High Altitude Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies (Oatmeal Scotchies)

An easy, high altitude recipe for thick, soft and chewy oatmeal butterscotch cookies, made with brown butter, nutty pecans, sweet butterscotch chips and a hint of cardamom and cinnamon. These oatmeal scotchies have a delicious balance of sweet, salty, nutty and buttery flavors, and they’ll quickly become a family favorite.

You might also love these high altitude recipes for brown butter oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, cranberry almond oatmeal cookies, and old fashioned iced oatmeal cookies.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

No Mixer Needed. You don’t need a mixer for today’s oatmeal cookie recipe, just a bowl, whisk and spoon to make the cookie dough.

So Thick and Chewy. These are really thick cookies. When you take them out of the oven, you might think they’re under-baked, but trust me, they’ll be perfect as they cool and set. An oatmeal cookie is one that you definitely don’t want to over-bake, or it will end up dry and crunchy as it cools, rather than moist and chewy.

Salty, Sweet, Nutty, Buttery. Oatmeal butterscotch cookies, also known as oatmeal scotchies, take a classic oatmeal cookie made with brown sugar, old fashioned oats and cinnamon, and kick things up a notch with lots of sweet, creamy butterscotch chips. I added even more flavor to mine with browned butter, crunchy chopped pecans and a little cardamom. And a pinch of flaky salt on top makes them even better. They’re sweet and salty, nutty and buttery, and completely addictive.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter. Use unsalted butter so that you can control the saltiness of your cookies. I also begin by browning the butter first, which adds a much richer and deeper flavor to the cookies.
• Sugar. A combination of granulated sugar and light brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture, and a hint of molasses. It also helps caramelize the edges of the cookies for a crisp golden brown edge with chewy centers.
• Butterscotch Syrup. Since I had butterscotch syrup on hand already, I used a few teaspoons in today’s recipe. The syrup adds moisture and helps keep the cookies chewy, as well as adds more butterscotch flavor. If you don’t have butterscotch syrup, you can use light molasses, golden syrup (light treacle) or light corn syrup instead.
• Eggs. The eggs add structure and moisture, keeping the cookies chewy, rather than crumbly.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Flour. Use all-purpose flour to give the cookies structure and strength.
• Oats. You need old fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats or steel cut oats.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness of the butterscotch chips and enhances the flavor of the pecans and brown butter.
• Baking Soda. Leavening agent.
• Spices. Cardamom and cinnamon adds warmth and complements the flavors of the other ingredients.
• Pecans. Use raw, unsalted pecans. You can also make these butterscotch oatmeal cookies without the pecans, if you prefer.
• Butterscotch Chips. The butterscotch chips are creamy, very sweet, and just so yummy in these chewy oatmeal cookies.

Instructions

Make the brown butter.

• In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for about 4-5 minutes, swirling occasionally to see the bottom of the pan, until the butter is very fragrant, and nutty, golden brown solids have formed on the bottom of the pan.
• Pour the brown butter, scraping up all of the browned bits, too, into a medium-sized mixing bowl, and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Make the cookie dough.

• After cooling the brown butter, add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

• Add the butterscotch syrup, eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk vigorously for 1 minute, until lightened in color.

• Separately, whisk together the flour, oats, salt, baking soda, cardamom and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture and the chopped pecans to the butter mixture, use a spoon to stir everything together until moistened, then stir in the butterscotch chips.

• Divide the dough into 20 portions using a cupcake or ice cream scoop with a release lever. Roll the dough into balls, and flatten the balls slightly with the palm of your hand. Cover with plastic wrap and chill the dough balls for 20 minutes.
• While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of your oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or baking paper.

Bake the cookies.

• Place the chilled dough 3 inches apart on the baking sheet (keeping the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you bake the first batch). Bake the cookies for about 9 1/2 – 10 minutes. They should appear set around the edges, underdone in the middle, and very pale. Do not over bake, or they will end up dry.

TIP: For perfectly round cookies, immediately after taking the pan out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter that’s larger than the circumference of the baked cookies, and “scoot” it around the hot cookies. This pulls in the uneven edges and makes beautifully round cookies. You have to do this quickly, before the cookie sets.

• Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool and set completely. If you like, decorate the tops of the hot cookies with a few extra butterscotch chips, and a sprinkling of flaky finishing salt, such as Maldon.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do oatmeal butterscotch cookies stay fresh?

Leftover cookies should be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days.  Since oats are very absorbent, oatmeal cookies tend to dry out faster than other cookies, but a slice of plain sandwich bread in a cookie jar does wonders to keep them soft for days.

Can these cookies be frozen?

Store these cookies in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.

What can I use if I don’t have butterscotch syrup?

If you don’t have butterscotch syrup (which I found at my local World Market), you can use golden syrup (light treacle syrup), light corn syrup or light molasses instead.

Will this recipe work if I don’t live at high altitude?

Please see my site FAQs for information on adjusting recipes for various altitudes.

What salt did you sprinkle on top?

I sprinkled my cookies with flaky Maldon salt.

Can I make these cookies without the pecans?

You can make them with or without the pecans, or you could use almonds or walnuts instead.

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