Oat flour is growing in popularity as an alternative to traditional all-purpose flour for baking cookies. Oats have a mildly sweet flavor and can produce soft, chewy cookies with great texture. However, oat flour also has some key differences from all-purpose flour that affect the properties of baked goods. In this article, we’ll explore how swapping all-purpose flour for oat flour affects cookies in areas like texture, taste, appearance, and health benefits. Understanding these effects will help bakers decide when to use oat flour and how to adjust recipes accordingly.
Oat Flour Texture
One of the biggest impacts of using oat flour is on the texture of baked cookies. Here are some key ways oat flour changes cookie texture:
Chewier Texture
Oat flour contains high levels of soluble fiber from oat beta-glucan. This fiber absorbs liquid and helps give baked goods a soft, moist texture. Cookies made with oat flour will be chewier than traditional crisp or crunchy cookies. The oat fiber binds moisture and creates a dense, fudgy cookie.
Heavier Texture
Oat flour has a heavier texture than all-purpose flour. The density can make cookies baked with oat flour seem thicker or heavier. Oat flour lacks the gluten that allows all-purpose flour cookies to rise with a light, fluffy texture. Oat cookies will be compact and dense rather than airy.
Crumbly Texture
With less gluten than wheat flour, oat flour also produces a more crumbly, fragile cookie texture. The oat cookies may break apart easier than traditional cookies made with all-purpose flour. Too much oat flour can prevent cookies from holding their shape well during baking.
Mealier Texture
The protein and fiber in oat flour gives it a coarser, grainier consistency. Cookies made with oat flour often have a mealy, granular mouthfeel compared to the fine, smooth texture of all-purpose flour cookies.
Oat Flavor
In addition to texture, oat flour also impacts the flavor of cookies:
Nutty, Earthy Flavor
Oats have a distinctive grainy, nutty, earthy taste. Oat flour infuses cookies with oat flavor. The intensity of oat taste will depend on what percent of oat flour is used in the cookie dough. With 100% oat flour, the oat flavor will be very prominent.
Sweetness
Oats contain starch that can enhance the sweetness of cookies as it converts to sugar during baking. Oat flour cookies may taste mildly sweeter, even without adding more sugar. The oat flour enhances perception of sweetness.
Toasted, Caramel Notes
The nutty oat flavor can come through as toasted or caramel notes in baked cookies. Cookies made with oat flour may have deeper, roasted flavor nuances. These flavors complement things like chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, or dried fruit.
Mellow Flavor
Compared to traditional wheat flour, oat flour has a milder flavor. The earthy oat taste is more mellow than wheat, which allows other cookie ingredients to shine. Things like cinnamon, cocoa powder, peanut butter, or jam fillings will stand out more with oat flour.
Oat Cookie Appearance
Here are some visible ways oat flour changes the look of cookies:
Darker Color
Oat flour has a tan, golden color that produces baked goods darker than wheat flour. Cookies made with oat flour will be more golden brown. Higher proportions of oat flour lead to a deeper brown cookie color.
Rough Texture
The coarser texture of oat flour creates cookies with a bumpy, jagged surface compared to the smooth tops of wheat flour cookies. Oats add visible grainy bits throughout the dough. This can create an artisan, rustic look.
Dense Structure
Due to the heavy, dense texture oat flour provides, cookies will lack the air pockets that allow wheat cookies to rise. Oat cookies have a thicker, compact appearance and structure vs. lighter, airier wheat cookies.
Crumblier Cracks
With a more fragile, crumbly texture, oat cookies are prone to cracking on top or breaking unevenly compared to sturdy wheat cookies. The cracks and crevices add homemade character.
Moist Appearance
Higher moisture retention from oat flour prevents cookies from drying out. Oat cookies retain a softer, moister look rather than crisping up like traditional dry cookies.
Nutrition Benefits
Replacing all-purpose flour with oat flour provides some added nutritional value:
Higher Fiber
Oats are packed with soluble fiber that has health benefits like improved gut health, cholesterol reduction, and stabilized blood sugar levels. Oat flour cookies provide extra fiber compared to wheat flour.
More Protein
Oats contain nearly 15% protein, more than wheat. The protein helps oat flour cookies keep you fuller longer compared to the empty carbs of wheat cookies.
Lower Glycemic Index
The soluble fiber in oats helps slow digestion of sugar, preventing spikes and crashes in blood sugar. Oat flour has a lower glycemic index that promotes steady energy.
Added Vitamins & Minerals
Oats provide B vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium, and antioxidant avenanthramides not found in wheat. Oat cookies offer extra micronutrients.
Heart Health
The beta-glucan fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients in oats reduce LDL cholesterol and blood pressure for better heart health.
Recipe Adjustments
When swapping all-purpose flour for oat flour in cookie recipes, a few adjustments will help compensate for the different properties of oat flour:
Reduce Oat Flour Amount
Using 100% oat flour may create cookies that are too dense. Try replacing just 1/4 to 1/2 of the wheat flour with oat flour as a starting point.
Add Leavening Agents
Extra baking powder or baking soda gives oat cookies lift to offset the denseness of oat flour. Add an extra 1/4 teaspoon per cup of oat flour.
Increase Moisture
The dryness of oat flour requires more liquid. Add 1-2 extra tablespoons of milk or water per cup of oat flour to prevent crumbly cookies.
Use Less Fat
The natural oils in oats require less added fat. Reduce butter or oil by a few tablespoons when using oat flour.
Supplement With Xanthan Gum
A pinch of xanthan gum can help mimic the stretchy gluten bonds in wheat flour for chewier oat cookies.
Adjust Baking Time
The moisture and density of oat cookies requires a longer baking time at a lower temperature to fully cook through.
Example Oat Flour Cookie Recipe
To demonstrate how oat flour changes traditional cookie recipes, here is an example for chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:
Ingredients
– 1 cup (112g) oat flour
– 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1/2 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
– 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
– 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
– 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
– 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
– 1 1/2 cups (225g) chocolate chips
– 1 cup (80g) old-fashioned oats
Instructions
1. Whisk together oat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk. Fold in oats and chocolate chips.
4. Refrigerate dough 30 minutes.
5. Scoop dough 2 Tbsp per cookie onto baking sheets.
6. Bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes.
7. Cool on pan 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.
Conclusion
Oat flour makes a nutritious, flavorful substitution in cookie recipes, but its distinct properties change the finished cookies. Oat cookies will be denser, chewier, and crumblier with a pronounced oat taste. Adjusting the moisture, leavening, fat, and baking time helps compensate for oat flour’s heavy texture. With the right recipe adaptations, oat flour produces hearty, wholesome cookies with great texture and soothing oat flavor. Be adventurous and give oat flour a try in your next batch of cookies!