The Extra Step To Add Crunch To Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies aren't as attractive as chocolate chip cookies, but that doesn't mean they should be written off entirely. Although they might not be able to charm everybody — in fact, they're usually regarded as the cookie everyone loves to hate, especially when raisins are involved — devout oatmeal cookie lovers know that there's a difference between a boring biscuit and a really well-executed cookie, with the secret to success lying within the confection's texture. To add a bit of crunch to your next batch of biscuits, there's a game-changing step that's sure to change your perspective on the oat-flecked treats.

More often than not, where oatmeal cookies tend to miss the mark is based on their consistency. Let's face it, no one likes a dry cookie, which is why using the right kind of oats (old fashioned, rather than quick oats) is just as important as rehydrating raisins. However, part of creating a better textural experience also depends on making sure that the oatmeal doesn't have a one-dimensional, glue-like consistency when you bite into the cookie.

Despite that creating a crunchy cookie typically relies on reducing moisture levels of the sugar and fat components, there's a much easier solution that'll add an audible chomp to oatmeal cookies without considering chemistry or the risk of any over-drying. All it takes is an additional step before cookies reach the baking sheet.

Using the same ingredients found in a basic oatmeal cookie dough recipe, you can end the stigma of the boring oatmeal cookie and deliver even more textural variation. It's as simple as adding a crunchy coating to cookies. Sharing a trick with The Guardian, the co-owner of Crumbs & Doilies bakery, Jemma Wilson explains that you can achieve crunchiness by encrusting blobs of cookie dough in a mixture of leftover oats and demerara sugar. Not only do the oats offer a pleasantly rugged exterior as they toast in the oven, but as the sugar caramelizes during baking, this also works to impart a crispy quality that'll prove too tempting to resist. 

The only other tip to remember is to give those oats a quick pulse in the food processor before combining them with the coarse sugar as this will create an even better mouthfeel, as well as an aesthetic result. So, the next time someone bad mouths the humble oatmeal cookie, remember that they probably just haven't tasted a really great oatmeal cookie, yet. Do them a favor and bake up these wonderfully craggy, oat-and-sugar-crusted biscuits. We guarantee that this extra step will change even the strongest of opinions.