Wonderfully soft and chewy, Irish Oatmeal Cookies are made with some of Ireland’s tastiest ingredients! Irish oatmeal keeps its chewiness while baking and adds a nutty flavor. Irish butter provides rich, creamy taste and golden syrup adds the warmth of toffee. A special cookie indeed!
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, visions of all things Irish (or an American interpretation of all things Irish) dance through our heads. It turns out that most of the green sprinkled goodies (and most definitely the green tinted beer) are more a result of America’s tendency to create drinking celebrations, than Irish tradition.
Though I fully embrace all things sugared and sprinked in green, Irish Oatmeal Cookies are conspicuously unsprinkled. Instead, each bite of Irish Oatmeal cookies transports you to the green Irish countryside where the butter and oats for these cookies were produced.
Numerous years ago, my daughter and I went on a trip to London that coincidently started on St. Patrick’s Day. We were excited to spend the holiday in the UK. We imagined some kind of “traditional” celebration.
London isn’t Ireland, but it’s a lot closer to Ireland than St. Louis! Shortly after our plane landed, we donned our green t-shirts and beads and hurried to central London for the “parade” which would end up in Trafalgar Square.
Information on the internet seemed to indicate that a variety of Irish cultural events were scheduled. Something was apparently lost in the translation between expectation and reality.
The very short “parade” was mostly a line of buses and flat-bed trucks sponsored by trade unions and filled with members of those unions getting a head start on their afternoon pint or two or three of beer/stout.
Though we followed the map provided by the tourism office, no cultural events could be found. We do have photos of a very full Trafalgar Square where the main event of beer drinking was in full swing. American’s aren’t the only ones who like a drinking celebration.
This year I am celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Irish Oatmeal Cookies. They aren’t flashy, but they are so delicious, that I am tempted to say they are my favorite cookies yet. The Irish oatmeal is chewy and nutty, the Irish butter is creamy and rich, and the Lyle’s Golden Syrup imparts a toffee warmth.
Whenever I bake a cookie in which the flavor of butter is the star, I always use Kerrygold Irish butter. (This is NOT a sponsored post.) Irish butter has a higher fat content than American butter. You can taste the difference in cookies like shortbread and these Irish Oatmeal Cookies.
If you aren’t familiar with Lyle’s Golden Syrup, I urge you to find it and try it. I buy mine at World Market or in the pancake syrup aisle at the supermarket. Golden syrup is a sugar syrup made from sugar cane or sugar beet and is popular in the UK. It has the consistency of corn syrup or honey (both of which can be used as substitutes) but has a toffee flavor all its own.
Irish Oatmeal Cookies with a cup of tea make every day a bit of a celebration! This taste of Ireland is a delicious care package or cookie jar treat!
Irish Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 7 tablespoons unsalted Irish butter I use Kerrygold, softened at room temperature for 10 minutes
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons Lyle’s golden syrup corn syrup or honey can be substituted but the flavor will be different
- 1 ¾ cups Irish steel cut oats
- ½ cup toffee bits
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Beat in egg and golden syrup.
- Gradually add flour mixture until incorporated.
- Stir in oats and toffee bits.
- Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes so that the oats will absorb some moisture.
- Use a cookie scoop to place dough balls at least 2” apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown all over.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Notes
Nutrition
You are sure to enjoy these additional recipes for your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and care packages!
St. Patrick’s Day Chocolate Covered Oreos
Rainbow’s End Rocky Road Candy
Leap-rechauns and Pots of Gold
Looking for more delicious oatmeal recipes? Try these! Click on the photo for recipes.
Edwin
My wife and I are fans of steel cut oats for breakfast and also fans of oatmeal cookies using rolled oats, so I thought I’d try making this recipe, and I did – twice. Both times, though, the cookies turned out flat. I used standard steel cut oats, not Irish and not “instant.” I also used regular unsalted butter, not Irish butter. First time around I used the batter ten minutes after mixing it (per recipe directions) and made 25 cookies. The second time, I chilled the dough for 45 minutes and made smaller cookies, one ounce each, so I ended up with 31 cookies. I weigh each cookie for consistency sake. The flavor is very good and the texture is chewy, perhaps too chewy for some people but my wife and I like it. Could the slightly higher fat content of Irish butter make a difference in the rise of the cookie? Should I be using quick-cooking steel cut oats? Help!
The Monday Box
Hi, Edwin. I hope I can help you trouble shoot the mystery of your flat cookies. You obviously put a lot of effort into making these! I have a few ideas and a link to a page on the Quaker Oats website that specifically addresses the problem of flat oatmeal cookies. The type of oats used in cookies make a big difference. The difference between the various types of oats is the amount they have been processed. The less processed the oats are the chewier the texture will be and the slower the oats will be to absorb moisture. Your flat cookies could be due to the regular steel cut oats. You could try adding 1-2 tablespoons of additional flour to help absorb the moisture and lessen the spreading or you could switch to a quicker cooking steel cut oats. I like the 3 minute oats rather than the 1 minute oats in order to retain some of the chewiness. I hope this helps! Take a look at this page from Quaker for more information: https://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipes/content/baking-101/cookies/common-cookie-issues/spread-in-oven.aspx
Anna
I’m thoroughly confused now after this comment and answer. Everything I have seen indicates that Irish oats are the same thing as steel cut oats (not the quick-cook kind). So I don’t know what to think of “using standard steel cut oats instead of Irish Oats.”
Also, I was wondering if any soaking or pre-cooking of the oats would be necessary or perhaps soften the cookies any. I’m a little scared that they may end up with too much crunchiness and I will have wasted good butter. LOL
Wendy Sondov
Hi Anna. All the different names for oats can be confusing! The names just indicate where the oats are from and how they have been processed. Irish oats are just oats from Ireland. The Irish brand Flahavan, for example, makes Irish Rolled Oats (flaky and soft, allowing them to absorb more moisture) and Steel Cut Oats (the least processed) and a quick cook version of Steel Cut Oats. I made these cookies with regular steel cut oats. Steel cut makes a chewier cookie with slightly smaller bits of oats. Rolled oats (not quick cook) will also work (no adjustments required)but will have less of a nutty flavor and slightly less chew.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
Irish oats are so much better than the standard rolled! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party!
Nicole
Oatmeal cookies may be simple, but they are so good! I think these Irish Oatmeal cookies would be a delicious addition to our St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Thanks for linking up with us at the #HomeMattersParty this week.
Douglas
Are there adjustments required to use steel cut oats as opposed to rolled oats?
The Monday Box
Hi, Douglas. Good question! I made my cookies with McCann’s Steel Cut oats. I am not sure why I wrote Irish rolled oats in the recipe.(I’m going to correct that!) Steel cut makes a chewier cookie with slightly smaller bits of oats. Rolled oats (not quick cook) will also work (no adjustments required)but will have less of a nutty flavor and slightly less chew. Enjoy!
Maisy
Yum, these look so good, Wendy! I am going to make a vegan version of those cookies as soon as possible! Thank you for linking up with Friday Favorites 🙂
I hope to see you again this week!
*Maisy