½cup (equivalent to 8 tablespoons)unsalted butterat room temperature, NOT melted
½cupdark brown sugar,packed (light brown sugar also works)
½cupwhite sugar
1largeegg
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
¼cupoat flour,Note 1
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonsalt (I use fine sea salt)
½tablespooncornstarch
½teaspoonground cinnamon,optional* (Note 1)
1 ½cupsold-fashioned oats,( Note 2) not quick oats
½cup + 3 tablespoonswhite all-purpose flour,
Optional: flaky sea salt for topping cookies
Instructions
BUTTER: Remove butter from refrigerator 30 minutes in advance so it reaches room temperature.
MIX: Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and creamy, at least 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
OATS: To make oat flour, blend up regular oats in a blender or food processor until they resemble flour. Measure to get a leveled 1/4 cup. Add to the same bowl on top of the wet ingredients: oat flour, baking soda, sea salt, cornstarch, cinnamon, and old-fashioned oats. Beat until ingredients are well combined.
fLOUR: Add the flour (measure by spooning the flour in the measuring cups and then leveling). Mix until JUST combined. Cover dough tightly and chill for 1 hour. These cookies will spread without being chilled.
DOUGH BALLS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop out balls of dough (if you have a food scale, do cookie balls about 1.7 ounces in size; this will yield exactly 15 cookies)
CHILL: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a baking liner. Place balls of dough (no more than 9 cookies at a time) on the cookie sheet. Return the tray of cookies to the fridge for 10 minutes.
BAKE: Bake for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges (even if the center looks a little under-done -- they cook a bit more after being pulled out of the oven). These cookies set up and become extremely delicious and chewy if they're slightly underbaked. Err on the side of slightly under-baking these cookies for soft, chewy, and tender cookies! Add a sprinkle of sea salt if desired to the cookies. Cookies are best enjoyed within 2-3 days
Notes
Note 1: Cinnamon: We love the hint of cinnamon in these cookies, but you can leave it out if you prefer. For more of a spiced cookie, add 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and ground cloves in addition to the cinnamon.Note 2: Oat flour: It's easy to make your own oat flour. Just add old-fashioned oats to a blender jar and process until it's the texture of flour. Stir it around to be sure all the oats are ground.