oatmeal cookies
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Oatmeal Cookies Without Brown Sugar

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Oatmeal cookies are such a classic baked treat. Whether they’re filled with gooey chocolate chips, sweet raisins or your favorite nuts (or all three!), you really can’t go wrong with a comforting oatmeal cookie.

They’re an especially delightful afternoon snack with a glass of cold milk. They even have a slight health bent, because, oats, right?

And what’s better than your typical oatmeal cookie? One that’s homemade and fresh from the oven.

They smell amazing, thanks to toasted oats and a dash of cinnamon. Plus, they’re at their plumpest and softest when they’re fresh from the oven. 

The good news is that making your own oatmeal cookies to enjoy and share with friends and family is easy. And you probably already have most, if not all, of the ingredients in your pantry already. 

Ingredients for Oatmeal Cookies

The standard ingredients for oatmeal cookies from scratch are your typical baking items:

  • All-purpose flour and old-fashioned or rolled oats
  • Baking soda for leavening
  • Vanilla, cinnamon, and salt for flavor
  • Eggs and butter for moisture and richness 
  • And sugar, of course. 

But if you don’t have brown sugar on hand, or simply want a lighter oatmeal cookie, you can make just as tender and sweet cookies without brown sugar. You won’t miss it!

White vs Brown Sugar in Baked Goods

This cookie recipe, with no brown sugar, makes deliciously oaty cookies that are soft and chewy.

In fact, white sugar yields cookies that have a little more rise and fluffiness to them. These aren’t as dense or dark in color and flavor as cookies made with brown sugar. 

white vs brown sugar

The difference between the two types of sugar isn’t the amount of sweetness, but rather the presence of molasses.

Brown sugar gets its color and slightly caramelized flavor from molasses, while white sugar is molasses-free, with a more mild flavor. White sugar adds pure sweetness to your cookies, which lets the other ingredient shine. 

Mix-In Ideas for Oatmeal Cookies

That’s why this is an excellent recipe to experiment with different flavor combinations. You can mix and match your flavorings and mix-ins. I love oatmeal cookies with raisins and dark chocolate chips. 

Other favorite mix-ins include whole walnuts, toasted pecans (like these), plump dried cranberries, white chocolate chunks, or even pretzels! The options are endless, so feel free to experiment with your favorite flavors. 

Aim for a total of one cup of mix-ins to ensure that your cookies hold together well. 

How to Make Oatmeal Cookie Dough

As for making the cookie dough, this is a simple and straightforward recipe. 

First, you’ll combine your dry ingredients in one large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, cream butter and white sugar together.

You want a mixture that’s light, fluffy, and pale yellow in color. Beat in two eggs and vanilla extract to the sugar and butter mixture. Give everything a thorough mix to ensure the eggs are fully incorporated. 

To form the dough, simply combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl, mixing to ensure there are no pockets of dry flour or oats.

Finally, fold in your mix-ins. And there you have it: a simple, classic oatmeal cookie dough without brown sugar. 

Arrange the cookie dough in 1-inch balls on a cookie sheet or two. Give them one to two inches of space on the sheet. 

At this point, I like to chill the raw cookies in the freezer for about 10 minutes. They firm up and will stay more round and chewy, rather than flat and crispy after baking. That part is up to you.

You can always go straight from mixing bowl to the oven if you prefer a crispier cookie. Bake the cookies until they’re just golden on the bottom, about 8-10 minutes. 

After baking, let them rest for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack. 

Storing Homemade Cookies

To store the cookies, keep them in an airtight container (something like these from Amazon is perfect for this) on the counter for a few days. Or, you can freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months (if they last that long!).

You can also freeze the raw cookie dough for up to 3 months. Then, whenever you have a hankering for a fresh cookie, let the dough defrost in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a few hours until it’s soft enough to form dough balls. Arrange them on a cookie sheet and bake as written in the recipe. 

There you have it: A simple, fun, and delicious recipe for oatmeal cookies without brown sugar.

They’re still just as flavorful, with a lighter color and more subtle taste that lets your favorite mix-ins shine. How will you add flavor and texture to your homemade cookies? 

How to Make Oatmeal Cookies Without Brown Sugar

Step 1: Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

oatmeal cookies without brown sugar, step 1

Step 2: Mix the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl.

oatmeal cookies without brown sugar, step 2

Step 3: In a separate bowl, beat sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, blending thoroughly between additions.

oatmeal cookies without brown sugar, step 3.1.
oatmeal cookies without brown sugar, step 3.2.

Step 4: Add the dry ingredients gradually to the creamed butter mixture until dough forms. 

oatmeal cookies without brown sugar, step 4

Step 5: Fold the mix-ins into the dough.

oatmeal cookies without brown sugar, step 5

Step 6: Use a cookie scooper or your hands to drop rounded balls of dough onto a cookie sheet.

oatmeal cookies without brown sugar, step 6

Step 7: Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Rest for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

oatmeal cookies without brown sugar, step 7
Oatmeal Cookies Without Brown Sugar

Oatmeal Cookies Without Brown Sugar

Yield: 25 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

These delicious oatmeal cookies without brown sugar are fluffy and sweet, just as they should be!

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup shortening, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mix-ins of choice: raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut, etc.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, blending thoroughly between additions.

Add the dry ingredients gradually to the creamed butter mixture until dough forms. 

Fold the mix-ins into the dough.

Use a cookie scooper or your hands to drop rounded balls of dough onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Rest for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 25 Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 214Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 110mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 14gProtein: 3g

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4 Comments

  1. Great recipe thanks so much! Mine turned out so soft and gooey love love love! They were a hit at a family get together too!

  2. I tried this recipe because I really wanted to bake oatmeal cookies, and I didn’t have any brown sugar. I also didn’t have any shortening, so I only put a cup of room temperature butter. The cookies still turned out great, whew! I didn’t add any chocolate chips or anything extra just in case they wouldn’t be any good without the shortening. I’ll know for next time to not worry about it. Thank you for this fun recipe, I will be making it again!

  3. I’ve made these twice now, and my mom just asked for the recipe. They are SUPER soft, and stay chewy for days. Mine turned out NOTHING like the photos (which appear very hard), but instead mine are gooey and delicious. I did the same thing as the reviewer Melanie (using butter instead of shortening, and no mix-ins), so maybe it’s the extra butter that makes them so soft. I would strongly recommend replacing the shortening in the recipe for butter. I also added a simple icing on top, which really completed them. Would recommend!

    1. I wanted to update my review. I made the recipe for the 3rd time today, but I also added chocolate chips. The cookies came out SUPER HARD, and half of them were burnt. I did absolutely nothing different except add the chocolate chips, and that caused the whole recipe to fall apart.

      Without adding in anything else (nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, etc), you are guaranteed a super soft cookie. But if you mix in other things, you’ll end up with a hard, crunchy cookie that requires dunking into milk or coffee. I will continue to use this recipe without any mix-ins, and it will continue to be a hit.

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