Thick and chewy, these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are the cookies of your dreams!  Soft centers with a barely crispy exterior, a delightfully chewy texture from the oats, and packed full of chocolate chips.  Whether you like them bite-sized or jumbo, these are the BEST oatmeal cookies!

I really can’t believe I haven’t shared these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies yet.  They are, hands down, my favorite cookies.

My grandmother’s pinwheel cookies are my favorite sentimental, childhood cookie.  These black and white cookies are my favorite labor of love, irresistible, fancy cookies.

But simple oatmeal chocolate chip cookies?  Slightly chewy, dense, and oatmeal-y, stuffed full of chocolate chips?  These are my favorite every day, easy to make, whip up a batch of cookies on a whim cookie.

Sorry, classic soft & chewy chocolate chip cookies.  I love you guys, too.  But oatmeal cookies?  Swoon. 

I love these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies so much, I used the recipe as the starting base for my oatmeal chocolate chip lactation cookies, which are continuously one of the most popular recipes on my blog.  (Who knew there was such a market for delicious-tasting lactation cookies?)

So basically, if we can fill them up with flaxseed and brewer’s yeast (which smells kind of bad, and probably doesn’t taste much better on its own) and they’re still delicious… imagine how good the original recipe must be!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Butter: You’ll want your butter to be at room temperature, which is 65 °F in baking terms – cooler than most people think! The texture of cookies depends heavily on butter being at the right temperature, so please don’t try to use cold butter or microwave the butter to warm it up! To bring butter to room temperature quickly, cut each stick into 8 tablespoon-size slices and wait 10-15 minutes.
• Brown Sugar: I usually use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar works just fine, too. Brown sugar brings extra moisture and a deeper flavor than just granulated sugar alone.
• Granulated Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose Flour: If you prefer the taste of whole wheat flour, you can substitute up to half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. To keep the cookies gluten-free, use a 1:1 all purpose gluten-free baking mix which includes xanthan gum.
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Make sure to use old-fashioned or rolled oats for this – not quick-cooking oats! We need the larger flake size of rolled oats for the chewy texture of the cookies.
• Chocolate Chips: I love classic semi-sweet chocolate chips in these cookies, but feel free to use dark or bittersweet chopped chocolate, raisins, or nuts instead of (or in addition to) the chocolate chips.

Perfect Oatmeal Cookie Base

What I love so much about these cookies: the texture.  They are thick and soft and chewy, but somehow just the very edges get a little bit crispy, too.  And did I mention that they’re thick?  Delightfully so – no flat sad bendy cookies around here.

Another thing I love: no chilling time necessary.  There is nothing worse than having a serious cookie craving and realizing you have to chill the dough for a few hours, amirite?  Minimum amount of time from walking into the kitchen to cookie-in-mouth.  That’s what I’m talking about.

(That said, if you DO have more patients than I do, you can absolutely chill these cookies – the flavors become even more pronounced with a few hours – even up to two days – rest in the refrigerator. I prefer to roll the cookies and chill them on the cookie sheet, as it takes a while for the cookie dough to come back to room temperature enough to scoop if you chill the entire bowl of dough.)

Plus, these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are equally delicious big or small — I like to keep mine on the small side (because no matter what, you’re going to go for a second cookie, right?), but if you want a giant bakery-style cookie, double up the dough and increase the baking time a little (17-20ish minutes).

Most importantly, they’re full of chocolate chips. And while only chocolate chips are the way I like these cookies, you can of course choose your favorite version: try nuts, raisins, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips.

Now look, I know some of you probably love oatmeal raisin cookies.  And the base to these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies is so good, you could substitute in raisins, or butterscotch chips, or whatever.  I don’t understand you people (I like raisins in my trail mix, but never, ever, ever in my baked goods), but I hear you.  So go ahead and try.

Oats for Extra Moisture

I mentioned in the ingredients section that we want to use old-fashioned oats, not quick-cooking oats, for these cookies. Old-fashioned oats are larger in size, which ensures that they maintain their texture and structure during baking. Quick oats, on the other hand, are cut into smaller pieces and are not as noticeable.

Adding oats is, obviously, key for making oatmeal cookies. But oats do far more than just provide flavor – they’re responsible for the soft, chewy texture! How does this work? It’s time for my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!

Kitchen Chemistry

Despite their dry appearance, oats actually contain a decent amount of moisture – generally between 11-13%. This moisture is retained during baking, without altering the ratio of dry ingredients to liquids, which throws off the balance of the dough. This retained moisture helps create a softer, chewier texture in the cookies. During the baking process, the moisture in the oats turns into steam, which is trapped by the structure of the cookie dough. As a result, the interior of the cookie remains moist and tender, even as the exterior starts to get just a little crispy.

Recommended Tools to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Baking Sheets: Use light-colored cookie sheets to prevent the bottom of the cookies from getting too dark.
• Silicone Baking Mat: A silicone baking mat ensures the cookies won’t stick to the cookie sheet.
• Stand Mixer: Since the dough starts by creaming together butter and sugar, an electric mixer makes the process much easier!
• Beater Blade: I love using the Beater Blade attachment for my mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl automatically while making cookie dough.
• Cookie Scoop: Using a cookie scoop (this medium size is 1.5 tablespoons) ensures that each cookie is roughly the same size.
• Cooling Rack: After letting the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, transfer them to a cooling rack. This set includes 3 racks that stack when in use, but fold flat for storage.

Tips and Tricks for the Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Room Temperature Butter: Ensure your butter is room temperature (65°F) before using. This makes it easier to cream the butter with the sugar, resulting in a better-textured dough.
2. Measure Ingredients Accurately: Baking by weight is always the best option, but if you’re using measuring cups, use the fluff, spoon, and sweep method for measuring ingredients.
3. Chill the Dough: These cookies are delicious baked straight away, which is how I usually make them (because I can’t wait to eat some cookies!). For a deeper flavor, consider refrigerating the dough for an hour before rolling the cookies, or scooping the cookies into balls and refrigerating the scoops of cookie dough for up to two days before baking.
4. Use a Cookie Scoop: For uniform cookies, use a cookie scoop to portion the dough. When the cookies are an equal size, baking is more even – no more underbaked and overbaked cookies on the same sheet.
5. Keep an Eye While Baking: The baking time can vary depending on your oven, the position of your oven rack, and the size of your cookies. Start with the recommended time and adjust if necessary. Remember that cookies continue to cook as they cool on the baking sheet so it’s better to pull them out when they still look a tiny bit under-baked.
6. Storage: These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months.

More Cookie Recipes

• Lemon Sugar Cookies
• Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
• Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
• Toffee Crunch Cookies
• Chewy Chocolate Mint Cookies
• Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies
• Sprinkle Sugar Cookies