Dishpan Cookies
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Dishpan cookies are the perfect cookie in my book! Soft and chewy with slightly crispy edges, they live up to their name, as you never know what kind of delicious texture and flavor surprise is hiding inside.
I suppose I’ve always had a soft spot when it comes to homemade cookies. As a girl, my mother made fresh homemade cookies like these dishpan cookies twice a week, every week!
Living up to their name, dishpan cookies contain all sorts of goodness and the batter is generally far too massive to fit into a bowl in order to mix. So, what does the cookie dough include? A delicious combination of brown and white sugar, with vanilla extract, flour, quick oats, and cornflakes. This cookie recipe makes a very old-fashioned-tasting cookie. This recipe reminds me of something I had in our lunchroom at school as a child. We’ve included several recipe variations below, so you can make your own version of cookies (that’s what they’re all about).
These are also GREAT cookies to give away. These dishpan cookies travel well, freeze well, stay fresh longer than most cookies just sealed in a jar on the counter, and they also mail well. Even better, if you like crisp cookies, just bake them two minutes or so longer and you’ll have them! If you like chewy, bake them just until done.
Recipe Ingredients
- Light brown sugar
- White sugar
- Vanilla
- Oil
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Quick oats
- Cornflakes
In a large bowl or dishpan, add sugars, vanilla, oil, and eggs. Cream well.
It will look like this.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
Pour the into the wet and mix well.
Now pour in your oats and mix well.
Now add your cornflakes and mix REALLY well!
You can stop when the dish pan cookie dough is well mixed.
Drop 1/4 cup-sized scoops of onto an if you want them to be the size of mine. If you want smaller, just drop by tablespoons or slightly larger, your preference.
Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes. Add a few minutes more if you want them crispy. These will stay chewy and fresh for about two weeks, but folks have enjoyed them very much even after that!
BEWARE OF COOKIE MONSTERS!
Take some to your neighbors, your kid’s teachers, your friends, or your Mama!
Storage
- Store your dishpan cookies in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- The cookies also freeze really well. You can either freeze the cookie dough or the baked cookies.
Recipe Notes
- I like to make these cookies LARGE. I measure out 1/4 cup-sized balls and bake them to be extra-large. This cookie is sturdy enough to handle the larger size plus it is a nice little gift when you simply put one cookie in a cellophane gift bag and tie it with a curling ribbon, as I did this morning when I attached them to invitations for my daughter’s birthday.
- Here are some fun dishpan cookie recipe variations. Mix and matching ingredients are the best part of baking dishpan cookies!
- 2 cups of oats and 2 cups of sweetened coconut flakes to make coconut oatmeal dishpan cookies.
- 1 cup of quick oats and 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips for a unique take on a .
- 1 1/2 cups of oats, 1 cup of chocolate chips, and 2 cups of Rice Krispies.
- Add 1 cup of chopped nuts or raisins to our original recipe.
You might also enjoy these cookie recipes!
White Chocolate Chip Big Cookie
How to Make Snickerdoodle Cookies
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups oil
- 4 eggs
- 4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups quick oats
- 4 cups cornflakes
Instructions
- In a very large bowl or dishpan, cream together the sugars, vanilla extract, oil, and eggs.2 cups light brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 cups oil, 4 eggs
- In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and then fold in the oats and cornflakes.4 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ½ cups quick oats, 4 cups cornflakes
- Drop ¼ cup-sized dollops of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. This batter might be a little dry and you may have to smoosh it together with your hands to get it into a ball when you put it onto the pan.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 375, or until edges are lightly browned. If you want them to be chewy, bake a little less. If you want them to be crispy, a little more. I always double this recipe and do half chewy, half crunchy. They keep really well and are great for breakfast.
- This freezes well both as a dough and as a finished cookie.
Nutrition
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless.”
~Mother Teresa
Submitted by Vickie. Thank you Vickie!
This is the kind of recipe a mama of 7 needs! Thank you. They turned out great. I can’t believe it took me this long to try.
I am so glad you tried them and they were a hit!!! Hope you have a great week Michelle!!
I made these over the weekend for a birthday party for my 1 yr old grandtwins! I have to say plain they would be bland. I added 1/2 bag of chocolate & peanut butter chips to half the batter and coconut to the other half. I think craisens or raisins would be good too. I also mixed them in two batches because I was worried my mixer would not mix them well. Mine did not flatten either, they were puffy. Chewy on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. You do not taste the corn flakes ( I did crush them alittle) Really yummy. I made them with my small scoop and got over 6 doz. cookies. Great for a large group, or to freeze some for later.
Thanks for reporting back! I just need to chime in for anyone reading this that we find them extremely flavorful and anything but bland without the additions, but your add ins sound great!
My mother made these and we all love them, however we can’t help but wonder how they would taste with some peanut butter added in. Can you sub in 1 cup peanut butter for 1 cup oil?
I’ve never tried it but that is about the only thing I haven’t tried with this recipe! 😀
Our two granddaughters will help me in the making of a batch of dishpan cookies.
There maybe enough for us three – Yum.
Oh my goodness, you are going to have such a fun day Phil!!! I hope y’all enjoy the cookies as much as making the memories!
Christy:
I love your Dishpan Cookies, and I’ve discovered a way around freezing the dough, either in logs or as doughballs. This saves space in my freezer, and I can still have a cookie any time I want.
I finally replaced my food processor and was looking for something to fix in it Sunday. It’s a small one, like it’s predecessor, so I quartered the recipe. I made 9 large cookies, and 5 are now in the freezer, and I’ve very happily eaten the other 4.
I like them crispy and had been having trouble getting that right-if they aren’t crispy, the cornflakes tend to be chewy and tough and hard on my incisor crowns. If I get them too crispy, I have to dunk them to eat them safely. I had thought about breaking up the cornflakes, so I mashed them a bit with my hands before I put them in at the end, and I think the cookie dough blade broke them up a bit more.
I cooked them a bit longer-18 minutes, and they are crispy, but with some softness, and give and without any large, chewy cornflakes in the middle, and they have the same taste. Win-win!
I live by myself and doing a much smaller batch and freezing the baked cookies is a much better solution for me, and I wanted to let you and fellow readers know that you can make them in the processor, and how they turn out if you do. This would work well for empty nesters, too.
Thanks again for the Dishpan Cookie recipe. It’s perfect.
Hi Kathy!! I am so glad you like the cookies and have found a way that works for you! Thank you so much for sharing in case others can use your great tips!!
I was surprised to see your recipe for Dishpan Cookies! My family’s favorite cookie! I got the recipe many years ago from my mother-in-law who would have been 100 this year. I’ve never heard of anyone else having the recipe. My recipe is very similar. A small difference with 3 of the ingredients. Thanks for pinning it! It made me smile!
I am so glad you like the recipe!!! It is a favorite of ours as well!!
Christy:
Thank you Lori Keever for the idea of freezing the dough in balls and then putting them in ziploc bags.
I have been slowly making cookies from the frozen dough I made back in April. I make it into small logs, plastic wrap it, and then vacuum bag them in Food Saver bags. It generally works very well for cookies.
The problem is that I have been thawing the dough so I can make it into individual cookies. The oil just oozes out onto the plastic wrap and the dough becomes crumbly. Yesterday, I added a bit of oil back in and it helped, and then a very small splash of water. I had to add a bit of flour. The dough rolled well, but it was a bit wet, and I could also see a bit of an oil leak on the cookie sheet.
I was going to ask you what to do about it when I saw Lori’s post. I think that’s the answer. Either that, or not thawing the dough and slicing individual cookies with my heavy cleaver. And giving them a bit of extra time in the oven. I know the baked cookies freeze well, but I generally have more room for the dough.
BTW: I finally found one of your inexpensive hamburger mashers at Walmart, and got to use it yesterday on sausage. THANK YOU! That thing is almost the greatest thing since sliced bread!