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!
I am a soft and chewy cookie fan all the way, but there is something about these thin and crispy oatmeal cookies that is absolutely irresistible.
They are so classic and so delicious!
Key to a Crispy Cookie
The cookie dough for these oatmeal cookies is very straightforward. Nothing fancy about it!
The reason the cookies end up being thin and crispy instead of soft and chewy are due to a couple of reasons:
- higher butter to flour (and eggs) ratio
- more granulated sugar, less brown sugar
- old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats
- slightly longer baking time (don’t underbake!)
The dough can be mixed in a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer.
The key is to not over mix the dough once the dry ingredients are added.
Old-fashioned Oats vs Quick Oats
The recipe for these thin and crispy oatmeal cookies calls for old-fashioned rolled oats.
Subbing in quick oats will change the texture and outcome of the cookies. They’ll likely be thicker and puffier instead of thin and crispy. (It also doesn’t work to sub in steel cut oats.)
It’s important to use old-fashioned rolled oats for the best outcome!
A Tried-and-True Favorite
It goes without saying that these delightful oatmeal cookies are delicious dipped in a glass of cold milk. YUM!
This recipe has over 1,000 5-star reviews for a reason! So many of you have fallen in love with them, too.
Grace says: This is my all time favorite recipe I’ve used for years, after trying this you won’t be able to go back to any other oatmeal cookie recipe and all other oatmeal cookies will taste inferior. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
MM says: Amazing cookies! I’m afraid to make them again because I ate 18 cookies in 4 days. They’d be good with chocolate chips in them too. Maybe I’ll try it when I get better at sharing… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sara says: OK. I didn’t think these would be as good as they are. I’ve had oodles and oodles of oatmeal cookies and these are now our favorite. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Linda says: These are wonderful..Buttery, chewy and crisp. I’m eating them with a glass of cold milk. I baked them 16 min. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FAQs for Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies
Yes, the dough freezes great!
I use salted butter.
I usually store them in a covered container but if you want them to stay extra crispy, you can try storing them uncovered.
In this recipe, you definitely want to use old-fashioned rolled oats. If not, the cookies won’t spread the same and the texture could be completely off.
Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (142 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons (198 g) butter (I use salted), softened but still slightly cool
- 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (53 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (250 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
Instructions
- 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.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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
Recipe Source: adapted ever so slightly from The Cook’s Country Cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen (used salted butter instead of unsalted)
Recipe originally published June 2013; updated November 2022 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Unbelievably tasty cookie! Thank you so much. I made it exactly as written – except did mix in mini chocolate chips and Heath bits to half of the batch. I prefer them exactly as you’ve presented here no additional ingredients. Crispy and delicious! Bravo!
These are the very best cookies I have ever made and have made tons in 84 years. I now make them every two weeks . My son loves them to. Thank you for the recipe. Some times I put pecans and coconut in them.
Sounds delicious, Barbara! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
It worked well, but they were a little too sweet for me.
Made this exactly as the recipe indicated. They were indeed the start of a cookie war. Perfect oatmeal cookie and is now my favorite. I’m about to make a double batch, and am going to try adding pomegranate (per request) ….we will see how this goes. Thank you for the perfect recipe.
Made the recipe. My hand mixer had a hard time getting through the dough. I ended up cutting in the oats with a spatula. A few of the cookies crumbled when removing from the cookie sheet. I’m not quite sure if the cooking time is really long enough to even partially cook the oats. Not sure I’ll make them again.
I didn’t press mine and they did not change shape at all – they grew slightly but came out in the same round scoop shape that I put them in as. I did use quick oats, which I only realized afterwards, could that be the problem?
Yes, using quick oats will lend a different texture to the cookie and they may not flatten as much.
Such an easy recipe, which I followed as written but added grated lemon rind to the batter at the very end for a bit of zest. The cookies were DELICIOUS! and I will DEFINITELY be making these cookies again!
My son, grandson and husband would all fight over these cookies and stash them and hide them from one another. Any recipe capable of causing a cookie war in a family is a keeper. Just be sure to double the recipe
Love this recipe and has become a family favourite. They’re really easy yo make and always taste great! Mine don’t spread in the oven so I have to pre-flatten them but that’s not an issue especially when they taste so good!
Can you make these, cool and then freeze them for later. I’ve heard other types of cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. They are so good I don’t suppose they made it past the second day.
Yes, these cookies freeze great!
While the flavour of these cookies is lovely, mine, like some other commenters, came out SUPER flat, even after refrigerating the dough. Not a keeper for me. Sorry.
Hi Rose, these cookies are meant to be thin and crispy – if you want a thicker cookie, you can try adding a bit more flour to the recipe.
Thanks Mel – I was hoping for thin and crispy, but what I got was like a lace cookie – ultra thin – not like yours in the photos at all.
Appreciate you trying to problem solve though, thanks!
These are my go-to cookies, always easy to make and popular. I cut back on the white sugar, add toasted walnuts, and rum-soaked dried cherries. Great recipe!
Can I add peanut butter to this recipe and how much?
I haven’t tried that – but you could experiment! Generally adding peanut butter to cookies means the cookies won’t spread quite as much.
I have made this recipe for quite a while and these are my most requested cookies. I like to grind a little coarse salt on top prior to baking to create a wonderful sweet/salty treat.
Oh, my word!
These were absolutely the best oatmeal cookies I have ever tasted. The recipe was so easy, and they turned out beautifully!
I had to subscribe after this. 😁
Yes I made it many times and Love Them ❣️
I have been searching for the perfect crisp, oatmeal cookie recipe. This is definetly it! I added 1.5 cups of mini milk chocolate chips and they were just perfect.
I’m always skeptical when I see a recipe with so many good reviews but I can’t NOT write one now. These are the best cookies I’ve ever had. I accidentally make the dough scoops too big and I ended up with gigantic cookies but I’m glad it happened. I don’t regret anything.
Everyone loved these cookies. I have to double the batch this next time. I put raisins in a few. turned out perfect
Love these cookies! They turned out perfectly!!
Hi there! I have a question… In every recipe I’ve used, 1 cup of flour has equaled 120 grams. I prefer using weight measurements when baking, but I measured out 1 cup of flour and it indeed weighed in at 120 grams. Not sure now if I should just go ahead and use 1 cup of flour or the 142 grams per the recipe. Help?
I test all my recipes using 140-142 grams of flour per cup, so I recommend using the weights given in the recipes vs converting them to weight measures you’ve used in other recipes.
Sooooo delicious! Buttery and crispy. I used 1/2 cup gluten free flour and 1/2 cup regular flour. Tasted great!
Best recipe yet, i have made alot of oatmeal cookies. Finally done looking this one gave me the great taste and crispness i was looking for. Thanks Mel.
I don’t know what I did wrong dough was to watery but they tasted good just didn’t look good
WOW! These are like eating crispy, sweet butter! I can’t believe how delicious they are, the perfect little treat. I followed your recipe exactly, used salted Kerrygold butter, and I did pat down the dough balls a little before I baked them. I sure am glad I go to work tomorrow because I’m going to take these cookies to the office, if I keep them I will literally eat them all!
I am looking forward to making these cookies but I believe there was a typo error of the butter; 14 Tablespoons of butter??
Hi Debra, there isn’t a typo. The recipe calls for 14 tablespoons (7 ounces) of butter.
i am a diabetic so i need to cut out as much sugar as possible. i’d like your thoughts on using splenda. thank you for responding.
I haven’t used splenda in these cookies, but others have with good results, I believe (if you scroll through the comments you can see their experience).
So made these tonight,, By far the Best Oatmeal cookie Ever,,, I added walnuts. Yum,, Next time I will add chocolate chips,,,❤️❤️❤️
Hi! I absolutely love this recipe but am wondering if browned butter thats been solidified would also work? Have you tried?
I haven’t, but it should work as long as the butter is soft.
I’ve come back again to thank you for this amazing recipe. I like a cookie with my coffee in the morning and this is in constant rotation. The only change I make is to add a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon because I like it. The recipe is so flexible – pecans, raisins, chocolate chips – it all works. Sometimes I make them with a large scoop, sometimes small and I don’t flatten them. Pure cookie love. Thanks so much!!!
Perfect crispy oatmeal cookies. Used a scale . . .
I absolutely love this recipe, its perfect.
Maybe one of my favorite cookie recipes on the internet.
I use GF flour, maple sugar (not syrup!) instead of white, and coconut sugar insted of brown, everything else is the same. And i use scale to measure in grams, much more precise.
After scooping with ice cream scoop, i press them down with a bottom of a metal cup measurer ( i heat it up in hot water each time to prevent sticking to the dough), until they are about 1/4in thick, spread them out far apart, and bake them in convection oven at 350 for about 11 min, rotating half way through.
They come out absolutely stunning! This is 10/10 recipe
Very nice taste and perfectly thin and crispy. This recipe will be a favourite to bake again. Thanks for sharing it.