With plenty of melty chocolate, chewy oats, and a sprinkle of sea salt, these dark chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies are guaranteed to be your new favorite cookie variety. They’re extra buttery and soft with slightly crisp edges and a touch of cinnamon and molasses for classic oatmeal cookie flavor. This cookie has it all!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips. I have also made a few small changes to the recipe which are reflected in the printable recipe below.
Alright, I’m saying it. Oatmeal cookies are forever the best cookie on the planet. (This statement probably doesn’t surprise many of you!) Regular chocolate chip cookies are a bonafide crowd-pleaser, but they don’t hold a candle to the texture, chew, and toasty flavor of its oatmeal counterpart.
I originally published these dark chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies several years ago and after making them at least 1200x, I decided to spruce up the photos and make a couple slight changes to the dough including using more oats and adding a sprinkle of sea salt. We’re still using plenty of dark chocolate chunks, whole oats, and a touch of molasses for classic flavor. (See recipe notes below for the exact changes.)
Why You’ll Love these Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
Let me count the ways!
- Loaded with pure dark chocolate
- Super soft inside
- Chewy, hearty oats
- Cinnamon, brown sugar, and molasses for extra flavor
- Buttery crisp edges
- Topped with crunchy sea salt
- No crazy ingredients or mixing techniques
And I know you’ll appreciate this too: the cookie dough chilling time is short, making these a pretty quick cookie that holds its shape beautifully.
One reader, Marie, commented: “Once again, I made these Monday and they were delicious and will be added to the favorites… even though I thought I had my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe—LOL! Added some chopped pecans. Hard to resist, so into the freezer with 1/2 the batch! ★★★★★“
One reader, Sarah, commented: “These are hands-down the best oatmeal chocolate cookies I’ve ever had. Absolutely loved them! I used a chopped up dark chocolate bar and some semi-sweet chips. Refrigerated for 1 hour, then baked, and they came out perfectly. Thank you for sharing! ★★★★★“
The Best Oatmeal Cookie Base
If you’ve made some of my oatmeal cookie recipes before, you’re likely familiar with today’s variation. I usually stick to the same base recipe and you can see that in my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, White Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal Scotchies, and Oatmeal M&M Cookies.
Have I mentioned I love oatmeal cookies?
I use a little more flour in today’s cookies because of the melty chocolate. Filled with brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and vanilla flavors, this oatmeal cookie is ALWAYS a guarantee in both the texture and flavor departments. I’ve actually nicknamed them my “slow bend” cookies—the centers are so buttery and chewy that they don’t crunch and break when you start to bend them. The best!
How to Make These Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
- Cream butter + sugars: Use a hand or stand mixer to cream softened butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. If you’re new to baking, here is my complete tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar. For extra flavor and chew, always use more brown sugar than granulated white sugar in oatmeal cookies.
- Add eggs, vanilla, + molasses: Add eggs, then mix on high for about 1 minute until incorporated. Add vanilla and molasses, mix until combined.
- Dry ingredients: Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a separate bowl. Pour this into the wet ingredients. Combine together on low.
- Add the extras: Beat in the oats and chocolate chunks on low speed. Pieces of chocolate will break down, so there’s chocolate in literally every single piece of cookie dough.
- Chill: The cookie dough is pretty sticky, so chilling it is imperative. Without at least 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator, your cookies will spread into flat puddles. Chilling cookie dough is one way to guarantee thicker cookies. If you’re interested, see my 10 tips for how to prevent cookies from spreading. My white chocolate macadamia oatmeal cookies are another quick chill recipe to try.
- Roll: Roll cookie dough into balls and place on a lined baking sheet. Since it’s a textured and chunky dough, I usually use a cookie scoop to help. Since the cookie dough chilled, it’s much easier to work with.
- Bake: Bake the cookies at 350°F (177°C) until lightly browned around the edges. The cookies might look under-baked, but they will continue to set as they cool. While they’re still warm, sprinkle each with a little sea salt.
Best part: Right out of the oven, experience pools of melty chocolate in every single bite.
Best Chocolate To Use
There are so many chocolate products on the market, so let me help you navigate the best choice for today’s cookies. As if you were making chocolate truffles or chocolate ganache, stick to pure quality chocolate here. I’m referring to baking chocolate, which is sold in 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle. Chocolate chips definitely work since these are cookies, but if you want big chunks of melted chocolate, choose chocolate that’s meant to melt. Chocolate chips contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting in the oven.
I recommend bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate. For a sweeter cookie, you can use white chocolate or milk chocolate. I prefer Ghirardelli or Baker’s brands. (FYI Baker’s milk chocolate variety is sold as “German Chocolate.”)
- No matter which level of sweetness you choose, cut the bars into little chunks that are similar or slightly larger than regular chocolate chips. But keep in mind that the smaller the pieces, the more they’ll blend right into the cookie dough turning this into a chocolate oatmeal cookie… which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!
More Dark Chocolate Recipes You’ll Love
- Dark Chocolate Almond Clusters
- Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti
- Dark Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies
Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 3 dozen
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and chewy with slightly crisp edges, these oatmeal cookies are full of flavor and exploding with melty dark chocolate. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, Tablespoon!)
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 and 2/3 cups (210g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
- two 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars, chopped (1 and 1/2 cups)*
- optional: coarse sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the eggs and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix on high until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Beat in the oats and chocolate on low speed. Dough will be thick, yet very sticky. Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator (I always chill this dough for only 30 minutes). If chilling for longer (up to 2 days), allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking. The cookies won’t spread as much if chilled for longer than 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll balls of dough (about 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. I recommend using a cookie scoop since the dough can be sticky. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look soft and under-baked. Remove from the oven, immediately sprinkle each with sea salt (if using), then let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to “set” on the baking sheet during this time.
- Cover and store leftover cookies at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well—up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Molasses: If you don’t have molasses, you can leave it out. It’s used to add a little extra flavor, and won’t affect the texture if you skip it. You could also replace it with pure maple syrup.
- Oats: For these oatmeal cookies, I use and recommend old-fashioned whole oats. They provide the ultimate hearty, chewy, thick texture we love!
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs preferred. Good rule of thumb: always use room temperature eggs when using room temperature butter.
- Chocolate: Though chocolate chips work just fine, if you want big chunks of melty chocolate, use pure baking chocolate. See Best Chocolate to Use in the blog post above. I prefer semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate here. Chop chocolate into chunks around the same size or slightly larger than chocolate chips.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
- Adapted from Loaded Oatmeal Cookies (The original recipe base. If you’d like to make them that way, follow that recipe and use 1 an 1/2 cups chopped chocolate instead of the listed multiple add-ins). Recipe originally published on Sally’s Baking Recipes in 2015.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This is the best cookie recipe and I love to bake cookies! I’ve been making this recipe for several years. I use 2 cups of dark chocolate chips (don’t judge, I’m a chocoholic), two tablespoons of molasses and 1 cup of chopped pecans. The first two times I made them, they disappeared in a week! I’m now in the habit of portioning out a batch using a #50 cookie scoop, then freezing them and baking four cookies most nights for hubs and me. Given all the goodies in the dough, I yield about 60 cookies and they don’t spread much. I’m only making a batch every two weeks but it’s rare there aren’t a few in the freezer when I make the next batch. Yes, they’re that good.
I converted this recipe to gluten-free. Turned out amazing!
These are delicious! I love the flavor and texture. I haven’t made oatmeal cookies in years as my husband is not a fan so I halved the recipe. I added 1/4 tsp treacle as this is what I had (I live in the UK and molasses is not as easy to find). Using parchment paper the cookies spread more than on silicone liners but both were great. I will definitely be making these again and also look forward to trying classic oatmeal raisin cookies. Oh, and even hubby liked them.
I never write reviews on websites but THIS cookie recipe!! Amazing!! I come back time and time again to Sally because I know the recipes always work and taste amazing! I cut down the sugar just ever so slightly to 150g brown and 50g white, they still tasted sinful! It’s just like the write up… THE most delicious oatmeal cookie ever… PLUS chocolate chips. A true winner. So so delicious! Thank you Sally!!
This recipe is amazing. I am trying to cut the sugar some, so i made the recipe without the white sugar the first time. My cookies didn’t flatten out, but they were amazing. I did half the recipe with dark chocolate chips and pecans and the other half with just raisins (as that is ). It is now both of our favorite cookies.
I made them again yesterday and didn’t let them sit as long in the frig and they flatten out beautifully. Personally I loved them both. Yesterday i left out the white sugar and used coconut sugar instead to the brown sugar. The same amount of grams as the recipe calls for. They don’t taste as sweet, and this is the way I will continue to make them.
I really appreciate your recipes.
Whole family loved these!! I don’t ever have molasses so I substituted it with dark corn syrup, and they were still fabulous! Will definitely make again! Thanks Sally!!
Hi! Can I substitute half of the sugar for honey and half of the butter for coconut oil?
Hi Valentina, Using solid coconut oil would likely work. We have not tested this recipe with honey so we are unsure of the outcome, but let us know if you give it a try.
The link is https://route-span.live/category/desserts/cookies/ . These are called “Dark Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies” right in the intro.
Hi Sally! I’ve made so many of your recipes–they all come out amazing!
I cannot wait to try this one but I have a question: I clicked on the link for dark chocolate coconut oatmeal cookies but this one came up. Can I add coconut to this recipe? If so what is the recommended measurement?
TIA!
Hi Olivia! Where was that link? We don’t have a dark chocolate coconut oatmeal cookie recipe. We haven’t tested adding shredded coconut to these cookies, but you could try adding 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut to the dough, but it may dry out the texture of the cookies. Let us know if you try anything!
Today was my second time making these. A couple weeks ago I made them and they were dry. (Ate them anyway). My daughter feels I may have used to much flour. Today, however, they turned out great! Since I am a sweetahololic with no self control, I halved the recipe. Will be making these a lot!
These are great! My new “must have in the freezer” cookie for when that craving hits
So delicious! I used Chipits Extra Dark Chips as that’s what I had on hand. I topped them with a few extra chips, because CHOCOLATE! 🙂 I didn’t have molasses on hand so I subbed in pure maple syrup and they turned out deliciously. Thanks!
Hi Sally,
Thank you so much for
This awesome cookie recipe! Love the fact that it calls for a full tablespoon of vanilla extract!! I have made this recipe twice and my husband and I just love it.
I seem to have the same issue as one of the other bakers in that my cookies did not spread out. I read your reply and will definitely try the baking tip for ‘Why my cookies do not spread out’. Will use the spoon and level tip and see if I can get my cookies to spread out. Will keep you posted. Cheers.
Let us know if those tips are helpful for you, Darlene – happy baking!
Amazing
Hi Sally!
I add 1/2 cup of extra dry ingredients (brewers yeast and ground flax) as well as 1/2 cup shredded coconut to make these cookies lactation style. Because of this they do not spread well, I need to bang or flatten them during baking.
What is the best way to help them spread with the extra dry ingredients?
Should I skip the cooling? Microwave dough 10/15 seconds after cooling as per your cookie tips? Reduce the oats?Add water?
I would appreciate any suggestions! Thank you!
Hi Sandy! All of your suggestions are great places to start. It will take a bit of recipe testing and experimenting to find what works best with the increased dry ingredients in your cookies. If you give anything a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
My cookies spread out more than I would have liked . I used a 4tbs scoop. Maybe they were too big?
That’s definitely a possibility! Here’s our tips to keep cookies from spreading.
Hi there! i tried these a couple times, once without molasses and second with.
I think there were more flavours in the one with molasses! however, it became a tad sweeter than what I usually prefer. Do you reckon i could reduce the sugar?
What kind of molasses do you use in this recipe?
Hi Emilie, we use unsulphured molasses in these cookies.
Hi Sally you’re my go to gal wheni need new recipe! Thank you! My question is if i decide to freeze dough balls, how long do you think i should leave them at room temp before baking? I plan on only adding about a cup and a half of oats because I’m also adding flax seed meal and a few more dry ingredients.
Hi Joanna, thank you so much for trusting our recipes! Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough.
I did have to improvise on a few things which led me to four stars. First of all I didn’t have molasses so I did use maple syrup. I didn’t have one and a half cups of chocolate and I used about a cup of semi-sweet. I did add pecans and baked it a little longer since I like more of a crunchy cookie. I couldn’t wait so I had one while it was almost out of the oven. I felt it was a little bland for me but I will make it again with the molasses and chocolate chunks. Otherwise good cookie.
So you changed the recipe but then gave it 4 stars? Doesn’t make any sense.
I made these following the recipe exactly and they were absolutely amazing.
I am looking for a dark chocolate peach oatmeal cookie! I’ve looked at this one and the dark chocolate pecan. Please advise as to where to go from here!!
Oops I meant pecan not peach!!
Hi Brittany, you can definitely add pecans here. We’d recommend about a cup. Let us know how it goes!
Hi,
lots of great tips in your blog! The measurements (cups vs. grams) seem really off in this recipe.
Hi Monica! I just double checked all the gram measurements and they look correct. Here’s a helpful post on measuring baking ingredients that includes a standard measurement chart with weights towards the end. Thank you so much for your comment!
Baked them for exactly 11 minutes, with parchment paper in a heavy pan. Cookies were BURNED on the bottom. I am DONE with these websites with recipes from wannabe cooks.
I’ve had excellent results from many of Sally’s recipes. Could be a user error 🙂
proper baking requires checking the oven and rotating the pans for even cooking. Also what shelf of the oven you bake them on and some ovens have hot spots. Burning cookies is USER ERROR AND NOT THE ERROR OF THE RECIPE DEVELOPER
Sally’s recipes are excellent and she is always my go to when it comes to baking… and I am a seasoned baker.
Really disappointing review when you obviously know nothing about her expertise.
Check your oven – on the middle shelf at 350°, there is no way this was burned on the bottom. I baked 12 minutes and just as Sally described, edges firm, centers not so much. Sally’s baking addiction is one of the web’s best sites.
Sally recommends using silicone baking mats for this reason. I noticed my oven does the same but if i use a baking mat problem solved. The problem is our ovens not sally. Her recipes are great but you have to read the tips to get the best results. Something else that worked for my oven is chilling the baking pan in the fridge or freezer before use. Keeps my cookies from cooking too much on the bottoms.
I have used thousands of recipes over the years using over 30 different stove/ovens. I have found that the majority of the recipes I have found online/cookbooks have never been tested. I absolutely love and swear by Sally’s recipes because if you read the entire page and tips/tricks you will find that there recipes are not posted until they’re fully researched and tested. When I’m baking anything, and I do mean anything, I use an oven thermometer, I only put in one tray at a time, make sure my rack is in the middle and many other things. The big one however is to check my cookies and cakes no matter where I got the recipe several minutes before the recipe says and then every couple of minutes or less after and I haven’t burned anything in 20 years. Please give Sally another try! Good luck!
It’s called user error
Hi! Keen on trying out the recipe but i’m worried the molasses we bought online was the wrong type— is it ok to use Blackstrap molasses for this recipe? (Brand we bought was the Green Earth Organic Blackstrapped Molasses)
Hi Toni! Blackstrap molasses can be quite intense — we don’t bake with it often. Although since it is such a small amount in this recipe, it should be okay if you don’t mind a stronger molasses taste. You can also simply omit the molasses if you’d prefer. Hope you enjoy these cookies!
If I don’t have a hand mixer or a whisk can I mix everything with a wooden spoon
Hi Holly, you can certainly mix it by hand, but it will take quite a bit of arm muscle! Particularly when it comes to properly creaming the butter and sugars. Let us know how they turn out for you.
Hi Sally,
Am I able to make these without the egg or substitute something else. Going to use dark chocolate, vegan butter and try and make them vegan.
Thank you
Hi Sabrina, we haven’t tested this recipe with an egg substitute but let us know if you give it a try!
These cookies were really delicious! I made them smaller because I don’t like really big cookies, so they turned out harder, but were still very tasty! Also very easy to make
I used a scale.
They are still yummy.
Could it be because I used quick oats?
Quick oats will dry out the cookie dough and the cookies won’t spread as much. If you decide to try them again, you can skip the cookie dough chilling and expect a little less texture in the finished cookies.
Mine almost didn’t spread.
Stayed dome shaped.
What did I do wrong?
Hi Jenny, when cookies aren’t spreading, it means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. Did you use the spoon and level method to measure? We share more on what to do if your cookies aren’t spreading in these 5 tips to improve your next batch of cookies — jump down to #2 and the subhead “What to do if your cookies AREN’T spreading?” for more. Hope this helps!
Just going to try for the first time. Can I use salted butter as that is all I have?
Hi Taylor! Yes, you can use salted butter. Reduce the salt to 1/4 tsp.