When I was in college, a lady I used to work for introduced me to steel cut oats. Part of my job was to always pick up a brand called McCann’s, which was more expensive than regular oats, but more flavorful in her opinion, and with a better texture. I guess at the time I wasn’t eating oatmeal because I never bothered to try them myself, but for years after that I was always curious as to whether or not steel cut oats would work in cookies.
Or maybe not that curious it took me 20 years to finally buy a bag! But I’m glad I did because they do add a little extra something to cookies. And just so you know, I bought Bob’s Red Mill brand rather than McCann’s, which I’m mentioning in case there are differences between brands.
I made a couple of variations on these. For the first batch I used 2 2/3 cup of steel cut oats. The cookies were tasty, but a little gritty. All those steel cut oats were overkill. For the second round, I swapped out the oats for quinoa. It worked, but the flavor reminded me why I don’t care for quinoa. For the third round, I used a mixture of regular oats and steel cut. Success! The steel cut oats add just a little extra texture depth to the cookies without adding too much grittiness.
- 1 1/2 cups (6.8 ounces) organic all-purpose flour (King Arthur)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 scant teaspoon salt**
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup natural granulated sugar (evaporated cane juice)
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon tightly packed LIGHT brown sugar
- 1/2 cup tightly packed DARK brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill steel cut oats
- 2/3 cup dark raisins
- 1 cup toasted and coarsely chopped walnuts
- Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add both sugars and mix just until blended, then add the egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the flour mixture by hand or using the lowest speed of a stand mixer. Stir in the oats, raisins and nuts.
- Using a generously heaping tablespoon, scoop up about 20 to 22 large balls of dough and arrange them on a cookie sheet or two plates side by side – no need to worry about spacing. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or overnight. The texture improves if you chill the cookies longer.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking pans with parchment paper. Meanwhile, let the dough come to room temperature for about 20 minutes.
- Arrange the dough balls about 3 ½ inches apart on baking sheets and press tops down slightly. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are brown and centers appear set. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to wire racks to cool.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
The texture of these has to be great! I think I will stick with the steel cut/rolled oats version.
Good call. The quinoa version wasn’t terrible, just not my thing. I’ve been trying to learn to like it, though.
I agree, quinoa is an acquired taste!
I hate quinoa! I feel so much better, saying that amongst friends!
The cookies look great–I know when people eat steel-cut oats, they often soak them overnight to lessen the grittiness because they are so heavy. I like the idea of a multi-textured oatmeal cookie.
I haven’t eaten steel cut oats in years but I did like it. Have you ever made cookies with cooked oatmeal of any kind?
What’s wrong with Inca rice? I’ve been eating it for at least twenty years and didn’t find it to be an acquired taste at all. I may have to send you some recipes to try, but then I don’t put it in cookies.
I like quinoa, and it’s so cool that you tried it in the recipe. You are such a creative and imaginative baker, Anna.
Did you use the quinoa cooked or raw? Just curious! I made a vegan cookie with cooked quinoa & the uncooked dough was great, but after baking, the cookies were disgusting! I love quinoa, so not sure what went wrong there!
Dee, I soaked it for about 30 minutes and drained it. The texture was fine (about the same as the steel cut oats), but the flavor was icky — to quinoa-like. I just don’t like the flavor of quinoa.
Sounds like you’ve given it a fair chance! I love steel cut oats so i’ll try with those!
Thanks for trying this recipe Anna! A friend turned me onto McCann’s about 6 years ago. I haven’t bought a different brand of oatmeal since!
what a great recipe idea
I can’t wait to try these–I noticed you listed brown sugar twice–is that accurate?
Hi Natalia, yes. That’s right. Only it looks like when I put “dark” in it didn’t save. It should be a combination of dark brown sugar and light brown sugar, which is why I have it listed twice.
Do you think soaking the steel cut would be an idea..or lose too much of the nutrients..although if u use very little water, then maybe woulndt have to drain any liquid off. With soaking might have to play with dry vs liquid a bit. i hope to get a chewy cookie rather then a crisp..humm
I bought a few bags of dried berries i want to use in the cookies…to add sweeteness and cut down on sugar.