The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — Soft, chewy, loaded with chocolate, and they turn out perfectly every time! Totally irresistible!!

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: 

1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. This will take about 4 minutes. 
2. Then, add in the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips last. 
3. Use a 1/4 cup measure (or a large cookie scoop) to scoop the dough into balls.
4. Place the cookie dough balls on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 
5. 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. 

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!