These soft and buttery oatmeal cookies are made with oats only – no regular flour. With sweet chunks of white chocolate and creamy macadamia nuts, these cookies are gluten-free and ready for the cookie swap!
It’s officially cookie season and I cannot get enough of these white chocolate macadamia oatmeal cookies! If you like white chocolate chunk cookies and buttery and chewy oatmeal cookies, you’ll love these.
What’s different? These oatmeal cookies are made only with oats. No regular flour. So they are gluten-free. And easy!
Here’s what you’ll need to make these gluten-free oatmeal cookies: Butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, white chocolate, macadamia nuts, a little vanilla, and lots of oats. This recipe includes both whole oats for texture and homemade oat flour that acts like white or whole wheat flour in the cookies.
What’s the best white chocolate?
The white chocolate can make or break these cookies. I saw two in my supermarket that I like which are basically the same in different forms.
Well-known national brand baking bar
Ingredients: White chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, nonfat dry milk, milk fat, soy lecithin – an emulsifier, vanilla).
Premium store brand white chocolate chips:
Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, non-fat dry milk, milkfat, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), vanilla extract.
And no. White chocolate is not chocolate. But it does have cocoa butter which adds a nice richness and depth of flavor. I don’t think you get the same flavor with “white baking chips” or those made with palm oil and hydrogenated fats. Those tend to taste like sweetened oil. IMO.
How to make oatmeal cookies without flour
When the batter is ready, use a scoop to make cookies about the same size. This helps with making sure the cookies bake evenly.
I used a 1/4 measuring cup but you can also use a medium or small ice cream scoop.
Prepping for these cookies takes longer than the actual assembly.
To prepare for this recipe
Bring the ingredients to room temperature. Take the butter and egg out of the refrigerator a few hours before you’re ready to bake. Room temperature butter is required to get the creamy cookie base. And the eggs will incorporate better at room temperature.
Chop the chocolate and nuts. Roughly break the white chocolate into smaller pieces (or use chips). And chop the nuts. Set aside.
Grind the oats. This can be done a few days ahead and placed in a sealed container on the shelf or refrigerator. You can buy oat flour but I recommend making your own oat flour. For reference, I get about 1¾ cup oat flour from 2 cups of oats. You’ll want to create a flour-like consistency – not crumbs or powder.
Gather the equipment. You’ll need one large mixing bowl, a hand mixer, 1, ½ and ¼ measuring cups, a rubber spatula, a baking sheet, and a silicone mat or parchment paper.
TIP: Don’t overbake the cookies.
Set a timer. After about 12 minutes, the cookies will be golden.
The cookies will also be soft. You will be tempted to put them back into the oven. Don’t. You will regret it if you do.
Let the cookies rest at least 5 minutes on the pan.
Letting the cookies sit on the pan allows them to firm up into chewy deliciousness. If you can wait, use a thin spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before storing or packing for gifts.
These cookies are ready. By this point, I’d already eaten two cookies. The shape was not quite round so they didn’t need to be photographed right?
It’s officially cookie season! And I’m excited to join the fun again for this run of the Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange by Erin of The Speckled Palate!
Get my White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Oatmeal Cookies recipe below and more festive and delicious sweetest season cookie recipes on Erin’s blog.
More holiday treats:
Flourless Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
White Chocolate Macadamia Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup dark brown sugar (packed)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1½ cup old fashioned oats
- 1¼ cup ground old fashioned oats (see note 1)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp coarse salt
- ½ cup white chocolate pieces (about 2 ounces) (see note 2)
- ¼ cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a half baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream the 1 stick of room temperature butter with the sugar until all sugar is incorporated and not grainy. Add the vanilla extract and eggs and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the whole and ground oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well mixed. Fold in the white chocolate and macadamia nuts until evenly incorporated.
- Using an ice cream scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop the dough onto the baking sheet in round mounds spaced at least 2 inches apart. These cookies will spread a bit. Bake immediately OR cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- Set a timer for 10-14 minutes. (I found 12 minutes to be my sweet spot.) Bake in the preheated oven for 10-14 minutes, until the cookies are fragrant and golden brown. Remove from the oven.
- The cookies will be soft. Let set on the pan 5 minutes before you attempt to taste them. (Trust me on that.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before eating or storing.
Notes
TIPS
- Refrigeration is not necessary unless you let the batter sit too long and butter starts to melt. Refrigerating the cookies seems to help create a fatter (taller) cookie though. So there’s that.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. You will be tempted to put them back into the oven when you take them out at 12 minutes. Don’t.
- Let the cookies rest at least 5 minutes on the pan.
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