Oatmeal Caramel Cookies (Mediocre Edition)

Ingredients

Dry

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour (or almond flour for Gluten Free)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ cups old-fashioned oats (certified gluten-free oats for Gluten Free)

Wet

• ¾ cup (1.5 sticks) butter, softened (or plant-based for Dairy Free)
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling and topping

• 12-15 caramel candies (Werther's Original or similar; dairy-free caramels for Dairy Free)
• ¼ cup caramel sauce (optional, for drizzling; dairy-free caramel sauce for Dairy Free)

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Dry mix. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and oats in a bowl.
3. Wet mix. Beat softened butter and both sugars until creamed (2-3 min). Add egg and vanilla. Mix until combined.
4. Combine. Add dry mix to wet mix. Stir until just combined. Dough will be thick and oat-heavy.
5. Scoop dough. Drop 1.5-tbsp balls of dough onto baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly with your hand.
6. Add caramel. Press 1 caramel candy into the center of each cookie. The caramel will melt as it bakes (or it won't, depending on the day).
7. Bake. Bake 11-13 minutes. Edges should be golden, centers still soft. The caramel candies might leak out. That's fine.
8. Cool. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes (caramel needs time to set). Transfer to wire rack carefully (they're fragile).
9. Optional drizzle. Drizzle with caramel sauce once cooled for extra sweetness.

Notes

• Yield: ~18-20 cookies
• Why "mediocre": caramel candies don't always melt into the center. Sometimes they just sit on top like a decoration. Cookies might look lumpy and uneven because of the caramel. No fancy presentation. Taste-wise: chewy oatmeal cookie with sweet caramel. Acceptable.
• Timing: bake time is critical. Underbaked, the caramel is still liquid and will burn your mouth. Overbaked, the cookies get hard and the caramel hardens like candy.
• Storage: keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Caramel will continue to soften or harden as it sits.
• Hack: for a guaranteed caramel center, bake the base cookie 6 min, add the caramel candy, then bake 6 more min. But this is more work than mediocre cookies should require.