Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
Get ready to fall in love with these bakery-style sourdough oatmeal cookies! They are super simple to make and packed with flavor from oats and a touch of tangy sourdough. Our recipe creates a cookie that is crispy on the outside in less than 30 minutes.
Why you will love our sourdough oatmeal cookies
- It is a discard recipe, so you can make it in one day!
- You can ferment the dough overnight or pop them in the oven once your dough is ready!
- The oats add a ton of nutrients to your snack.
- Sourdough oatmeal cookies are very versatile. To perfect the recipe, you can add your favorite fillings, such as raisins or chocolate, and use different spices.
Ingredient notes
Sourdough discard: Discard is the part of your starter you throw away when you feed it, but I like to use it to make cookies and muffins. It also adds many of the benefits of baking with sourdough and a mild tang to your cookies. If you have a whole wheat sourdough starter, that’s even better! Feel free to use that to make these sourdough oat cookies.
Flour: To make these cookies, you want to use a mixture of bread flour and oat flour. The oat flour adds a nutty flavor and extra fiber to the cookies, but if you don’t have any, you can make these with 100% bread flour or use whole wheat flour instead.
Oats: Rolled oats give your cookies their chewy texture. You don’t have to break them up in a blender because they will soften while you bake your cookies in the oven. While you can use instant oats, keep in mind that your cookies may turn out slightly drier.
Brown sugar: For the best flavor, especially if you love fall flavors, you want to use brown sugar. You can choose either dark brown or light brown sugar. The molasses in brown sugar adds a subtle caramel flavor that pairs perfectly with the nutty oats.
Butter: As always, when you make one of our recipes, you want to use unsalted butter. This gives you more control over your salt intake and the flavor of your cookies. If you only have salted butter, please omit the salt in the recipe, as your cookies may become too salty.
Variations
Chocolate: Add 1/2 cup of your favorite chocolate chips to the dough for delicious sourdough chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.
Nuts: Add 1/4 cup of chopped nuts to the dough for a crunchier texture in your cookies. I like to use chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts. If you like the combination of chocolate and nuts or Nutella, you can add 1/4 cup chopped nuts and 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips.
Dried fruit: Raisins are a classic filling for oatmeal cookies. You can add them directly to the dry ingredients, but if you prefer softer raisins, you can soak them in warm water or orange juice for about 30 minutes. Other dried fruits, such as apricots, dates, and prunes, also make great additions to these cookies.
Pumpkin spice: If you love fall, you can replace the cinnamon with one tablespoon of pumpkin spice!
Apple pie: You can’t go wrong with the combination of apples and oats. Add 1/4 cup of apple, three tablespoons of raisins, and one tablespoon to the dough for cookies that taste just like apple pie!
How to make sourdough oatmeal cookies
To make our sourdough oatmeal cookies, you start by combining the dry ingredients before you add the wet ingredients. This prevents overmixing the dough.
Next, mix in the wet ingredients. It is important that you stop mixing when everything is just combined to get the best results.
To shape your sourdough oatmeal cookies, use two spoons to scoop the dough out of your bowl. Since the dough is slightly sticky, it’s best to dip your spoons in cold water. This will make this step a lot easier. Bake your cookies for about 15-17 minutes and let them cool for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Our tips for the best sourdough oatmeal cookies
- Use an ice cream scoop to form your cookies.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough. You can bake the cookies immediately after making the dough, but if you don’t chill it first, the butter will be warmer, causing your sourdough oatmeal cookies to spread more while baking.
- Let the cookies cool before diving in. I know this can be tough, especially when your whole house smells like freshly baked oatmeal cookies, but they are still soft when they come out of the oven.
Frequently asked questions
Sure! If you’re planning on a long fermentation, you can let the dough chill in the fridge overnight. Since the butter will set, I prefer to form the cookies before placing the dough in the fridge.
Storage
Once your sourdough oatmeal cookies have cooled completely, you can store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week. In the freezer, they will last for about six months. I like to wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap before placing them in the freezer. This makes it super easy to grab a quick snack to take with you. Let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
More sourdough oatmeal recipes to try next
Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 stick butter unsalted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/5 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C).
- In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients until completely combined.
- Add the wet ingredients and stir them in until just combined. It is important not to overmix the dough. The dough should be a little sticky.
- Scoop small heaps of dough on a lined baking tray using two spoons. To prevent the dough from sticking to your spoons, you can dip them in cold water.
- Place your tray in the center of the oven and bake your cookies for 15-17 minutes or until golden.
- Let the cookies cool on your tray for at least ten minutes. They are still a soft when they come uot of the oven but they will crisp up when they cool.
