Soft & Chewy Butterscotch and Oatmeal Cookies

Mmm, homemade cookies. There’s something so wonderful about that freshly baked, cookie smell that will always warm my heart, and make my tastebuds go crazy! We love sweets in our house, but lately, I’ve been playing around with ingredients to try for a healthier take. Let’s chat these soft & chewy butterscotch and oatmeal cookies because quite frankly, you need to make these asap!

Perhaps it’s my own personal opinion, but I feel like butterscotch is a dying flavor. I never see it anywhere, including menus and bakeries. I had to resort to ordering online, because I couldn’t find these butterscotch chips. What gives?

Butterscotch and Oatmeal Cookies

Butterscotch is one of my all time favorite flavors. I remember getting it on top of ice cream as a little girl at Dairy Queen or my grandmother making homemade sundaes with Butterscotch toping. While it’s definitely an acquired taste, I’ve since converted my hubby to loving the flavor, too. I’m telling you, these cookies are that delicious. Sometimes called ‘Scotchies’, these soft & chewy butterscotch and oatmeal cookies traditionally are packed with sugar, sugar, sugar.

Of course, I love sugar. I mean, who doesn’t? But, as I mentioned above, I’ve been playing in my kitchen with swapping out traditional ingredients for healthier versions. And honestly, what’s been really fun about playing around with the ingredients is I’ve been wowed by the results. Quite frankly, I feel like things taste better (not as weighed down, or maybe this is just a placebo effect…) with the healthier ingredients.

Let’s take these soft & chewy butterscotch and oatmeal cookies, for example. I’m not reinventing the wheel on these. I didn’t even take out all the sugar, I just cut the serving amount down to 1/4 cup each, and replaced the other serving with Apple sauce.

This more natural sweetener cut out some of the heavy duty sweetness, making these butterscotch and oatmeal cookies a little more sweet & salty, than just overly sweet. That’s a win in my book!

Read on for the full recipe and details for creating these tasty treats. And check out another healthy recipe alternative on my blog: shredded zucchini oat muffins.