The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — Soft, chewy, loaded with chocolate, and they turn out perfectly every time! Totally irresistible!!
Table of Contents
- The BEST Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
- Can Raisins Be Added?
- Can I Add Other Mix-Ins?
- How to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Do I Have to Chill the Cookie Dough?
- What’s the Best Type of Oatmeal for Oatmeal Cookies?
- Why Didn’t My Cookies Spread in the Oven?
- Do I Really Have to Add 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla?
- Storage Instructions
- Recipe Variations to Try
- The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
- More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes:
The BEST Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have so many oatmeal cookie recipes. And chocolate chip cookie recipes.
But didn’t have ‘my perfect’ good old-fashioned oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe until now.
These are the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I’ve had, and I’m super picky about oatmeal cookies.
Oatmeal cookies, when done right — and by that I mean soft, chewy, and not over-baked — are some of my favorites. The chewiness, the perfectly hearty texture, the nuttiness of the oats, and all the chocolate made these a new favorite twist on a classic.
I adapted my Oatmeal Scotchies recipe and used chocolate chips instead of butterscotch.
I like that the recipe only makes 11-12 medium/large cookies, perfect if you don’t need too much of a good thing laying around. Double it if you have a big family or an amazing metabolism.
I love this base because the cookies are soft, chewy, and hearty without feeling like I need to take them on a mountain hike. Sometimes oatmeal cookies get a little too oaty and hearty. I want a cookie, not a granola bar.
But if there aren’t enough oats used, I find myself wanting more texture and chewiness.
The cookies are thick enough, but not too thick. Overly thick thick oatmeal cookies can turn dry or cakey, a total deal-breaker. Conversely, they’re not too thin, which is good because there’s nothing more unsatisfying than biting into a paper thin cookie.
I dare you to try to keep your hands out of the cookie jar.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
To make these chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, all you’ll need is:
- Egg
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Old-fashioned oats
- All-purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
Can Raisins Be Added?
If you like raisins or nuts in your oatmeal cookies, feel free to add a handful of either. But for anyone who dislikes oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies, your wishes have been granted. Just loads of melty chocolate in these babies.
Can I Add Other Mix-Ins?
Absolutely! I’ve provided some mix-in options just above the recipe card (scroll to the bottom of this post to see). M&M’s, chopped nuts, raisins, etc. would all work.
How to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is such a simple chocolate chip oatmeal cookies recipe. I saw no reason to complicate a classic!
Here are the basic steps to making truly the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. This will take about 4 minutes.
- Then, add in the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips last.
- Use a 1/4 cup measure (or a large cookie scoop) to scoop the dough into balls.
- Place the cookie dough balls on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Once the cookie dough has had time to chill, bake until the edges have set and the tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. You do NOT want to over bake these cookies!
Do I Have to Chill the Cookie Dough?
Yes! You can NOT bake with unchilled dough. The cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
What’s the Best Type of Oatmeal for Oatmeal Cookies?
To make perfectly chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I recommend using old-fashioned oats (sometimes called rolled oats).
Instant oats are more finely ground and can act like a flour, which results in drier cookies. And steel cut oats
Why Didn’t My Cookies Spread in the Oven?
When cookies don’t spread it’s usually a result of an over-floured dough. If you used a heavier hand when measuring the oats, flour, or both, your cookies may not spread properly.
When measuring out the flour, scoop it out of the bag with a spoon rather than dip the entire measuring cup into it.
Do I Really Have to Add 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla?
Yes, you need to add 1 TABLESPOON of vanilla extract to the dough, not 1 teaspoon. I always add more vanilla to my baked goods because I really want the flavor to pop!
Storage Instructions
You can prepare the cookie dough up to five days in advance. As long as it’s stored in an airtight container or is tightly covered in plastic wrap, you can leave it in the fridge.
After five days, the cookie dough needs to be frozen. You can bake the dough straight from the freezer, just add a minute or two to the bake time.
Note that the baked cookies can also be frozen for up to three months.
Recipe Variations to Try
I think this recipe makes the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies as written, but there are a couple variations you can try if desired.
- Add cinnamon: Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the dough.
- Add raisins: You can add up to 1/2 cup raisins to the recipe as written.
- Add nuts: Chopped nuts of any kind will work. You can add up to 1/2 cup.
- Add M&M’s: Use a mixture of M&M’s and chocolate chips in the dough.
- Use mini chocolate chips: Use 1 cup. Just note that the chocolate distribution will differ from what you see in the photos above.
Note that you can add up to 1 1/2 cups mix-ins TOTAL to the oatmeal cookie dough. So if you want to add raisins and / or nuts, you can only add 1/2 cup total to the 1 cup of chocolate chips in the dough.
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The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp (1 stick)
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats, not instant or quick cook
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon, added to taste
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 heaping cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup raisins or nuts, optional and to taste
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the chocolate chips, optional raisins or nuts, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 11 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. Tip – Strategically place a few chocolate chips on top of each mound of dough by taking chips from the underside and adding them on top.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for about 11 minutes (for super soft cookies, longer for more well-done cookies), or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes:
I have many oatmeal cookie dough bases, as well as countless other cookie recipes that use oatmeal, but my favorites are below.
Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies — No butter and no mixer used in these easy cookies dripping with chocolate!
Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Scotchies Cookies — My favorite classic oatmeal cookie base loaded with sweet butterscotch chips! A classic cookie that you’ve just got to try!
Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Brown Sugar Cookies {Anzac Biscuits} — Soft, chewy, easy, no-mixer, no-egg cookies!
Originally published November 6, 2014 and Republished with updated text May 19, 2021.
These cookies were awesome! My daughter never want me to buy cookies again. Can’t wait to make the banana version. Thanks for sharing. I am definitely a fan.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And that your daughter never wants storebought again :) LMK if you try the banana version!
These were delicious, but the texture was way off! They spread so much in the oven and fell completely flat. For the second batch, I chilled the dough before baking and they still spread too much. The dough seemed like it needed either a little less butter, or more flour for a better consistency. The flavor was delicious though!
All climates and ingredients vary and in the summer, sometimes you do need a touch more flour to compensate for humidity given any particular recipe; one of those judgment-call situations. I highly recommend King Arthur Brand flour which I explained here as well as many other cookie baking tips https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/02/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Thanks for trying the recipe and if after making the changes/using my suggested tips, i.e. Silpat, KAFlour, etc. and you still have spreading, LMK. Glad they taste delicious!
These really are the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!! I’m going to make them again (and again…) and try them with white chocolate chips and dried cherries! Can’t wait!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And glad that you agree they’re really the best!
These are great, they turned out perfect when we made them. Thanks for posting.
Simon
I just baked the oatmeal,chocolate chip cookies,they are amazing :)..Instead of the fridge I put mine in the freezer for 25 mins worked perfect! I had to bake mine for a few extra mins mine were a bit thicker but turned out perfect..Thank you for sharing your recipe :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
ive tried it , it turned out amazing perfect recipe .
thank you for sharing
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you!
Is it okay to refrigerate the dough in a bowl and then form the cookies to bake after the 2 hours? Not sure how important that step of forming into cookies first would be…
No because then you will be trying to scoop rock hard dough out of a bowl. I prefer the way I wrote the recipe so I don’t bend spoons and have to put unnecessary elbow grease into it.
Softened butter? Melted??
Softened.
I made these yesterday and they are incredible! I went a little heavy on the cinnamon and salt, and I’m glad I did. I’ve made 3 different kinds of Oatmeal cookies from 3 different websites in the last week and these were by far the best. Thanks!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
And glad mine were the best from all 3 sites!
They were soooo good! I used sucanat instead of regular sugar and they turned out perfectly! Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you with sucanat!
What will happen if I use Quaker Quick 1-Minute Oats, because thats all I have at the moment.
The cookies will not turn out properly.
I actually just made them using Quaker Quick 1-minute Oats and they were incredible! They got devoured and people were commenting on how good they were :).
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Even with Quick Oats! Yay!
Oh my gosh, Averie! I finally tried these today and I’m seriously obsessed with how good they are! The crisp edges and the ultra-chewy interior…Gah, so good! I may never try any another oatmeal cookie recipe again! ;)
Thank you so much for trying the recipe and glad it’s a keeper for you! Thanks for coming back to tell me, too!
I just took these out of the oven and … ohhh my. They are so good. I used gluten free all purpose flour and oats. Thanks for sharing this recipe. As my son would say Yummy Yummy in my Tummy!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you with GF AP flour and oats!
Hi Averie
I made your oatmeal chocolate chip recipe exactly as per your recipe. I baked the first batch at 350 for 11 min, but they came out quite dry and a bit too brown. The second batch, I turned the temp down to 325 and baked for 10 min. Although they came out less dry, I found them still a bit dry. I had them in the fridge overnight, could this be the reason? (although you did say they could be refrigerated up to 5 days before baking.
Some ovens just run hotter than others and sounds like yours maybe runs hotter than mine. Just bake less time, i.e. 8 minutes or so, and take them out. See how they look. If you need to go to 9, etc…do what seems right in your oven and for your tastes without paying too much attention to exactly what the clock says.
Also make sure you’re not over-adding flour, which is easy to do, and that can contribute to a dryer cookie overall.
It’s not the overnight chilling…I do that all the time. It’s most likely just a hot-running oven so just bake for less time.
My boyfriend is so addicted to these. He will literally go to the grocery store and buy all the ingredients (and only the nicest chocolate chips) if we don’t have them at home just so I can make him a double batch. I’ve made two double batches this week already. :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it’s a favorite of yours and your boyfriends! That’s awesome that you’ve made two double batches this week alone!
I just made these, they are just okay. I did exactly as recipe said and they do not look like hers and I would not call them “the best” by any means.
Did you use a Silpat and King Arthur? This is my post about how to make perfect cookies every time! https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/02/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Thanks for trying the recipe.