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These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are the ones my family swears are the best in the world, and honestly I do not argue. I first had them on a summer vacation when a cousin baked a giant batch, and I went back for so many that I had to track down the recipe before we even left. One bite of those chewy, chocolate-packed cookies and you will understand. Try them next to our soft Lofthouse cookies for a full cookie spread.
Hearty oats, two kinds of sugar, and a whole bag of chocolate chips make these cookies thick, chewy, and totally irresistible.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 10 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 20 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 42 cookies
- ⚡ Calories: 110kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet, buttery, and chewy with hearty oats and melty chocolate (kid-favorite)
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our frosted cookie bars
Quick Answer
Cream softened butter with brown and granulated sugar, beat in eggs and vanilla, then mix in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in quick oats and a full bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, scoop rounded tablespoons onto ungreased sheets, and bake at 350F for about 10 minutes until lightly golden.
Jump to:
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQs
- Other Recommended Easy Cookie Recipes
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Two sugars give the perfect texture. Brown sugar adds moisture and chew while granulated sugar helps the edges crisp up.
- Quick oats keep them soft. Quick oats blend smoothly into the dough for a tender, hearty cookie without a tough bite.
- A whole bag of chocolate chips. Two full cups means melty chocolate in every single bite, not just a few.
- Creaming the butter builds lift. Beating the butter and sugars until creamy traps air so the cookies bake up light.
- A short bake keeps the centers chewy. Pulling them at 10 minutes leaves the middles soft as they finish setting on the hot pan.
- The dough freezes beautifully. Scoop and freeze extras so you can bake fresh cookies any time the craving hits.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are soft and chewy in the center with just-crisp edges, the perfect cookie texture.
- One batch makes about 3 1/2 dozen, so there is plenty to share and freeze.
- They come together in 20 minutes with pantry staples and pair perfectly with our oatmeal cream pie ice cream bars for an oat-lover’s dessert table.
Key Ingredients
Simple pantry staples come together into the chewiest cookies around. Here is what each one does.
- Quick Oats: The hearty, chewy backbone of the cookie that gives it that classic oatmeal texture.
- Brown and Granulated Sugar: Brown sugar adds moisture and chew while white sugar crisps the edges.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: A full bag means gooey chocolate in every bite without being too sweet.
- Unsalted Butter: Softened butter creams up fluffy for a rich, tender crumb.
- Eggs and Vanilla: They bind the dough and add warm, sweet flavor that ties it all together.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These cookies welcome all kinds of mix-ins and swaps.
- Use old-fashioned rolled oats for a chewier, heartier cookie.
- Swap half the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts, pecans, or raisins.
- Add a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for a cozy, spiced oatmeal cookie flavor.
- Use dark or milk chocolate chips, or a mix, to suit your taste.
- Add a handful of shredded coconut or butterscotch chips for a fun twist.
How to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350F and whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Cream the softened butter with the brown and granulated sugars until creamy.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture in batches, mixing until thoroughly combined.
- Stir in the quick oats, then fold in the chocolate chips with a sturdy spoon.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- Cool on the pan 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use softened butter, not melted, so the dough creams up light and the cookies do not spread too thin.
- Do not overbake. Pull them at 10 minutes while the centers still look soft; they finish setting on the hot pan.
- Pack the brown sugar firmly when measuring for the chewiest, most flavorful cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop for evenly sized cookies that bake at the same rate.
- Let the pan cool between batches so the dough does not spread before it bakes.
- Freeze the dough in scooped balls and bake straight from frozen, adding a minute or two.
- Store airtight with a slice of bread to keep them soft for days.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Serve these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies warm with a cold glass of milk for the ultimate after-school or after-dinner treat. They are sturdy enough to pack in lunchboxes and pretty enough to pile on a platter for a party.
Turn them into ice cream sandwiches by pressing a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies, or crumble them over a sundae. For a bigger dessert spread, set them next to our soft sugar cookies and a plate of chocolate covered pretzels.
They also make a wonderful homemade gift. Stack them in a tin or cellophane bag tied with ribbon and you have an instant present that always gets a smile.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQs
Yes. Old-fashioned rolled oats work beautifully and give the cookies a chewier, heartier texture with more visible oats. Quick oats blend in more smoothly for a softer cookie. Both are delicious, so use whichever you have on hand or prefer.
Flat cookies usually come from butter that was too warm or melted, or from overmixing. Make sure your butter is softened but still cool to the touch, and chill the dough for 15 to 30 minutes if your kitchen is warm. Letting the baking sheet cool fully between batches also helps.
Absolutely. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze them on a tray until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at 350F, adding a minute or two to the bake time. This is the easiest way to have fresh cookies on demand.
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and tuck in a slice of sandwich bread. The cookies pull moisture from the bread and stay soft and chewy for days. Avoid leaving them out uncovered, which dries them out quickly.
Definitely. Swap up to half of the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries. You can also keep all the chocolate and just stir in an extra half cup of nuts. The hearty oat base holds up well to plenty of mix-ins.
Using rounded tablespoons of dough, this recipe makes about 3 1/2 dozen, or roughly 42 cookies. It is a generous batch, which makes it perfect for parties, bake sales, or freezing half the dough for later. Scale it down by half for a smaller yield.
If you bake a batch of these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I would love to hear how they turned out. Fair warning: they have a way of disappearing fast.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (1 stick plus 6 tablespoons)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups quick oats
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 bag
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350F.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
- With a hand mixer, beat the softened butter with the brown and granulated sugars until creamy.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture in batches, mixing until thoroughly combined.
- Add the quick oats and mix until evenly distributed.
- Add the chocolate chips and combine. The dough is thick, so use a sturdy spoon to fold in the last of the chips.
- Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 1 minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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Hi Dana, You know I think oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite. Thanks so much for sharing. I pinned them.
http://www.mylittleshopoftreasures.blogspot.ca
http://www.darlenebnemeth.blogspot.ca
Thanks so much Jen!
I LOVE oatmeal cookies!! I am definitely going to have to try this recipe! Your pictures look great!
~Jen @ YummyHealthyEasy.com
Thanks sooo much!!
oh! oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I love them and yours look delicious! keeping your recipe Dana!
wish you a great weekend!
Ingrid
Thanks so much!
These look absolutely incredible. I love me some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Thanks so much for sharing at Katherine’s Corner Blog Hop where I’m co-host today. Have a wonderful day!
Yay, I hope you like them!
These cookies look so good. I have been looking for a good oatmeal cookie to try and this just might be it 🙂
Thanks for linking up on Pin it Tuesday.
Thanks so much!
Mmmm – I love chocolate chip oatmeal cookies! I’m hoping I can adapt this one to make it relatively sugar-free. Pinned it & can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing (saw it on Show & Share)!
Yay! Thanks so much for the pin!
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you for sharing on Tuesday Trivia. These cookies sound great, my husband loves oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Pinning!!! Check back Friday for features.
Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile
I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Thank you for linking to Simple Supper Tuesday.