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grandma's oatmeal cookies
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Grandma's Oatmeal Cookies

"This cookie is the reason I learned to bake. There was always an ill-fitting lid on a beat-up plastic storage container in the fridge full of this dough, or a plate of oatmeal cookies wrapped in thrice-used aluminum foil on the table. With great care, my grandma rolled every ball of dough in confectioners' sugar for a perfectly crackled finish, but she could never figure out why these cookies inspired the crazy in people.When he was away at college, my Uncle Dan would lie to his roommates and tell them the white stuff on top was mold, just to hoard a few more for himself. That was my grandma's favorite story to tell when she handed the recipe over to everyone who asked for it. Though she would never go for this (it would probably get stuck in her dentures), I like to sneak some shredded coconut into the dough when no one is looking." -- C. Tosi
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Milk Bar, Oatmeal Cookies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 18
Author Cookie Madness

Ingredients

  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 3⁄4 sticks (170 grams)
  • ¾ cup packed light brown sugar (150 grams)
  • cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (200 grams)
  • 2 ¼ cups old-fashioned oats (200 grams)
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt (only for Diamond)** ¾ teaspoon if using Morton
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut optional
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 375°F.
  • Combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high and cream together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and coconut, if using, and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds.
  • Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Scoop and roll the dough between your palms into golf-ball-sized balls. Toss in the bowl of confectioners' sugar until completely covered and arrange the cookies 2 to 3 inches apart on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
  • Bake the cookies for 9 to 10 minutes, until golden brown and crackled. Let cool completely on the pan. For storage instructions, see page 47.

Notes

Recipe courtesy of Milk Bar Life by Christina Tosi.
Anna's Baking Notes: I followed the instructions as written and didn't have any problems. Great recipe! The cookies are on the sweet side, but they're rolled in powdered sugar so that's to be expected. I haven't tried this with pecans or walnuts, but nuts might be good. The texture is great -- crispy edges with chewy centers. My cookies took about 14 minutes to bake. At 10 minutes they were quite pale, then 3 minutes later they were a lovely shade of brown.