Oatmeal cookies, but make them for grown ups! Bourbon Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies are the star of the show! Soft and chewy, studded with butterscotch chips and pecans and a shot of your favourite bourbon. Honestly, keep a batch in your freezer at all times!
Everyone’s got their own Christmas traditions, especially when it comes to baking. I recently taught a Holiday baking cooking class, and I asked each person to tell me their favourite Christmas treat. A lot of the classics were named; shortbread, butter tarts, and gingerbread. One of my favourites is an oatmeal cookie with butterscotch chips. It’s certainly not a common Christmas recipe, but it’s a classic recipe in my household. I make a double batch, freeze them, and grab a few at a time when the mood strikes.
Updating a Classic
As much as I love my classic recipe, I was ready to change it up a bit. I’ve been seeing lots of desserts out there recently that incorporate bourbon, and I knew I had to jump on the bandwagon. And I’ll tell ya, it’s a good wagon to be on. I will warn you, the dough could probably get you drunk, so watch out! Although, taking a shot or two while baking will also get you tipsy. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything…..
In addition to boozing up these oatmeal cookies, I added some toasted pecans for texture, and obviously for their damn delicious flavour. The pecans work amazingly with the butterscotch chips and bourbon. And for those wondering, the bourbon adds a very notable caramel flavor once baked, and it makes the cookies irresistible. I ate the first whole batch of cookies before the second batch even came out of the oven. These suckers are a good kind of trouble!
Tips for Success
- To keep these cookies soft and chewy, make sure to add cornstarch. This is my secret ingredient to keeping cookies soft and chewy and it works every time.
- Chill the cookie dough. This helps the ingredients hydrate and develop a little extra flavour. Plus, chilling helps prevent them from spreading too much.
- Under bake the cookies. You want them to be just starting to turn golden on the edges. If you over bake them, you’ll get a crispier, dryer cookie, which some people do enjoy.
These soft and chewy Bourbon Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies are forever going to replace my original plain-Jane recipe. I loved the addition of the bourbon so much, that I totally plan on boozing up a few more of my favorite Christmas recipes!
Looking for more cookies?
- White Chocolate Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
- Peppermint Mocha Cookies
- Brownie Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting
Bourbon Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 5 tbsp bourbon such as Jim Beam
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups rolled oats not instant
- 1 cup butterscotch chips such as Chipits
- 1 cup pecans toasted and then coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time. Beat until pale in color. Add vanilla and bourbon and mix until combined.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
- Stir in the oats.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once, and mix until just combined. Add in butterscotch chips and pecans and mix until fully incorporated.
- Scoop 1+1/2 to 2 tbsp of dough for each cookie and roll into balls. I like to chill my dough once they are formed into balls for about 30 minutes before I bake them.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment. Arrange cookies about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooking rack to completely cool.
Nutrition
Nutritional calculation was provided by WP Recipe Maker and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator
Oooh, NIcole, I do hope you’ll swing by to Food on Friday to add this to Christmas Favourites! Cheers from Carole from Carole’s Chatter
What kind of bourbon do you use?
Hi Sarah, I used Jim Beam Bourbon.
I thought these cookies would be a touch dry with the oatmeal but these are far from it. Absolutely delicious! I used Hatch Distillery limited Edition Bourbon. A Wisconsin based distillery and followed the recipe exactly as written. These are soft melt in your mouth buttery cookie. I rarely make cookies and wanted to switch it up over the holidays. So glad I switched it up! My husband’s new favorite.
I’m thrilled to hear this! I’m so glad you and your husband loved them!
Have made these 4 times. Sooo good. Used wild turkey 101. They freeze well too 😉.
Do you know how many calories in each cookie?
Hi Sarah, I’m thrilled to hear you’ve made this recipe and love it! I’ve updated the recipe card to include nutritional information.