A-what now?  I know, Savory Oatmeal Cookies, this sounds freaky and weird but hold that thought.

Before we roll on the cookies though, be sure to read Jen’s most recent post.  My heart is broken in a zillion pieces for her and her family; I’m at a loss for words.  Be sure to send her some love, ok?

Sigh.    ………

I know too, ’tis the season for all things cookie and surely there’s a mountain of recipes in my repertoire to share leaving me a’-wonder, well, if the cookie cup runneth over, where to even begin?!  Uhhh…..

Right now Jen has you hooked up with her Not Your Mama’s Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Chip Biscotti.  You could try my S’mores Cookies or the Apple Butter Rugelach.  All excellent choices.

Tamp any concerns you may have, we’ll have oodles more options for you as time meanders on. 

Truth be told, I have yet to plan my seasonal cookie list.  I mean, the usuals of chocolate chip and my mom’s Butter Cookies are solid givens but other than that, mmmm, I dunno.

Oh!  And Gingerbread German Shepherds as Mike gifted me a cookie cutter* a couple years back.  

It was a self-serving gift in fact, as he had solicited for gingerbread cookies.  He knew I’d be a sap for the German Shepherd, easily caving to his request. 

Last year Jen gushed about a gingerbread recipe she had made and, bam, that’s what did it, what lit us into Flaky Bakers action.

Every year I bake a bunch of cookies and every year I always panic that I never have enough.  What ends up happening though is after the panicking, the baking, then the distribution, we have a heap left for ourselves that we can’t get through.

Say what?  Cookie crimes against humanity, Iiiiii know.  It’s terrible.

I make about five or six different kinds, heh, which probably sounds crazy.  Or is that sane?  This year I’m contemplating making half batches but expanding the choices.  That’ll be a great way to test recipes and have quite the variety without over-cookie-ing.

Heh.  Over-cookie-ing, yeah, right.

But I thought I’d share this fine oatmeal cookie recipe. ’Tis the season for entertaining too, yeah?  Now you can survive on cookies alone.

These make a terrific appetizer served with cheeses or maybe a jam and cheeses or, cheeses and dried fruit, or maybe on a charcuterie, or, well, goodness, I can’t think of anything not to serve with these.  

They are an excellent, versatile, unexpected change-up from a cracker or toast round or whatever.  Plus they’re a cinch to make in no time at all.

Charcuterie, haha….hanging out with our neighbors Anne and Renee on Thanksgiving eve we discovered that Renee and Mike have the same word affliction, like using “ice” for “salt” on the sidewalk, mis-choosing or mispronouncing words.  Renee pronounces charcuterie as “char-coo-ta-tray.”  Omg, we were all laughing so hard!  Anne keeps a list on her phone, omg, so funny.

Ahhhh dear, I can’t stop chuckling.  Ok, pull it together, Becky!

Right!

We had more than one block party planning meeting this year because, well, hanging out with Anne and Renee is just ridiculous fun.  And as I mentioned last time with the Bleu Cheese Popover Muffins, we’re unable to host meetings or, yeah, have anybody over ever, (thanks Finn) so I like to bring snacks as thanks.

With these cookies, I had brought a hearty bleu cheese, a cheddar, a parm?, and a soft creamy one too?, some snacky meats I think?  I can’t remember exactly, that was a late “planning” evening as I recall.  And earlier in the year too so my memory’s a tad fuzzy on the particular snacky details.  

And if you’re a bleu cheese fan like me, like Mike, like Anne and Renee, yesss, the combo here is *mwah* chef kiss, delicious.  Though I gotta say, everything I put atop these cookies that evening was tasty so definitely give ‘em a whirl.  

Jeez, I probably sound like a broken record, eternally hawking for The Kitchn but heh, that is indeed where this recipe came from.  I swear, I’m not an employee!

You don’t even need a mixer for this, everything is stirred effortlessly by hand, no electricity needed.

Soak the oats in the warm water and set aside, then whisk up the oil, egg, and brown sugar in another bowl.  According to the original, you can add up to a half cup of brown sugar if you’d prefer sweeter cookies.

Into another bowl, yeah, it’s a bowl-heavy recipe, sorry, sift the flour (a fine mesh sieve* always works wonderfully) then add the remaining ingredients to it save the fancy sprinkling salt and fluff that all up.

Now, on that rosemary, yeah, it’s a strong herb in my opinion.  I’m not particularly a huge fan of it, in fact not really a fan at all.  I find it can handily overpower whatever you use it in so I cut the quantity down in half for my cookies, reflected in the recipe below.

Feel free to add up to 2 teaspoons directly into the batter though.  I used one teaspoon then ever so lightly sprinkled the cookies with a minuscule pinch before baking.  Besides, I thought the sprinkle atop would make for an attractive presentation.  Up to you though.

Ok, so tablespoon size balls onto a cookie sheet lined with either parchment or a spiffy silicone baking mat,* then squish the dough flat to about 1/4” thick.  Tidy up the edges or not depending on how fancy or rustic you feel.

I don’t have super frilly salt as optionally called for in the original recipe but I did dash on a tiny amount of coarse sea salt.  I’d recommend that as a substitute so as to not skip a perfect finishing touch.

Pop those nummies into the oven and in about fifteen or so minutes, you’re well on your way to an Appetizer Extravaganza!

Happy holidays!

Savory Oatmeal Cookies

These savory numbers are a perfect and unexpected way to change up, and up the ante on, your appetizer game.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes minutes

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: appetizer, brown sugar, cookie, easy, fast, oats

Servings: 16 cookies

Ingredients

Volume - Weight

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats not quick
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed; add up to 1/2 cup as desired
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup all purpose flour sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary see note
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• flaky sea salt fleur de sel, or coarse sea salt (topping, optional)

Instructions

• With parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, line a cookie sheet and begin preheating the oven to 350° F (176° C).
• In a large bowl, add the oats and warm water, tossing to coat and set that aside.
• Whisk the egg in a smaller bowl then stir in the olive oil and brown sugar. Add this mix to the oats and stir until combined.
• Sift the flour into another bowl and add the sea salt, baking soda, rosemary, and freshly cracked black pepper. Sprinkle on the parmesan and stir.
• In about 3 additions, add the flour mix to the oat mix, stirring gently with a spatula until everything is combined.
• Scoop tablespoon sized balls of dough and place them evenly spaced on the cookie sheet, pressing each down to about 1/4” thick. Sprinkle with a dash of rosemary and salt if desired.
• Place the sheet in the oven for 15-17 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on a rack and serve.

Notes

Note on rosemary: you can add up to 2 teaspoons directly into the batter or add 1 teaspoon to the batter then sprinkle the remaining atop the cookies before baking.

Adapted from The Kitchn. Click here.

*The German Shepherd cookie cutters and fine mesh sieves are an Amazon affiliate link.  Thanks!  Please see the right sidebar for more info.