Whether thick and chewy or thin and crispy, oatmeal cookies make delicious desserts and snacks. Their substantial texture and distinctive flavor allow oatmeal cookies to be vehicles for other fruits and vegetables. You can easily vary most oatmeal cookie recipes to incorporate apples, carrots, zucchini and raisins. If you frequently serve instant oatmeal for breakfast in place of rolled oats, you might not have the rolled oats called for in your cookie recipe.
Types of Oats
There are four main types of oats: steel-cut, rolled, quick-cooking and instant. Steel-cut oats undergo very little processing; they are simply cut into smaller pieces. Rolled oats, otherwise known as old-fashioned oats, are steamed, rolled and then dried. Quick-cooking oats undergo the same processing as rolled oats; however after being dried, they are cut into smaller pieces. Instant oats get partially cooked before being dried. The most substantial difference between types of oats is their cooking time, with steel-cut oats taking the longest amount of time and instant oats taking the least.
Problems With Instant Oats
Because instant oats are partially cooked and cut or ground into very fine pieces, they are not suitable for baking. Cookies made with instant oats will have a powdery texture and will be runny.
Suitable Substitution
Of the four main types of oats, the only two that are suitable for baking are rolled and quick-cooking. You can substitute equal amounts of quick-cooking oats for regular, old-fashioned rolled oats, or vice versa. However, recipes calling for rolled oats tend to call for less liquid because these oats do not readily absorb liquid. As you mix your batter, you might need to add slightly more liquid if you replace the rolled oats with quick-cooking oats.
Nutritional Differences
Doctors and nutritionists have lauded the benefits of whole grains such as rolled oats. Rolled oats contain vitamins B-1, B-2 and E, as well as high levels of soluble fiber, which helps reduce cholesterol levels, according to Mayo Clinic experts. Using quick-cooking oats in place of rolled oats does not diminish the nutritional value, as there is no nutritional difference between the two types of oats.
References
- Joy of Baking; Baking Ingredient Substitution Table; Stephani Jaworski
- Leslie Beck, RD; Oats -- January 2007’s Featured Food; January 2007
- “How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science”; Paula Figoni; 2007
- “The All-American Cookie Book”; Nancy Baggett; 2001
- “Biggest Book of Cookies”; Better Homes and Gardens Books; 2003
- Mayo Clinic; Cholesterol -- Top 5 Foods to Lower Your Numbers; May 2010
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Cereals, Oats, Regular and Quick and Instant, Not Fortified, Dry, NDB No: 08120
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