Opinions are divided when it comes to oatmeal cookies. Crispy or soft & chewy? Chocolate chips or raisins? Are you one of those people who think of oatmeal cookies as being bland and dry? These incredibly delicious Strawberry Oatmeal Cookies may just change your mind. The crisp, buttery edges, chewy centers, pools of melted white chocolate, sweet, bright homemade strawberry jam, and tender oatmeal crumb topping take these cookies to another level. Browning half of the butter adds a nutty richness to the dough. It’s an extra step, but so worth it. I made a simple, homemade strawberry jam for these cookies using fresh strawberries, which is especially flavorful during strawberry season. If you don’t have fresh strawberries, you can use frozen ones or you can use store-bought strawberry fruit spread or lower sugar strawberry jam.
Strawberry Oatmeal Cookies
Chewy, moist oatmeal cookies with buttery, crisp edges, swirls of strawberry jam, white chocolate chunks & oat crumb topping
Ingredients
Strawberry Jam
- 2 cups (285g) chopped strawberries, divided 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons water
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup (64g) all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (25g) brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (5g) old fashioned oats
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons (43g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed and divided
- 1 ¾ cups (225g) all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (260g) old fashioned oats NOT instant oats
- 1 4 oz (113g) white chocolate bar, broken into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
Strawberry Jam
- Set aside 1/2 cup (71g) of strawberries. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups (214g) of strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the strawberries start to release their juices. Turn the heat down and simmer until the strawberries soften and the mixture starts to thicken, about 5-7 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch and water together. Stir this mixture to the saucepan and continue simmering until the strawberries reach a jam consistency, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the reserved strawberries, the vanilla extract and the salt. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Crumb Topping
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oatmeal and salt together until well blended. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips, until it looks sandy with no large pieces of butter remaining. Press the mixture together to form chunks. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Oatmeal Cookies
- Begin by browning half of the butter. In a medium-sized, light colored saucepan over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup (113g) of the butter and cook until it's deep golden and fragrant. When brown specks begin to appear, remove it from the heat and immediately transfer the butter to a small bowl. Let it sit until it reaches room temperature, then refrigerate it until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs in 2 additions, making sure each one is incorporated, then mix in the vanilla extract. On low speed, stir in the flour mixture in 2 additions, just until combined, then mix in the white chocolate pieces.
- Set aside 3 tablespoons (54g) of the cooled strawberry jam. Add dollops of the remaining strawberry jam to the cookie dough. Stir very gently, but don't mix in the jam completely. You want to see strawberry swirls in the dough. Do not over mix! Over mixing will change the texture of the cookies.
- Place 3-tablespoon sized portions of cookie dough about 3 inches apart onto the prepared cookies sheets. (I used a #24 portion scoop.*) Top each cookie with some of the crumb topping, pressing lightly to adhere. Top each one with about a half teaspoon of the reserved strawberry jam.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are golden brown and the tops are set, about 12-14 minutes. If you want to make your cookies more perfectly round, immediately use a large round cookie cutter to shape the hot cookies. Place the cookie cutter on the cookie sheet over each cookie and slide it around a couple of times in a circular motion. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 1 minute, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Notes
If your cookies spread too much, you can refrigerate the unbaked cookie dough balls for 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate the dough for too long or it may begin to discolor.
*To find the cookie scoop that I used, click here.