Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies

One of my Husbands favorite desserts, besides red velvet cake, are oatmeal cookies. He loves them. This is his favorite recipe that I make for him. If you like oatmeal cookies then you are going to love these. They are so easy to make, so delicious, and they freeze well. You can make up the batter and place them on a lined tray and freeze them and you can have these cookies whenever you like.

The spices in these cookies are so warming and pair so well with the oats. It makes for one delicious cookie.

Let’s get started.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter – Room temp
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Regular Sugar
1/2 C. Sourdough (active or discard)
1 Egg – Room temp
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp. Molasses
1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
14/ Tsp. Nutmeg
1/8 Tsp. Ground Cloves (optional)
1/2 Tsp. Ground Ginger (optional)
1/4 Tsp. Ground Allspice (optional)
1 1/2 C. Rolled Oats
1 1/2 C. All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp. Salt (I use kosher- if you use a finer grind use less)
1 Tsp. Baking Soda

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 375*. Line two baking sheets with either parchment or a sil-pat liner. Set aside for now.
2. In a bowl combine the butter and both sugars. Mix well. You can do this by hand or with a handheld mixer/stand mixer. You want it to just be combined. We are not making a cake so beating until pale is not necessary, but I won’t tell you no. lol
3. Once you get the butter and sugar mixed well then add in the sourdough discard/starter, egg, molasses, and vanilla. Mix until well combined. (See note*)
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, other spices of choice depending on what you want to add, baking soda, salt, and oats. Mix well. If your baking soda is lumpy, you can gently rub in your hand to break up the clumps.
5. Once you have your dry ingredients well mixed you can add them to the butter mixture. Once added fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. There should be no streaks of flour. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to get any stuck flour mixture off the bottom.
6. Now that your mixture is combined, you can scoop the mixture out with either a spoon or 2 tbsp scoop measure. Place the mixture on the lined sheet trays. Make sure to evenly space them apart. About 2 inches should do the trick. You don’t want to make one giant cookie…. I mean… unless you want to…
7. Place them in the oven and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan halfway through so they bake evenly.
8. Once they are done to your liking, remove them from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes. This just helps them hold their shape better. Then you can remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

• With the spices you can add whatever combination you want. I always add cinnamon and then kind of go from there. I will add either ginger and clove, ginger and nutmeg, ginger and all spice, or even 1/2 tsp of cardamom. These cookies are very forgiving in the spice department so just mix and match to your hearts content. Hey, you can add them all if you want. No judgement here because I have certainly done it. You do you.
• If you do not want to make these cookies sourdough, then no problem. Simply skip the sourdough and add 1/4c. flour and about 2 to 3 tbsp of liquid. preferably milk. If your dough seems a bit dry simply add more liquid 1 tbsp at a time. If it seems a bet wet, then add a bit more flour 1 tbsp at a time. You want the mixture to be cookie dough consistency. It should be thick but slightly sticky when touched.
• If you want to add raisins or pecans (or other nuts) to this mixture you can. Add in about 1/2 cup of either raisins or nuts. If you want to add seeds, then drop the amount down to about 1/4 cup or so.
• When the wet ingredients are mixed together, they will seem “broken” that is ok. It will come together when you add the dry ingredients. You didn’t do anything wrong here.
• When baking if you want the cookies to be “softer” you’ll you want to bake them closer to 8 to 10 minutes. If you want them to be a bit crunchier in texture the bake them around 12 to 14 minutes. You can bake them in between, like I do to get the best of both worlds, then bake them around the 10-to-12-minute mark. You judge the consistency of the cookie texture you want and like.
• Be sure to cool them the 5 minutes on the pan before transferring or they will fall apart.
• Store in an airtight container on the counter for about 4 to 5 days. In the fridge for 2 weeks or so. Or you can freeze the unbaked cookie dough until frozen, place in a zip-top freezer bag or container and place back in the freezer for about 6 months or so.