Bourbon caramel oatmeal cookies are chewy and sweet, studded with caramel chips and just a little hint of bourbon.
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I think cookies are the way to Burken’s heart. He’s not much of a sweets eater, but the other morning he told me these cookies were really good.
He has a tendency to get up in the middle of the night to stretch and have a little tiny snack. Typically it’s a few chips, or whatever is on the counter that I baked that week {if he likes it that is}.
These bourbon caramel oatmeal cookies were one snack I had baked on Saturday that he decided to snack on during the night. When I get a “this is pretty good” from him, I know I’ve done something right.
And I’m not going to lie, I’ve definitely done something right with this chewy, bourbon infused, caramel studded cookie.
Bourbon caramel oatmeal cookies: the base
It’s been awhile since I’ve shared an all-out, not-so-healthy treat with you. So I figured it was about time we had a butter and sugar infused cookie to start out our week together.
Like any good cookie {that’s not healthy}, we start with butter. We want it soft, but not so soft that it’s melted. Beat the butter with a hand mixer {I also have to share this color, because it’s too pretty not to}, but not too much, since beating too much air into the butter {along with the sugar} can result in flat cookies.
This is kind of a Goldilocks situation, where you want everything to be just right.
Of course there has to be bourbon in the bourbon caramel oatmeal cookies. It honestly may seem like a lot of bourbon, and if you’re the type of person who likes to eat a lot of the raw cookie dough before baking {umm, me!}, beware that it’s going to taste like a straight up shot of bourbon. But trust me, you need this much to actually maintain the hint of bourbon once the cookies are baked.
Regular all purpose flour rounds out the base of this cookie. But we can’t forget what makes these bourbon caramel oatmeal cookies have their perfectly chewy texture: oatmeal.
I prefer to use old fashioned oats for their larger texture and they won’t soften quite as much as instant oats when baked. They lend a heartier texture to these cookies that makes you want to go back for seconds.
Bourbon caramel oatmeal cookies: the chips
The very first time I made these cookies, I stuffed the insides with Rolos. While I loved that caramel-y surprise in the center, I honestly wanted something that wasn’t going to require so much time.
Enter these salted caramel chips I found at our local grocery store. They taste exactly like salted caramel packed into a small baking chip. They were just right for these bourbon caramel oatmeal cookies.
I like to stir in any sort of baking chips by hand rather than using a stand or hand mixer to do the work. It might take a bit more arm power, but that’s what my workouts are for ;).
Plop the cookies onto a greased baking sheet. These are my favorite cookie sheets because of the textured bottom that seems to allow for more even baking. I seriously don’t use any other baking sheets anymore.
Bourbon caramel oatmeal cookies: the finished product
When these cookies first come out of the oven and the caramel chips are gooey and soft; take a bite. {Well, maybe wait like 2-3 minutes so that you don’t burn your mouth}.
But the chewy texture of the oatmeal combined with the soft, melty caramel chips make these cookies so irresistible. So irresistible in fact that Burken still sneaks bites of them in the middle of the night.
Looking for more late night cookies? Check these out:
Guinness Chocolate Rolo Cookies
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 cup {2 sticks} butter softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- ¾ cup bourbon
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 ½ Tbsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 {12 oz} package salted caramel baking chips
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Preheat oven to 350°F and grease two baking sheets.
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In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
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Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the vanilla and bourbon and continue to beat until incorporated.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon and continue to beat until smooth.
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Add ½ of the oats at a time and beat on low speed until combined.
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Stir in the salted caramel chips and spoon a large spoonful of batter onto the prepared baking sheets.
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Bake for 10-12 minutes and move to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.
