick cooking and not steel cut. 

Oat Flour: store-bought fine ground oats. I have not tested this with homemade oat flour (made by grinding oats in a food processor or blender) so I can’t say if it would work. Generally, store-bought oat flour is finer and made from whole groat oats (not rolled). 

Egg: one whole egg. 

Sugar(s): a mix of brown sugar (which gives flavor, moisture and ensures a chewy texture) and granulated sugar (which helps the cookies spread just enough). 

Salt: fine sea salt. If using table salt, halve the amount. 

Vanilla: pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. 

Cinnamon: ground cinnamon for flavor. 

Butter: unsalted. Cold is fine. I use a low butterfat percentage (about 80%) but if you use something higher (83%) your cookies will spread just a bit more. 

Add Ins: I’ll usually add dried unsweetened cranberries to my oatmeal cookies but raisins will work too. And of course, chocolate chips or chunks of chopped chocolate. 

How to make Oat Flour Oatmeal Cookies

Optional: toast the oats. 

Melt the butter, add the flavorings 

Whisk in the sugars 

Whisk in the egg 

Fold in the oat flour and rolled oats 

Fold in the add-ins 

Cover and chill 

Prep cookie sheets and preheat the oven 

Portion cookie dough, roll in oats 

Bake until golden on the edges, about ten minutes. 

How to Store the Cookies 

To keep them from going stale and dry, store the cookies in an airtight container. They will last about 3 days before they lose their moisture and texture. 

Make Ahead Oat Flour Oatmeal Cookies 

Because this is an overnight chilled dough recipe, you’ll make the cookie dough a day in advance. 

If you’d like to make them earlier, the dough will last about 2 days in the fridge. 

If you want to make the cookies to freeze for a longer ‘make ahead’ period, go through the recipe and follow the instructions up to rolling the cookie dough in oats. Then place them on a plate and flash freeze them for about 10 minutes, until solid. 

Once solid, transfer to a gallon ziploc freezer bag or an airtight freezer-safe container. When you want to bake the cookies, take them out of the freezer and set them on the prepared pan – let them come to room temperature before baking. Baking from frozen will lead to domed cookies where the butter doesn’t have a chance to melt before the cookie dough cooks (the protein structures will form and the sugars will caramelize). 

Oat Flour Oatmeal Cookies Recipe 

Oat Flour Oatmeal Cookies

Oat flour gives these oatmeal cookies more flavor and an even chewier texture. A lengthy chilling period deepens the cookie’s flavor.

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Chill Time: 4 hours hrs

Yields: 16 cookies

4.75 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

• 110g or 1 cups rolled oats
• 113g or ½ cup unsalted butter or salted, if salted reduce the salt added to the recipe
• 150g ¾ cup brown sugar light or dark
• 50g or ¼ cup fine granulated sugar
• ¾ tsp fine sea salt if using table salt, use half the amount
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 180g about 1 cup plus ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons oat flour store-bought, not homemade
• 1 cup dried cranberries or raisins or chopped chocolate
• Additional rolled oats for topping (optional)

Method

• Optional step: set the rolled oats in a large frying pan and cook while stirring until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, melt the butter. Add the sugars, vanilla, cinnamon and salt and whisk until thick. Add the egg and whisk vigorously, for about 2 minutes until shiny.
• Stir in the oat flour and baking soda then add the rolled oats and dried cranberries.
• Cover the bowl to seal and leave at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes (this helps the flour hydrate).
• Transfer the bowl to the fridge for an overnight chill (or at least 4 hours).
• The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 F and line two greased cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared pan, about 1.5-2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. If you like, you can roll the cookies in some additional rolled oats.
• Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden on the edges. If the cookies are a bit funky shaped and you’d like to round them: while they are still hot, place a bowl that’s slightly larger than the cookie over the cookie and move it around in circles (see the video for guidance).
• Store cookies in an airtight container.

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