Rolled oats

Steaming and rolling make the oats cook faster while keeping a pleasant chew. In baking they give oatmeal cookies their texture, add crunch to fruit crisps and crumble toppings, and hold together flapjacks and granola bars. Toasting them first brings out a nuttier flavor.

Quick oats are rolled thinner and cut smaller, so they bake softer and absorb liquid faster; they can often stand in for rolled oats with a less chewy result. Steel-cut oats are not flattened and won't soften enough in most baked goods.