Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies | Easy Oatmeal Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my homemade oatmeal cookies hard? ›

There are a few reasons why your oatmeal cookies may be too hard. Perhaps you left them in the oven a couple of minutes too long. To rectify this, simply bake the next batch for less time. Another reason could be the density of the dough.

I don't recommend using quick oats because the cookies won't have as much texture and you want a nice and chewy oatmeal cookie that is hearty with lots of texture going on. Quick oats also absorb liquid differently and you don't want to end up with dry cookies.

Baking soda and baking powder are both leavening agents, or ingredients that make baked goods rise. They look almost identical and they have similar purposes, but they are not the same thing and they can't always be used interchangeably.

Overbaking: Overbaking is a common culprit for dry cookies. Make sure you follow the recommended baking time and temperature in your recipe. Typically, oatmeal cookies should bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 10-12 minutes. The cookies continue to cook after being removed from the oven due to residual heat.

“Cornstarch is a game changer for cookie baking,” confirms Brian Hart Hoffman, editor in chief of Bake from Scratch. “You can count on [it for] a softer and more tender crumb.”

Baking powder

Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate and acidic salts. The reaction of these two ingredients results in a cookie that is soft and thick, but slightly harder.

Saddle up, partner–we're making Cowboy Cookies! Full of flavor and texture, this recipe combines coconut, pecans, oats, and chocolate to make one unique cookie, no horse or lasso required.

When it comes to the two types you probably already have in your kitchen—rolled oats and quick oats—you can use them in recipes interchangeably. If you need quick oats, but only have rolled oats, just pulse the rolled oats a few times in the blender to get the textural effect your recipe needs.

That's because rolled oats and old-fashioned oats are the same thing, according to the Quaker Oats website. So you should feel free to sub one for the other. Rolled oats get their name from being flattened with rollers.

If you don't have baking soda, you can use baking powder, at three times what the recipe calls for. So if a recipe calls for one teaspoon of baking soda, you can use three teaspoons of baking powder. Baking powder also contains a little bit of salt, so it's also a good idea to halve the salt the recipe calls for.

What does brown sugar do in cookies? ›

Brown sugar, meanwhile, is dense and compacts easily, creating fewer air pockets during creaming—that means that there's less opportunity to entrap gas, creating cookies that rise less and spread more. With less moisture escaping via steam, they also stay moist and chewy.

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

There are a few common methods for softening cookies, including microwaving them, heating them in the oven, and placing them in an airtight container with a slice of bread.

The bread/apple trick

Here's a baker's trick you'll find in our new Monster Cookies recipe: Adding a piece of fresh white bread to the storage container will keep cookies from becoming hard or stale.

Hard cookies: you are over mixing, baking too long, baking at too high a temperature, or some combination of these. Cakey cookies: not enough brown sugar, too much or too little egg, too much flour, maybe you used baking powder instead of baking soda?

Bread Method:Place the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of bread. Seal the container and let it sit overnight. The moisture from the bread will transfer to the cookies, softening them. Apple or Potato Method:Place the cookies in an airtight container with slices of apple or potato.

According to The Kitchn, this occurs when you over-mix the dough. Mixing the dough naturally causes gluten to develop in the flour, and while you do need a good amount of gluten to give your cookies structure, too much of it will result in hard cookies.