Yes, you can use instant oatmeal in your cookies! Instant flavor upgrade, and no chilling required. Try these super easy apple cinnamon instant oatmeal cookies today!
I have to admit, I’m not a huge oatmeal fan. If I have to, I’ll eat it, but it’ll never be my first choice for breakfast, for cookies, for anything… Well, except in buttery crumb toppings in pies, bars and crisps.
My husband, on other hand, loves it!
I remember when he went to Mongolia for a month back in the day, he made sure to pack some of those instant oatmeal packets, for a little taste of home. It’s sure convenient, tasty breakfast on the go, especially when you’re away from home.
So as you can imagine, when Garrat brought home a giant box of assorted instant oatmeal packets, I wasn’t thrilled. It took some time for us to go through it all. To speed up the consumption and free up some pantry space, I started experimenting with them. Garrat suggested I make cookies. First, I thought, you can’t use instant oatmeal in cookies. That’s a no-no! But then on second thought, why not? Because I’ll miss the real oat flavor? I can live with that!
After 5 (FIVE!) revisions, I finally landed on perfectly dense, chewy and full of flavor oatmeal cookies. Since the instant oatmeal packets are already sweet enough, we’re adding just a little bit of sugar for chewy texture and added moisture. Without additional sugar, the cookies were just lackluster.
Since perfecting the recipe, I’ve made these cookies many, many times. No one ever complained about lack of real oat flavor. My guess is that additional flavors have something to do with that! My favorite was apple & cinnamon, but you could use any flavors you like, or even mix n’ match. Maple & brown sugar was super good too.
I’m sure you have some instant oatmeal packets laying around. Go get them and start baking, because you’re gonna love them. Oh, and they smell amazing too!!
Are you an oatmeal person? Even if you’re not, I know you’ll love these cookies!
Thanks for reading.
Apple Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup (65g) brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (40g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 5 packets apple & cinnamon instant oatmeal
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups add-ins like M&Ms, chocolate chips, nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, place butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until nice and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and mix another minute or so.
- Add instant oatmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until just incorporated.
- Stir in add-ins of your choice. I used 1 cup of M&Ms and ½ cup of chopped pecans here.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon of dough), shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place 8 cookies per baking sheet. Flatten the cookies slightly.
- Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, or until the edges are set, one sheet at a time. The cookies will look a bit under-baked, but they’ll set nicely once cooled.
- Cool the cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store in airtight container for up to 5 days (if they last that long!)
Tips & Notes:
Victoria T says
Tried this recipe mixing the new apple caramel oatmeal, apple cinnamon ( 2 each) and 1 pack of cinnamon and brown sugar. I added in raisins as well as the chips and the cookies were delicious. They turned out soft and stayed soft in a ziploc baggie for a week. First cookie I have made that did not go hard in 3 days. Will definitely be making again and trying different combinations if oatmeal.
Monica says
Ive made these 3 different times in the past month…they never make it past the cookie sheet!
Shinee says
Haha so happy you all enjoy these cookies! Thank you for your feedback, Monica!!
Lindsey says
This is my second time making these cookies this time I made it with bananas and cream oatmeal and used walnuts really good last time we had apple spice and I soaked raisins in hot apple cider. Hit with family and co-workers
Thank you it’s a keeper that’s so adaptable
Shinee says
Yay, so happy you’re enjoying this recipe, Lindsey! I love the idea of soaking raisins in hot apple cider! YUM!
Skye says
Great recipe. I added some extra cinnamon and more vanilla, then I made a quick icing out of 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon of water, then just maple syrup until it had a good consistency. Also made 12 cookies instead of 30 so I had to up the bake time to about 13 minutes.
Shinee says
Thank you for trying my recipe and sharing your feedback! So happy you loved the cookies, Skye!
Judy says
Thank you for the recipe. I had overbought on gluten-free Maple and Brown Sugar instant oatmeal. Your recipe was perfect for using up some of it. I just subbed a gluten-free flour mix for the regular flour. It was nice to be making gluten-free cookies that started out with the normal cookie process and did not require weird ingredients.
Shinee says
Yay, so happy you loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing your gluten-free version, Judy!
Bob says
what liquid did you use? I used water and they turned out fine.would like to know the liquid and how much not on recipe.
Shinee says
Hi, Bob. I didn’t add any liquid.
Kelly says
Delicious! Question. I have a ton of old fashioned oats, can I use those in this recipe instead of instant oatmeal ? Will the cookies turn out as good? Thank you!
Shinee says
Hi, Kelly. I’m afraid it won’t work the same.
Kate says
Like many others, I have a lot of instant oatmeal on hand and just needed to use it up. I used cinnamon and spice oatmeal and added roasted pecans, a few raisins and carrots. They turned out really nice. Tasted just like carrot cake. I highly recommend!!!
Shinee says
Thanks for your feedback, Kate! I love your carrot cake cookie version!
Thea says
These were some of the best cookies we have ever made! At first we thought there wasn’t enough moisture but we used a fork to really mash it in. I definitely say that the first couple steps are a lot easier with a hand mixer but I’m sure with some dedication you could go without. We added a bit of extra cinnamon, apple cubes, and raisins then made them into 7 giant cookies and baked them for about 15-20 minutes. I would fully recommend making this recipe.
Shinee says
Thank you for your feedback, Thea! So happy you loved the cookies!
Deanna says
These are really really good. Evidently, I am terrible at buying the correct brand of apple cinnamon instant oatmeal and have amassed quite a backstock. This recipe is the perfect solution! I added walnuts and they taste delicious!
Shinee says
So glad you found my oatmeal cookie recipe, Deanna. Thank you for your feedback!
Jana says
OMGosh
These are so good!!!!
Shinee says
Yay, so glad you tried and loved the recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Jana!
jacqueline vaughn says
I made them but without candy and added cinnamon and honey …..so good
Shinee says
Glad you loved the cookies. Thank you for your feedback, Jacqueline!
Megan says
Went over well with my family but for me I could seriously taste the baking soda and I felt the cookies were slightly drier then preferred (possibly my choice of instant oats?) So next time I will probably add some applesauce but other then that very good!
Shinee says
Thank you for your feedback, Megan. Let me know if you try it with applesauce. Would love to know. 🙂
Laura Lybarger says
Made these with strawberries and cream oatmeal that no one wanted to eat and with chocolate chips, they were delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Shinee says
Hi, Laura. So glad you came across my recipe and were able to put those oatmeal packets to a good use! Thank you for your feedback!
Jill says
Oh em gee!! This recipe is good!
I used pumpkin spice oatmeal with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Delicious!!
I took them down to the local firehouse and they didn’t last long. Even my poor boyfriend who I made them for, didn’t get one!! Lol
Shinee says
Jill, thank you for your feedback!SO happy you made these cookies and shared with your local firehouse. It sounds like you’ll have to make some more for your boyfriend. 😉
Lailahurston says
I used snickerdoodle oatmeal packets left over from the holidays and added a cup and a half of raisins. They’re we’re tasty, although a 1/2 teaspoon of allspice and another 1/4 cup of sugar would’ve made them perfect for us!
Shinee says
Thank you for your feedback, Laila!! Sounds like a great flavor combo!!
Kat Stevenson says
SO GOOD!! I made mine with the 1.5 cups of add-ins as fresh honey crisp apples and raisins. I literally cannot stop eating them 😂
Dianne Chatham says
These cookies are the best! I totally can’t stop making them for all my friends and neighbors. “Instant oatmeal packets” yummy! Their amazed how delicious they are.
Mary Ann says
So amazing and easy! My husband ate 6 of them before they even cooled (I couldn’t get the wooden spoon out quick enough to smack his hand). I have now made them twice – second time with cinnamon and spice without add-ins, and still so chewy and delicious.
Jackie says
Hello, thank you kindly for your recipe! I used the cinnamon apple packets with butterscotch chips, my family gobbled them down and quick! Got the mom …. you have to make some more of those cookies! 😊 Take Care!
Shinee says
Yay, so happy everyone got enjoy the cookies. Thank you so much for your feedback, Jackie!