When life gives you extra instant oatmeal packets, make oatmeal cookies. So chewy and delicious you will prefer this way of making this family favorite from now on.
To be completely honest, I was kind of surprised by how much I enjoyed this cookie. I was really just experimenting in the kitchen with whatever I found in the cabinet that had been clearly abandoned by my family who insisted I buy it in the first place.
I swear grocery shopping is at least 25% cheaper if I go at it alone because I tend to stick to the things on that well thought out list that takes a good chunk of my time to prepare each week.
That Instant Oatmeal looks good on the shelf with its promises of a quick meal with a homemade taste but once those sad little packets take up residence in my home, they somehow lose their appeal. Eventually, I get sick of looking at them, they get sick of looking at me, and I decide to experiment. That’s how these Oatmeal Cookies made from Instant Oatmeal packets were created, now being known as the “Best Freaking Oatmeal Cookies” my husband has ever had, I love when he says things like that!
He really enjoys his food and he makes it really fun to try out new recipes on him. His reactions are always the best, even when they aren’t so positive. He wears his heart on his sleeve and keeps it real, sometimes letting his emotions get the best of him which may lead to some offensive words on occasion.
I have been thinking a lot about free speech lately and although it has been going on for some time now I just realized how real the idea of being censored is for this country, it isn’t a passing phase or a few extreme cases that don’t reflect the majority. This is the new normal for us, we aren’t allowed to speak from the heart, off the cuff, or just riff a few jokes off. If you don’t like a joke, don’t laugh at it, if you don’t like a word, don’t say it, it really is that simple. I don’t mind that you don’t like my jokes or my speech and you have that right, much like I have mine.
It boggles my mind how many people are offended by words. They are just words, they disappear immediately after being spoken, well they used to. Even worse is that because of those words, people can report you to a boss or college you want to attend, or the entire world in seconds on the internet, saying words that have become unacceptable.
Then you can lose your job, your chance at a job, or any hopes of you living a normal life, all because you said some words that have already disappeared. That is a scary thought but hopefully, these oatmeal cookies will make you feel better, after all, they have been said to be the best oatmeal cookie ever by a man that says what is really on his mind.
Get your pantry organized and put those instant oatmeal packets to good use by making these deliciously chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Oatmeal Cookies with Instant Oatmeal Packets
Ingredients
- 5-6 Instant Oatmeal Packets of any variety (mine are mixed)
- 3 Teaspoons of Maple Syrup Extract
- 1/4 Cup of Sugar
- 1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 1 Stick of Butter
- 3 Tablespoons of Milk
- 1 Egg
- 3/4 Cup of All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup of Raisins
- Instructions
Instructions
Cream together the butter and sugars, add in the extract, milk, and egg, mix. Add in the rest of the ingredients slowly while mixing until well combined.
Shape into cookies and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.
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How cool and different this is! I have never thought about making oatmeal cookies from flavored instant packets. Now, I’m thinking of the different flavors….
¡Muy bien!
My daughter bought a bunch of oatmeal packets only to burn herself out on them. I will be using them to make my younger child some cookies. Yum!
That’s a fun idea! I haven’t made oatmeal cookies in ages, and these sound yummy. I never thought to use oatmeal packets but it would be neat to try.
These look like an easy way to add in some diverse flavor options. I always have oatmeal packets on hand too. Just imagine an variety pack!
Send me all the baking hacks! Love that you were able to make oatmeal cookies with instant oatmeal. I typically always have some on hand, so I can make them whenever the feeling hits.
This is genius! I always having packets of instant oatmeal on hand so I can whip some of these up any time. It may sound odd, but growing up my grandma made oatmeal cookies with jellybeans in them. I loved them!
How many packets of oatmeal??
Great question Ash! I have updated the recipe, I just made these again yesterday and realized I never put the quantity in there, yikes! Thanks for the heads up and for stopping by!
Can you leave the maple syrup extract out and or substitute maple syrup and if so how much
Hi Hugh, I bet you could try that, measuring out the same amount and reducing the sugar a bit to make up for it. Let me know how it turns out, this sounds like a great substitute.
I put the same amount of maple syrup as the maple extract. They came out delicious!
So happy to hear that! Thank you for trying my recipe and letting me know how it turned out!
I cleaned out the pantry today, and found exactly what was needed for this recipe. These cookies were a big hit!
That’s awesome! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Lol….well this is probably random for you seeing as it’s been three years since this article. I have a constant sweet tooth and I absolutely love oatmeal. I usually eat it with flaxseed, honey and rasins, but the kids always want the packets. Now I want something sweet to munch and am out of chocolate chips, so oatmeal cookies it is, but I’m out of raisins. Immediately i spot the box of packets on the bakers rack and the wheels start turning. I googled ‘cookies with oatmeal packets’ and this popped up. Click. Lol…thanks for the input.❤️
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I always love hearing from people who had the same thought as me. When life gives you leftover oatmeal, make cookies 🙂
I can’t wait to make these. During this pandemic, my father, who is in a senior residence, has been getting a packet of oatmeal every day. He doesn’t eat it every day, so he’s been giving them to me. Now I have about 25 of them so I’m going to make these cookies and give them back to him. Thank you so much for experimenting to come up with this.
Thank you for commenting, I am so glad that you are trying the recipe. I hope your dad loved the cookies as much as I did.
You could try to add a little more flour to thicken the recipe if you are short on oatmeal but it may alter the taste. Please let me know how it turned out.
Do you think coconut flour would work as well?
I think it will work just fine but sometimes coconut flour has the tendency to dry things out so many try adding a little at a time. Let me know how it worked for you and thanks for stopping by, trying the recipe, and commenting.
I cleaned out my cabinet and saw from months earlier that the oatmeal packets were everywhere… Was hoping their was a recipe here and viola……
here it is … doing this first thing tomorrow morning !!! Thank you for experimenting !!
Hi, I don’t have the maple extract but that’s the flavor of the oatmeal. Could I perhaps use 3 tsp. of pancake syrup? These sound great! Shall I send a pic if I make ’em?
Thanks!
How did these turn out?
I’m going to use the strawberry flavor oatmeal . I’m super excited to have found your recipe to use to make them. Ill let you know how they turn out.
Thanks
Ok strawberry are delish…I left out the raisins and I used 6 packets- the consistency with only 5 was a bit runnier than I like to see….and honestly I probably could have used 7 and it would have given the cookies some more body…. but they are great thanksnfornthe recipe
Thank you for stopping by, trying the recipe and leaving a comment. I am glad you liked the cookies!
I used this recipe and altered some ingredients and I am very pleased with how it turned out! Here’s what I changed: used only better oats brand cinnamon roll flavor instant oatmeal- because it’s blah as a cereal but it’s good in these cookies, instead of sugars, reduced amount of date syrup. Instead of egg= 1 small mashed banana. Instead of Maple flavor I used cinnamon powder, instead of milk, I used walnut milk. Baked for 15 minutes. Batter did not spread like in the blog photos. But browning on it is good, they break easily. I like them!
Hi Stehpani, thanks for sharing your swaps and commenting on this recipe. I am so glad you like the cookies!
Thank you for posting this recipe! What a life saver to have used it. I made my first batch today with your core recipe added 1/2 raisin , chocolate chips, walnuts and bacon! 💕💕💕❤️can’t wait for my husband to try them.
Ooh that sounds delicious! Thanks for stopping by, commenting, and trying the recipe out. I hope he likes them!
Fantastic!😋
Ended up using using vanilla instead of maple because it’s all i had,a mixture if raisins and craisins, and 7 packets apples & cinnamon. (Dough was too soft with only 6 packets).
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for stopping by, commenting and trying them out!
I have 18 pkts of the walnut/date/raisin oatmeal. same quantity of other ingredients?
I would suggest tripling the ingredients needed when using that many oatmeal packets. Good luck and thanks for stopping by, commenting, and trying the recipe out.