When a sweet craving hits, the quickest way to a dessert is in the form of a cookie. Ten minutes to throw together, ten minutes to bake, and I am happy.
A friend of mine sent me her recipe for Coconut Oatmeal cookies. The recipe was simple: "Cream the above ingredients, then add the following ingredients. Bake at 375ยบ for 10 minutes." I compared this recipe with my traditional oatmeal cookie recipe. Everything was the same, except for the amount of oats and the addition of coconut.
In her recipe, she put "oats." I wasn't sure which type of oats she used. Old fashioned rolled oats or quick oats are what I have on hand. Does it make a difference? Let's see if it does...
The first batch I made, I used quick oats. These are thin flakes of oats that cook up in three or four minutes.
Coconut. I used the sweetened shredded kind.
Oh, and I put in semi-sweet chocolate chips. She doesn't use them in her recipe, but I thought it would be a good addition.
Used a 2 T. cookie scoop onto Silpat....love, love, LOVE my Silpats!
These took a little longer to bake as they are larger cookies.
Let's take a peek inside, shall we? Mmmmmm....crispy outside, tender and slightly chewy inside ~
Now, let's try it with the Old Fashioned rolled oats...these are groats that are steamed, rolled and flaked. They are not cut as fine as the quick cooking oats.
I did notice that the batter was a little thicker when using the rolled oats.
They baked for the same amount of time. They are slightly thicker. Let's take a taste.
Mmmmmm...crispy, sweet, and chewy. It was chewier than the quick oat recipe, but still good.
There you have it folks! If you want a more tender, less chewy oatmeal cookie, go for the quick oats. If chewy is your thing, go for the old fashioned rolled oats!
So, what's your pick? Chewy or extra chewy?
Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
(4x6 recipe download) (full page printable recipe)
Oo easy one, definitely extra chewy!
ReplyDeleteI love this post! So cool that you experimented with this. I have quite often wondered the exact same thing. As I am a chewy cookie lover, I will stick with the old fashioned rolled oats.
ReplyDeleteAnd a big thumbs-up for including the chocolate chips. Oatmeal chocolate chip is my favorite cookie, in fact, I just blogged a recipe for that a week or so ago.
Thanks Frieda!
Thanks for sharing! I have wondered this myself :)
ReplyDeleteExtra Chewy all the way! quick oats just don't seem worth the time. Besides, I LOVE The texture the old fashioned oats give, too!
ReplyDeleteYUM! Thanks for figuring it out.
ReplyDeleteExtra chewy of course. Thanks for that test!!!
ReplyDeleteUHM thanks now I have to go bake some! I only have old fashioned oats so I guess Im making chewy ones.
ReplyDeleteI learned the same thing earlier this year since I didn't have any quick oats on hand. I was afraid I was going to ruin the recipe with the rolled oats, but like you discovered it works. I'm totally okay with chewy or extra chewy - just no crunchy!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! Thanks for comparing both oats, I always use quick oats, mainly for making crisps. I never have been exposed to old-fashioned oats. That would explain why my oatmeal cookies were so small and not so chewy.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to follow your blog :)
I've always wondered why there are different types of oats used in baking recipes and now I understand!
ReplyDeleteAs always, your fabulous!
Oh, and if you have too many cookies since you made 2 batches, I will happily take some off your hands...
Amber
Wow - that was a lot of work - thank you for going to that effort! I've always wondered if it made a difference. Fantastic post!
ReplyDeleteIs it ok if I take both? Both ways look yummy!
ReplyDeleteOatmeal, chocolate chip and coconut! What's not to like! It looks like whatever type oats you have on hand will work except maybe the instant, but I never buy those anyway.
ReplyDeleteThanx for adding me as Foodbuzz friend.Gr8 blog with awesome recipes n pics..will check them all one by one...
ReplyDeleteI've made oatmeal cookies both ways - I usually prefer the regular oats, but if I'm out, I'll use quick!
ReplyDeleteGreat experiment! I've always wondered about how different my cookies would turn out using different oats. I'm for chewy myself...well, who am I kidding, where cookies are concerned I'll take just about anything! :)
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered about this. Now I know I can sub in whichever oat when I'm in a pinch! Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDelete