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
Courtney says
Definitely the best cookies I have ever made, let alone ever tasted!!
Olivia says
Thanks Courtney! So glad you loved them 🙂
Gerry v says
I made this for my son and simple loved them .
Olivia says
Hi Gerry! So glad you guys liked these 🙂
Sarah Miericke says
Love these! Best oatmeal cookies I’ve made. I used 3/4 tsp of salt because I love sweet and salty. I also used 1 cup large dark chocolate chips and 1 cup dried cranberries. Divine!
Olivia says
Hi Sarah! Yum, I’m going to have to try your combo. So glad you loved these!
Patricia says
Amazing! Tastes like cookie dough! I made them into “brownie” bites, dumped mix into a Pyrex and cut into small pieces. Looking forward to my bananas browning. Thank u!
Olivia says
Hi Patricia! I’m not sure if your comment is meant for this recipe, but I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
Sheri says
These are perfect and nothing needs to be changed! Im keeping this recipe forever and passing it down to my daughter! Thank you for posting!
Olivia says
That may be the best compliment ever, thank you Sheri!
Jacqueline says
These cookies are delicious! Can you freeze the cookies? If so do you have a recommendation how to freeze them, and how long they can be frozen for?
Olivia says
Hi Jacqueline! You can totally freeze them! I just pop them in a freezer bag. They’ll keep for months 🙂
Ghulam Mohyudin says
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Olivia says
Hi Ghulam! Thanks so much 🙂
German de la Melena says
Hello, thank you for this recipe, I used to make this about 30 years ago from my Mom’s recipe, then when I moved away I forgot the recipe and found yours, very much the same, I used Lard and Butter and also used white and brown sugar, my question is, My cookies come out very flat, like super flat, what am I doing wrong?
Olivia says
Hi German! Did you chill the dough? I haven’t made these with lard so I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think it would have a huge impact. Did you make any other adjustments?
Mary says
Turned out absolutely delicious! Minimal ingredients… big taste!!
Olivia says
So glad you loved these Mary! 🙂
Chelsea says
So good! Makes a large quantity. I’ll probably cut it in half next time.
My oven took a bit longer to cook them, but they turned out lovely.
I used margarine instead of butter cause that’s all I had. Still delish!
Olivia says
Hi Chelsea! So glad you liked them, thanks for your tips 🙂
Gina says
Really chewy, crunchy on the outside. We added walnuts and cut the recipe in half.
Olivia says
Hi Gina! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Fonnita says
Hi I just wondering if regular brown sugar and quick oat will work with this recipe? Can’t wait to try 😋
Olivia says
Hi Fonnita! A comment from Rona below mentions that she tried quick oats and they worked just fine! Any brown sugar should work fine too.
Meredith says
These cookies were a hit with everyone in my family! I doubled the recipe, added chopped walnuts, and put a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.
My husband said if there was some peanut butter in the mix, they would’ve been the best cookies ever made! Lol!
Thank you for sharing!
Meredith says
And no cinnamon!
Olivia says
Hi Meredith! Thanks for all your tips and feedback, I’m so glad you guys loved these!
Beth says
These were so ahhhhmazing!! I made them with salted butter and no cinnamon. My boyfriend actually told me I wasn’t allowed to make any other cookies ever again cuz these were the best ever!!
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!!
Olivia says
Hi Beth! So happy you guys both loved them! 😀
Rosie says
Hi Olivia, just halved this recipe and they’re my favorite ever! Only things I adjusted were substituting vanilla with maple syrup, and I used a little less than a quarter tsp of regular iodized salt because I had no sea salt at hand. Still so delicious and chewy!!!!
Olivia says
Hi Rosie! Love the maple syrup sub! Yum, I need to try that. So happy you loved them 🙂
Beth says
Made them again tonight!! Another success!!! Many thanks again! ❤️❤️❤️
Olivia says
Yay! I need to make these again soon 🙂
Gina Roberts says
They turned out perfect! Added raisins and didn’t have any unsalted butter so I used the salted butter and added half the amount of salt the recipe called for. Didn’t flatten out to much at all. Used a insulated cookie sheet to bake them on
Olivia says
Hi Gina! So happy you loved them. Thanks for your tips and feedback! 🙂
Kristina says
Delicious! It was very easy to make a half batch. I used semi-sweet chocolate chunks, added 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, and chilled overnight. My cookies did not flatten much at all, perhaps because of the added chill time and/or walnuts. I actually had to flatten and shape them into circles to get the amount of spread that I wanted! This was no problem though as I love a thick cookie. Here are the measurements for a half batch if anyone is interested:
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon optional
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
1/8 cup (2 Tbsp) granulated sugar
1 large eggs room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Olivia says
Hi Kristina! So happy you loved these. Thank you for all your tips too 🙂 I need to try these with chocolate chunks and walnuts!
Lisa says
I found these baked flat and not pretty. I had added an additional tablespoon of flour but found they turned out better when I added an ADDITIONAL QUARTER CUP of flour.
The flavor is great regardless but looks do matter in my opinion.
Olivia says
Hi Lisa! Sorry to hear that. They should not flatten out too much. Did you chill the dough? It sounds like something was maybe off in the measurements.
Jojo says
I’ve been looking for a recipe that had the right ratio of oatmeal and flour and this was perfect! I opted for all brown sugar, no granulated. I think it makes them chewier. Left out the sea salt and added raisins & coconut. I love all the flavors and textures together. I do t like nuts, but chopped up some walnuts to add in the last two batches for my family. They were a big hit! Perfect consistency, thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Jojo! Thanks for the amazing feedback and your tips. I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
Rona says
I’m going to attempt making these delicious looking cookies. I only have steel cut oats or quick oats though. Can I use either one of those?
Many thanks Olivia!
Olivia says
Hi Rona! I would opt for the quick cook ones, though the texture will be a bit different. They should still be delicious!
Rona says
Hi Olivia! I made them with the quick oats and they were delicious. Half with chocolate chips for my chocoholic daughter and half without for my son:)
Will make them next time with the proper rolled oats.
Oh and I feel the exact same way about raisins!
Thanks and stay safe!
Olivia says
Awesome! Thanks so much for the feedback. Glad they worked out 🙂
Kimberly says
Great recipe! I opted out cinnamon too, only like to use in oatmeal if I’m doing with dried fruit and nuts vs chocolate. Also, I add 2 tsp honey to batter. Makes the cookies chewier and batter stays together when forming scoops on pan. Always a good added ingredient to cookie dough in my opinion.
Olivia says
Hi Kimberly! So happy you liked these. Thanks for your tips!