Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

These thin and crispy oatmeal cookies are absolute perfection! Crispy, buttery, and completely addictive – I dare you to eat just one!

When it comes to cookies, what camp are you in? Soft and puffy or thin and crisp?

I’ll admit, I have never, NEVER (sorry to shout but this is important), met a crispy cookie that I have liked. I just haven’t.

I am a soft and chewy cookie girl all the way. No compromise. It doesn’t matter how delicious the cookie is – if it is crispy, I’m probably not going to waste the calories.

Until now.

These cookies. Oh, these cookies.

They are so utterly delicious, I really don’t know where to start.

You might be wondering why I tried them in the first place since crispy cookies are not my thing.

In the interest of full disclosure it is only because I frequently let my kids pick what treat they want to help me bake and after poring through my cookbooks, my 4-year old who can’t read but must have a good cookie psyche, pointed to these.

In a book without pictures no less. Argh.

I tried to lie to him and tell him he had pointed to Double Chocolate Chewy Morsels but curse his little learning-his-letters brain, he insisted there was no “Duh” sound in the letters he was pointing to and my battle was lost.

So we made these crispy oatmeal cookies.

And even after they exited the oven and cooled, I was not convinced. I didn’t try them. Not me. Not me and my anti-crispy cookie bias.

Even as my kids were literally scarfing them down, I was unmoved.

Until my sweet sons started dipping these crispy oatmeal cookies into their glasses of frothy, cold milk. And then for some reason, the golden halves of cookie dripping in icy milk had me rethinking my staunch refusal and I decided to take one little taste.

Oh my starlit heavens. These are amazing. Somehow I was won over.

The buttery crispness of the cookies with a very, very, very slightly chewy center (probably because I underbake everything) had me eating another and another and another.

I was no longer in control of my own actions. I just couldn’t stop.

Dipped in milk these are unreal. But even on their own, I have to confess that I’ve been converted to thin and crispy.

Not for every cookie in the world, but for these oatmeal cookies? I’ll go thin and crispy any day.

One Year Ago: Healthy Banana Bran Muffins
Two Years Ago: Chicken Cordon Bleu {The Easy Way!}
Three Years Ago: {No-Bake} Oreo Cheesecake

Yield: 2 dozen

Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 13-16 mins

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5

5 / 5 (13 Reviews)

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 14 tablespoons butter (1 3/4 sticks), softened but still slightly cool
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Directions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl (of a stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer), beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together until just combined, about 20 seconds. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until well mixed, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the flour mixture and mix until barely incorporated, 10-20 seconds. It’s ok if there are a few dry spots. Gradually add the oats and mix until well-combined, about 30 seconds to 1 minutes. If needed, give the dough a final stir with a wooden spoon to ensure that no flour pockets remain and that the ingredients are evenly distributed.
4. Scoop out about 2 tablespoon-sized mounds of dough and roll them to form balls. Place the cookies about 2 1/2-inches apart on the baking sheet(s) – about 8 cookies per sheet. They will spread quite a bit. Lightly press each cookie to about 3/4-inch thickness (I found after baking one sheet of these that I didn’t need to press them at all so use your best cookie judgment).
5. Bake 1 sheet of cookies at a time until the cookies are golden brown, edges are crisp, and centers are still very slightly soft, 13 to 16 minutes. Cooling the cookies completely on the baking sheet will yield crispier, more perfect cookies.

Notes:

Don’t substitute quick oats in this recipe; you’ll hate me because the cookies won’t look like the ones in the pictures. It’s old-fashioned rolled oats all the way here.

All images and text ©Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Recipe Source: adapted ever so slightly from The Cook’s Country Cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen (used salted butter instead of unsalted)