The only oatmeal cookie recipe you will ever need! Soft and chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies loaded with oats and chocolate chips!

I’ll admit that oatmeal cookies are not usually high on my list of cookies. I usually prefer the traditional chocolate chip cookie, or peanut butter chocolate chip, or Nutella chocolate chip.
Do you see a pattern here?? I think we can agree chocolate chips make everything better.
But, the reason I generally stay away from oatmeal is the dreaded raisin.

You know what I’m talking about. You think you’re biting into a perfectly chewy and delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and then you bit into a raisin.
It’s the worst. WORST.
Clearly I am not a raisin fan, never have been, likely never will be. I don’t mind the flavor so much as the texture. Why ruin a perfectly good cookie with chewy, gummy raisins??

I know some of you will vehemently disagree with my raisin aversion and insist that it’s not a true oatmeal cookie without the chewy suckers, but that’s ok.
Thankfully these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies can be made with either raisins or chocolate chips and be just as delicious. Heck go crazy and add some nuts while you’re at it!
I’ve remixed these cookies a few times already with pecans and dried cranberries (NOT the same as raisins), caramelized apples, and turned them into cookie cups.

The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies here though… they’re delicious.
Like, SO. GOOD. Perfectly soft and chewy, just the right amount of oats (they are quite loaded with oats, but that’s how I like them) and chocolate with some sea salt thrown in for good measure.
Using sea salt in cookies is my favorite thing to do!! Just swap out regular salt in your cookie recipe for flakey sea salt and prepare to be amazed.
It adds such a delicious kick to cookies and those salty bites only help to enhance the sweetness.

If you like really soft and chewy cookies, make sure not to over-bake them!
They’re done when the edges are lightly browned and the center still looks very unset. They will continue to cook and firm up once you take them out of the oven.

I can’t go through this post and not talk about the bloom on my chocolate chips. It has been HOT and HUMID here and in a west-facing, no a/c apartment, it’s practically unavoidable.
You’ve likely noticed this on chocolate at some point in your life. White streaks of either fat or sugar caused by heat and/or moisture. If you were to eat a piece of chocolate like this, you’d notice it had more of a grainy texture to it.
Not ideal and definitely not aesthetically pleasing, but thankfully the bloom has no effect on the flavor or texture of the chocolate chips once baked.
They are perfectly ok to use!

How can I adapt these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Next time I make these oatmeal cookies I think I’ll pass on the cinnamon. I’ve discovered that I don’t particularly like the combo of chocolate and cinnamon so I’d skip it and maybe add some walnuts or pecans for more flavor/texture.
If you prefer raisins in your oatmeal cookies, feel free to swap out the chocolate chips. You may want to start with 1 cup of raisins though, or if you’re a raisin fiend, go for the full 2 cups!
If you’re looking for a go-to oatmeal cookie recipe, this one is for you!
Notes & tips for the perfect chewy oatmeal cookies:
- I used a small (2 tsp) cookie scoop for these.
- If you like really soft and chewy cookies, make sure not to over bake them! They’re done when the edges are lightly browned and the center still looks very unset.
- If you prefer raisins, feel free to swap out the chocolate chips — you may want to start with 1 cup of raisins though, and adjust to your liking.
- I use sea salt in all my cookies. It’s a great contrast with the sweetness of the cookie. Feel free to use regular salt if you don’t have sea salt handy.
- Chopped nuts can be added as well if you like. Customize to your heart’s content!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes).
- Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition, and beat on high for 1 minute. Add vanilla.
- Turn mixer to low and add flour mixture, mix until combined.
- Add oats and chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.
- Chill dough in the fridge for an hour (optional, but yields better results).
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.
- Using a small cookie scoop, place cookies on baking sheet 2″ apart. I did 11 cookies per sheet.
- Bake for 10mins or until edges are lightly browned but center is still soft and unset.
- Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Originally published March 2016
Isabella says
Made this recipe tonight but substituted the butter for apple sauce. So so good! You’ll find the batter is a bit softer of course but they bake well and adds a good flavour with the oats. 10/10 would recommend
Olivia says
Glad you loved it, Isabella!
Ginny says
Do you have to refrigerate the dough. I need to bake them quickly?
Olivia says
Hi Ginny! You don’t have to but it helps them retain their shape better when baked.
Dolores says
Love this recipe! I also added some crushed pecans. to the mix. These are our favourite chocolate chip cookies
Olivia says
Love the addition of chopped pecans! Yum. So glad you liked these 🙂
Alex says
Have made this recipe so many times and every time I make them everyone raves about them. The cinnamon in them give the extra thing I need in the cookie. Making them today for my husband’s birthday tomorrow ❤️
Olivia says
Hi Alex! Thanks for the wonderful feedback. Glad you love them!
Madison says
These are the best cookies ever. I did a mix of regular and mini chocolate chips, and added dried cranberries as well. Do you know if the batter freezes well? If I wanted to portion them out and freeze them for later use? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Madison! Yes, the batter freezes great. So glad you like them!
Leandra says
Delicious cookies! Followed the instructions and everyone loved them.
Olivia says
Hi Leandra! I’m so happy to hear you loved them.
Lisa says
I love these cookies – they are my go to for little treat with my afternoon tea! I use whole wheat flour and add another egg and I use 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 cup of unsweetened coconut- so yummy, thank you for the recipe!
Olivia says
Hi Lisa! I love the addition of coconut. So happy to hear you loved these 🙂
Terica says
These are the best cookies. They are my husband’s favorite, so I make them about once a month. They are a hit at every event. Thank you for sharing!!
Olivia says
Thank you, Terica! I’m glad you both love them 🙂
Anna says
Hers: Quite mundane. I took a bite & the first reaction I had was a shoulder shrug.
His: Cookies were very un-special. Average. Bland even. It needs more salt & sugar. Tastes like a bad oatmeal raisin swapped with chocolate chips.
Back to the drawing board, aye Liv?
Olivia says
Hi Anna! I’m so sorry to hear you didn’t like the cookies. That’s unfortunate. But it just goes go show everyone’s taste is different. I, however, will not be reworking a recipe that has 100s of 5 star reviews and is baked and loved by 10s of thousands of people every month just for two people – that wouldn’t really be fair to all of them, would it now? If you can do better, please do feel free to create your own recipe and share it with all of us – I’m always looking for a fabulous new cookie recipe to try!
Momo says
Great response!😹 Online people are people too! Don’t be mean yall!
Amy says
it really is the best oatmeal chocolate chip recipe out there
Olivia says
Thanks Amy! So glad you love them 🙂
Katy Weipert says
I’m making these for a second time, but this time I’m using half chocolate half peanut butter chips. I’m very excited! Thanks for the great recipe!
Olivia says
Love the addition of the pb chips! Glad you love this one as much as I do 🙂
Mary says
My husband’s absolute, hands-down favorite cookie from his childhood. His mom always put in a teaspoon of black walnut extract, so for him, they MUST have that to be the ultimate. (I’ve just ordered some more.)
We’ve been married for 40 years, and his mother is no longer able to make these for him, but I, too, have a baking addiction. We’ll keep him in cookies.
Olivia says
Hi Mary! I will have to look up black walnut extract, I haven’t heard of it before. So happy you are able to make these for him.
Cyd says
I’m at high elevation and the 1 tbsp cookie size was way too small. They didn’t get bigger in the oven. I had to use an ice cream scoop instead.
Olivia says
Hi Cyd! If you’re at high elevation you will need to make some adjustments to the recipe and it might take some experimentation on your part. I’ve never baked in high altitude, but here are some tips: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Here are some general guidelines if you’re at 3000ft:
• Increase the oven temperature by 15-25F
• Decrease baking time by 5-10mins.
• Decrease sugar by 1 Tbsp per cup
• Decrease baking powder by 1/8 tsp per cup
• Increase liquid by 1-2 Tbsp per cup
• Add 1 Tbsp of flour
If you’re higher up than 3000ft, you will need to increase/decrease the ingredients incrementally. Again, it will require some experimentation. There are some great resources for high altitude baking out there.
Deb says
Really good! When my mixture was ready to put on cookie sheets, two eggs on the counter stared at me.. All I could do was mix them into the batter. It worked, and the cookies were great.
Olivia says
Hi Deb! So glad it worked out and that you liked them 🙂
Nancy says
Can Quick Oats be used in this recipe?
Olivia says
Hi Nancy! I haven’t used them myself so I can’t say for sure but I suspect they would be fine. They may change the texture a bit though.
Amy says
I used quick oats in mine and they’re perfect
Abby says
Jve your tried making these with gluten free flower?
Olivia says
Hi Abby! I haven’t myself but it should work fine as long as it’s a proper all-purpose GF flour blend.
Trina says
I wasn’t impressed by this recipe at all, it needs something but I can’t place my finger on it
Olivia says
Hi Trina! Did you make any adjustments to the recipe?
Wendy Burston says
Cooked them an extra 5 minutes this time instead of an extra 15. They stayed puffed up and look perfect. Also added either a raisin, a walnut piece or a pecan piece inside each one. Just for variety. These cookies are the best.
Olivia says
So easy to tweak these with a variety of additions. Glad you love them as much as I do, Wendy 🙂
AmyG says
SO GREAT!
Thank you!
Yes, Oatmeal, yes, chocolate chips, but no raisins!
Omigoodness! Thank you!!
Aaron H. says
Raisins in cookies is the main reason why I have trust issues. “Mmm… chocolate chip. WAIT! Those are RAISINS!!!”
Nick says
Family loved them! Sprinkled a little sea salt on top before going in the oven, game changer!
Olivia says
Sea salt is such an amazing addition, right?? Goes on all my cookies these days. Glad you all loved them!
Patti says
I’ve got to acquire some self restraint, made this recipe 3 times. This month. 😬 Twice we gifted them, but once we kept them all to ourselves!
Delicious cookies, awesome flavor and perfect underbaked just a tad. Make these soon!
Olivia says
It’s hard to resist making a double batch! I am so glad you love these cookies as much as we do over here 🙂