Another rainy, oddly chilly day here at home. Obviously, it’s cookie time.
I have had the idea for a cookie that relied heavily on mace for its flavor for a long time.
Butterscotch-Mace Toasted Oat Cookies
Take butterscotch oatmeal cookies to the next level by adding mace and toasting the oats.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Spread the oatmeal in a single layer and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silipats. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, vanilla, and sugar. Add the egg, beat until fluffy.
- Add the flour, baking powder, mace, salt, and oatmeal. Mix until well combined.
- Fold in butterscotch chips. Place tablespoon-sized blobs of dough on the lined cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart and bake for 12-14 minutes or until they look just "set" and the bottoms are just golden. Don't overbake! The center may still be slightly soft.
- Carefully remove the cookies still on the parchment or silipats to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Yield: about 1 1/2 dozen (can be easily doubled)
My thoughts:
I had come across a mace sugar cookie-type recipe a while back and while it sounded tasty, I’ve realized that unlike my preferences for ice cream, I really do prefer a cookie with some chunks in it. Last week I read something where someone was talking about their mom’s recipe for oatmeal scotchies which I had to google but turned out to be an oatmeal cookie with butterscotch chips. We were strictly a chocolate (and maybe on a rare occasion, peanut butter) chip family growing up and my husband grew up eating things like carob so this was not in my repertoire. Apparently, they are flavored with cinnamon, which I am okay with but am sort of eh about.
Why not make a new cookie using one of my favorite baking spices (mace!!!), my favorite oatmeal cookie technique (toasting the oats first for a nuttier flavor), and butterscotch (which I think should be the next big flavor in baking). Why not, indeed.
I’m so glad I did. I love mace, aka the lacy coating (aril) of nutmeg, and I don’t think it gets enough attention. It’s easy to skip it or sub in its friend, nutmeg, or leave it out altogether. Even google searches for “mace spice” comes up with nutmeg as the top result. It’s a shame because mace has it’s own unique flavor and is rather warm and peppery in a way I don’t think other spices are. It’s time to give it its due. It is a little pricy as spices go but a little goes a long way and it goes great in anything that uses any of the major baking spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice) or in Indian, Caribbean, and Moroccan food (among other cuisines).
I got my hands on some mace but was not sure what to do with it. I came across your recipe and was happy with the results
I’m glad you enjoyed them!