Steel Cut Oatmeal Cookies
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These steel cut oatmeal cookies are such a delicious snack! They’re soft and crunchy at the same time, and the flavor is amazing.
Oatmeal cookies are a classic dessert that everyone seems to love. I try to incorporate whole grains into my recipes whenever possible, and oats are a natural choice for a cookie recipe.
I often use rolled oats to make oatmeal cookies, but I’ve discovered that steel cut oatmeal cookies are delicious as well. With their combination of crunchiness and chewiness, these cookies are arguably more delicious than the rolled oat version.
How to Make Steel Cut Oatmeal Cookies
Step One: Mix the dry ingredients
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Step Two: Mix the wet ingredients
Using the large bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
Step Three: Combine the wet and dry ingredients
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
Step Four: Add the mix-ins
Once the batter is smooth, add the steel cut oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Stir to combine evenly.
Step Five: Bake the cookies
Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to portion out the dough onto a cookie sheet (9 cookies per sheet). Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are set and they’re beginning to turn brown.
Steel Cut Oat Cookies Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
When making cookies with steel cut oats, you have two options. You can use traditional Irish oatmeal, or you can use the quick-cooking variety. For an easy batch of cookies, use raw “instant” or “quick-cooking” steel cut oats. These are broken down into smaller pieces than traditional Irish oats, so they give the cookies a nice texture.
If you’re using traditional steel cut oats to make these steel cut oatmeal cookies, you’ll want to cook them in a pot first, just like when you’re making oatmeal. They’re a bit too hard when baked into a cookie in their raw form, which leads to a lot of extra chewing. To use cooked oats, simply substitute one cup of cooked oatmeal for the instant raw oats listed in this recipe, and add an extra half cup of flour (or more as needed to achieve a typical cookie dough consistency).
For the chocolate chips, I like Enjoy Life allergy-friendly chocolate. These chips come in a variety of sizes. The regular size and mini chips both work well in this recipe.
Instead of chocolate chips, you can add raisins and a bit of ground cinnamon to these steel cut oat cookies for a more traditional flavor. Diced almonds can be used in place of the walnuts if desired.
Whether you make them with quick-cooking or traditional oats, these cookies have a delicious flavor and texture.
The cookie on the left was baked with pre-cooked traditional steel cut oats. On the right, the darker brown cookie was baked using raw quick-cooking steel cut oats. The textures and appearance are a bit different, but both versions taste wonderful.
Try my vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies for another delicious dessert that everyone loves.
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour or all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups instant steel cut oats* (uncooked)
- 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup diced walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using the large bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture, and mix to combine. Then stir in the quick cooking oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts.
- Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to portion out the dough onto a cookie sheet (9 cookies per sheet). Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are set and they’re beginning to turn brown.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for later.
Notes
Approximate Nutrition Info
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Steel Cut Oats Cookies Price Breakdown
This recipe costs a total of $10.95 to make, or $.27 per cookie. Try these steel cut oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for a delicious, healthy treat.
This post was originally published in 2018, and it was updated in 2023.
I’m just baking these now. I had to make a couple of changes, but they kind of taste like muffin and not a cookie. I used half the maple syrup (all I had left), used regular flour, and cooked steel cut oats oatmeal since I don’t but “quick”. I make my oatmeal with nutmeg, cinnamon and Maple syrup, so I thought the cookie recipe would be fine as is… But the batter tasted bland, so added chopped dried cherries, a little cinnamon, dark chocolate and walnuts. Maybe it’s too much egg? But the texture is like a quick bread and has less flavor. Its not a “cookie”, but more like a muffin top. I’m sure we will eat them up. I’m not sure if I had used the correct amount of maple syrup or other kinds of flour would have made these more delicious. Maybe butter instead of coconut oil? Its worth trying, but I do suggest more vanilla and spice… Maybe half butter, half coconut oil?
Making those changes (especially cutting the maple syrup in half) will definitely change the texture and flavor of these cookies quite a bit. Hopefully you enjoyed this adapted version once they came out of the oven.
Fantastic recipe!!!
Made it many times.
Thank you so much.
Regards Madlen
Made this evening with leftover steel cut oats but I had this morning. They were exactly as described and a healthy option for breakfast. Thank you for sharing ?
Does the coconut oil give it any coconut flavor? I’m not a huge fan of coconut. What other varieties of oils could I use as a substitute?
I don’t notice a coconut flavor in these. If you want, you could use softened butter (or vegan butter substitute) instead.
Great recipe! I had to substitute a few of the ingredients, but they still turned out great. I added an extra 1/2 cup of flour and really liked the texture of them when they were done. Mine had more of a cakey texture than cookie texture, but my family loved them. I will definitely be making these again.
The batter is looking VERY runny even after adding the extra 1/2 cup of flour.
Should I go ahead and make them as is?
Can you form the dough into cookie shapes? If not, add more flour a tablespoon at a time until you can shape the cookies. You could also refrigerate the dough for a bit to help it get firm. Let me know how it goes.
These were absolutely amazing cookies! I was looking for a healthy grab and go breakfast alternative to poptarts. (Yes, I’m still a kid at heart) I followed the recipe as it was except I toasted the walnuts (my personal choice…love toasted nuts) and toasted coconut in addition to both dark chocolate chips and semi sweet chocolate chips. I subbed Honey for the maple syrup because that’s what I had on hand. They were super easy and so yummy! Thanks for sharing. (Even the batch I forgot to set the timer for turned out delicious. Definitely will be making these again.
Just found this recipe looking for a use for leftover steel cut oats and it looks great. Any suggestions for what to use instead of coconut oil? I’m allergic to coconut.
Amanda, softened butter would be a good substitute.
what a healthy recipe. I am vegan and will try flax eggs and sugar-free lakanto maple syrup. Question: after cooking traditional steel cut oats – do you discard residual liquid? I need to add 4 cups water to 1 cup oats and usually after cooking there is a gel-like or watery liquid with the cooked oats.
There’s no need to discard the liquid with the cooked oats. Just stir the liquid into the oats, then measure them for the recipe. Enjoy!
What can I use as a substitute for the maple syrup?
Thanks
You can substitute honey for the pure maple syrup, or else you could try regular sugar.