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.
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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.
I tried this recipe a few days ago at home to surprise my child. because my child enjoys eating chocolate cookies Your ingredient was surprisingly accurate, and I have the actual test. Thank you for your content. It was immensely helpful.
OMG. Finally. A recipe that can match Potbelly’s cookies!! These are so amazing. I almost didn’t make them because the pop-ups and ads on this website are so annoying; I thought this was a spam site from Pinterest. However, I’m glad I stuck around!
For anyone interested, to closely replicate Potbelly’s cookies, you have to use instant oats (not old-fashioned). I much prefer it this way anyways; I hate gnawing on large, dry pieces of rolled oats. Just make sure you don’t over-measure your flour or oats. I always use a scale to precisely measure the flour and sugars. And do not over-bake, or it WILL be dry!!!! My cookies had crunchy edges and gooey/chewy center, even when cooled.
I also browned (then chilled) half of the butter before mixing, and added in 1 tablespoon of Log Cabin “maple” syrup. This is just something I do for all my chocolate chip cookies.
God bless!!! <3
OMG. Finally. A recipe that can match Potbelly’s cookies!! These are so amazing. I almost didn’t make them because the pop-ups and ads on this website are so annoying; I thought this was a spam site from Pinterest. However, I’m glad I stuck around!
For anyone interested, to closely replicate Potbelly’s cookies, you have to use instant oats (not old-fashioned). I much prefer it this way anyways; I hate gnawing on large, dry pieces of rolled oats. Just make sure you don’t over-measure your flour or oats. I always use a scale to precisely measure the flour and sugars. And do not over-bake, or it WILL be dry!!!! My cookies had crunchy edges and gooey/chewy center, even when cooled.
I also browned (then chilled) half of the butter before mixing, and added in 1 tablespoon of Log Cabin “maple” syrup. This is just something I do for all my chocolate chip cookies.
God bless!!! <3
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that you love the cookies and tweaked the recipe a bit to fit your desired outcome.
I made these as directed with a generous pinch of salt. I rolled the dough in parchment and put them in the freezer so we could slice them and bake a cookie at a time (adding a minute or 2 to baking time due to being frozen). The texture and spread are absolutely perfect. They came out thick and chewy. My boyfriend loved them, he just thought they were a bit rich, but that didn’t seem to stop him. For my own tastes, I would either just use salted butter next time or sprinkle some flake salt before baking, or add roasted pecans and maybe cut back on some raisins. Changes would not because it isn’t a great cookie, I just like a little less rich/sweet and more salt in a cookie. We both agreed these are 5-star gourmet. Something I would expect in a fine hotel warmed with a cup of coffee in the afternoon.
I made these as directed with a generous pinch of salt. I rolled the dough in parchment and put them in the freezer so we could slice them and bake a cookie at a time (adding a minute or 2 to baking time due to being frozen). The texture and spread are absolutely perfect. They came out thick and chewy. My boyfriend loved them, he just thought they were a bit rich, but that didn’t seem to stop him. For my own tastes, I would either just use salted butter next time or sprinkle some flake salt before baking, or add roasted pecans and maybe cut back on some raisins. Changes would not because it isn’t a great cookie, I just like a little less rich/sweet and more salt in a cookie. We both agreed these are 5-star gourmet. Something I would expect in a fine hotel warmed with a cup of coffee in the afternoon.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad these tasted like something you’d get in a fine hotel!
I made your Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies yesterday – really easy. They came out perfectly right down to the 11 minutes cooking time. I had no chocolate chips so I substituted raisins which I love equally so they were not a disappointment. Without a cookie scoop I still came out to 14 cookies easily. Really delicious! And for some reason they disappeared in two days! Thanks!
I made your Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies yesterday – really easy. They came out perfectly right down to the 11 minutes cooking time. I had no chocolate chips so I substituted raisins which I love equally so they were not a disappointment. Without a cookie scoop I still came out to 14 cookies easily. Really delicious! And for some reason they disappeared in two days! Thanks!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that they were awesome and disappeared quickly! I love oatmeal raisin cookies too so would’ve been just as happy with that version compared to chocolate.
Made these cookies last night, and they tasted amazing! Even today, they are still fresh and just as delicious
Made these cookies last night, and they tasted amazing! Even today, they are still fresh and just as delicious
Homemade always better than those getting from commercial store
Hey! Why do the cookies bake and stay in a big ball?
When cookies don’t flatten, that is a sign that the dough was overfloured and you need to scale back on it (measure with a lighter hand).
I’ve been making these cookies for over 2 years now. They are hands down the best. The recipe is perfect every time.
I’ve been making these cookies for over 2 years now. They are hands down the best. The recipe is perfect every time.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad they are hands down the best for you and perfect every time!
great
How are these different than your One-Bowl, No-Mixer, No-Chill Oatmeal Cookies? One says you must chill, the other says no chilling needed. But they have the same ingredients and steps. I don’t get it.
The recipes are very similar indeed. Feel free to chill or not.
Hi there, I made your oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe and it was fabulous. My only complaint is your website is very challenging with all the ads and it seems to overload your website and making it difficult to find the recipe and the ingredients and directions. I will continue to review your website, lots of yummy things to make.