These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are made with oats, butter, and brown sugar and are the softest, chewiest oatmeal cookies to come out of my kitchen. Use this perfect oatmeal cookie as the base for other add-ins such as raisins, dried cranberries, and nuts. Cinnamon and a touch of molasses add that little something extra. These are the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
Have you ever made my chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe? I have the recipe memorized—I make them all the time! But it’s time to add another legendary recipe to our chocolate chip cookie repertoire. Today we’re mixing big chewy oats with lots of butter, brown sugar, a touch of molasses, a dash of cinnamon, and… glorious chocolate chips.
Start preheating your ovens!
This is My Favorite Base Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
Today’s soft & chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies start from my base oatmeal cookie recipe. This base recipe has quickly developed into my favorite and makes quite a few appearances in Sally’s Cookie Addiction. I’m a firm believer in having a handful of base recipes from which you can develop virtually hundreds of variations. For example: my master muffin recipe. Or my favorite recipe for vanilla cupcakes which you can try many ways—peanut butter & jelly cupcakes, piñata cupcakes, pistachio cupcakes, chocolate caramel coconut cupcakes, and mimosa cupcakes all stem from the same base vanilla cupcake recipe. My peanut butter cookies have inspired quite a few spinoffs, too!
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
How to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
I especially love this recipe because the process is quick & simple—minimal dough chilling!
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. Just the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt—you’ll add the oats later.
- Mix the wet ingredients together.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
- Add the oats and chocolate chips. The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Chill the cookie dough. I recommend at least 45 minutes in the refrigerator, which helps prevent the cookies from overspreading.
- Scoop cookie dough balls. About 3 Tablespoons of dough per cookie—yes, these are LARGE!
- Bake. The cookies are done when the edges are set and the centers still look soft.
Baker’s Tip: Use a cookie scoop. I never use a cookie scoop when making chocolate chip cookies, but I swear by using one with oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal cookie dough is super chunky and soft, and this one can get a little sticky. A cookie scoop not only prevents a mess, it also helps ensure all cookies are the same size and shape. I recommend the large cookie scoop which holds 3 Tablespoon of cookie dough. Exactly what we’re aiming for with these hearty chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. They’re BIG.
Why You’ll Love These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three characteristics I look for in oatmeal cookies? Slow bend, chewy goodness, and ultra soft. Check, check, and check! (This recipe is a lot like my oatmeal raisin cookies.) These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies have a slightly crisp edge with a soft center and enough chew that it won’t immediately break when you bend it. A “slow bend cookie” as I like to call them—and this is what makes a regular oatmeal cookie a really great oatmeal cookie. They’re also:
- Super soft and hearty.
- Supremely buttery and flavorful. Using more brown sugar than white helps guarantee a more flavorful base.
- Super chewy thanks to old-fashioned oats. Thick old-fashioned whole rolled oats, not quick oats, guarantee a chewier cookie. Quick oats are thinner and more powder-y; you simply don’t get the same texture.
- Loaded with extra chocolate chips! I like to use both regular size and mini chocolate chips. This guarantees more chocolate in every single bite. And for my fellow raisin lovers: try subbing in half raisins with the chocolate chips. BEST COOKIE EVER.
- Taste just like how grandma used to make them. I find the 1 Tablespoon of molasses is what makes these taste like grandma’s old fashioned oatmeal cookies. I strongly encourage you to add it.
Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 24 minutes
- Yield: 22 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With oats, butter, and mostly all brown sugar, you are guaranteed a soft and chewy oatmeal cookie. Use this perfect oatmeal cookie as the base for other add-ins such as raisins, dried cranberries, and nuts. Cinnamon and a touch of molasses add that little something extra. These are the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1 and 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, beat in the oats and both types of chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky. Cover and chill the dough for at least 45 minutes in the refrigerator (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough, about 3 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place 4 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops—this is only for looks!
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. (See step 3.) Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Large Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Molasses: 1 Tablespoon of molasses helps give these cookies incredible flavor. Be sure to use unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand). If you don’t have any, simply leave it out. Do not replace with anything else. Likewise, cinnamon adds flavor as well. Not necessary, but it sure is tasty!
- Chocolate Chips: I like using 1 and 1/4 cups regular size chocolate chips and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Varying sizes ensure more chocolate in each bite. You can, of course, just use 1 and 3/4 cups regular size chocolate chips. You can even try 1 cup chocolate chips and 3/4 cup raisins. Yum!
Ohhhhhh my gosh!!!
These just came out of the oven
They are the best best oatmeal cookies I have ever made!!!!!
This is a keeper
Thank you so much for the recipe!!!!!
Thanks sooooo much for the awesome recipe!! Even I didn’t have a cinnamon and molasses, the taste was perfect (I reduced half of each kind of sugar). I will try putting the cinnamon and molasses next time.
This recipe is 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
❤️
These cookies always turn out fabulous… everyone loves them and they always do a quick vanishing act! So easy to throw in whatever else you want to have in there, also. Each time I make them, they’re a little different.
Sent them with my husband’s golf group.
“I LOVE these cookies.. Delicious!”
“Send cookies more often. These are the best yet!”
” Please send this recipe to my wife.”
I did add a few pecans and dried cherries to the recipe…. Very nice chewy cookie.
I followed this recipe, made 2 kinds. One with chocolates and raisins. I also made molasses out of scratch!!Also included 5 tablespoons of flaxseed meals. Everyone loved it! will
be saving this recipe for sure! so soft inside, chewy outside. thanks for sharing!
Best cookies I have ever made! I omitted the molasses because I didn’t have any on hand. I wouldn’t change a thing. One review indicated the recipe was too salty. I think maybe they used salted butter. I used unsalted butter and added the salt amount in recipe and they were perfect. These will be my new family recipe to hand down for generations. Thank you.
Wonderful recipe! It’s a great base for different combinations of filling too!
Best cookies ever. I omitted the cinnamon (personal preference) added 3/4 cup chopped pecans, and used sea salt. Yum, yum, yummy.
I just made these last night and they turned out great!! Thank you for the great recipe.
I did not use molasses and I used Better Batter gluten free/gum free flour, Bob’s gluten free quick cook oats, and dark chocolate chips. This is pretty much the first time in YEARS that I been able to make cookies that did not spread out. Maybe I don’t have to keep making cookie bars after all! Again, delicious recipe. (If it helps, I used a mini scoop and it yielded 38 cookies).
THANK YOU!! Finally a perfect recipe. Followed your recipe to a T. Turned out perfect. The best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Thanks again
Yum, yum, yum! These are delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe. This one is a keeper! The flavor and texture is amazing. I used Melt vegan butter sticks instead of real butter because that’s what I had on hand so they were a little runny for me. I added a bit more oats And baked for less time and the second bake turned out excellent. I can’t wait to try them again with real butter.
Hi Danielle! I don’t recommend reducing the amount of oats. You can certainly try adding more flour in its place, but I’m uncertain of the results. You may enjoy my chewy chocolate chip cookies instead.
also, can you bake oatmeal cookies in a convection oven? or are they better without the fan setting? 🙂
Great recipe! I halved the white sugar and will probably skip it all together next time, I like my cookies not too sweet. The molasses and cinnamon add great flavor. Texture was perfect. I also tried the convection setting on my oven for the first time and with one batch and WOW.
Made these delicious. These are my go to cookies.
This is my favorite Oatmeal cookie. I omit the chocolate chips and sub raisins & walnuts. I prefer pumpkin pie spices for just cinnamon. Also the molasses is a wonderful addition. This is an A+ cookie. Definitely chill for an hour or so before baking. It helps the cookie stay thicker. I also add a tablespoon of corn starch to any cookie I make to help the cookie keep its shape and thickness.
Just made these yesterday,made deliveries to my mum ,nephew and his wife ,now it’s our turn! Delious with a coffee. Thank you Sally.
I can’t believe I almost left the cinnamon out. Wow it does something special to this recipe! It’s subtle but really enhances the flavor of the oats. Amazing!
I made this recipe and it was amazing! My parents absolutely loved them. I recommend this recipe to anyone who loves oatmeal chocolate chip cookies 🙂
This cookie was perfection! I halved the recipe and I still got 22 regular sized cookies.
As a professional baker I rarely bake random recipes but I love your tried and true posts! I made these this morning to alleviate my kitchen of a can of oatmeal and they were delicious. I added some chopped walnuts and for me it gilding a great recipe!
This might be my new favorite cookie! I used 1 cup chocolate chips and 3/4 cup raisins per the notes. So good!
I see some recent comments so I am imagining many people are learning to live all over again, and cookies like this takes the cake! I had no idea oatmeal cookies were such a great thing to bake for health and comfort! Before I read further I thought the molasses was for the sticky factor, and had none so I used a tablespoon of honey – to die for! And I used cranberries soaked in rum (for Nana), yellow raisins, walnuts, and chocolate chips.
This will be my new go too cookie thanks!
This is the favorite quarantine cookie in our family!!
Hi Sally, I wanted to know if you could use the quick cooking steel cut oats for this recipe?? and if so do I change the ratio of liquid?
I don’t recommend it. Stick with old fashioned whole rolled oats.
I made these cookies and they were as expected. Please tell me why this (and so many other recipes) call for unsalted butter? I find this so annoying. I do not and will not buy more expensive butter that will not get the turnover in the fridge to stay at peak taste.
Hi Andrea, I always recommend unsalted butter because the amount of salt in salted butter varies between brands so you cannot control how much salt you are adding to a recipe. But here’s a general rule: reduce or add 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup (1/4 lb; 115g; 1 stick) of butter.
You can read more details if you are interested in my post Salted Butter vs Unsalted Butter in Baking.
These are the best cookies I’ve ever baked. My husband thinks I’m a cookie goddess, which I am now thanks to you! These cookies combine everything I want in a cookie: chewy oatmeal and big chocolate chips. I used the Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips and my goodness it is heaven. I froze most of the dough and have been baking a few fresh for us every few nights. It is heaven. I do find that when I bake them from frozen that I need to broil them for a minute or two to get the middles to cook. I’m thinking I might try baking at 325 instead of 350 and see if that works better. Also, I need to buy an oven thermometer; it’s possible my oven is just hot!
Hi sally! My husband and I LOVE this recipe. Any suggestions on turning it into one giant cookie/cookie cake for his birthday?
I’m so happy he loved this recipe! You can take a look at my Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake as a guide for how to bake one using this recipe. Let me know how it turns out!
Made it this weekend and split the dough between two 9 inch round pans and they turned out perfect! Thank you so much for responding!
Thank you for the recipe! I made a few different cookies and your recipe was the favorite . Somehow my Oatmeal Chocolate chip didn’t spread a lot and remained a thick cookie. Any idea why?
This recipe is a winner. I added some pecans,walnuts, and melon seeds and substituted the chocolate chips for raisins. I also added some freshly grated nutmeg. I did not have any molasses so I left it out. I also added olive oil in place of butter. The cookies turned out great. Nice and moist.