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.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos and helpful success tips.
Today we’re mixing big chewy oats with the flavors of butter, brown sugar, a touch of molasses, a dash of cinnamon, and a mountain of chocolate chips.
One reader, Kelly commented: “These are hands down the best oatmeal choco chip cookies I’ve ever made! Soft and chewy, I followed the recipe exactly except for adding 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Perfection. ★★★★★“
And another, Valerie, commented: “More compliments than I have ever heard from my family and friends, and I bake a lot! ★★★★★“
My Favorite Base Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
These soft & chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies start from my base oatmeal cookie recipe and it makes quite a few appearances in my cookbook, 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 standard muffin recipe. This chocolate cookie dough and this peanut butter cookie dough have both inspired quite a few spin offs as well.
The cookies have a slightly crisp edge with a soft center and enough chew that the cookie won’t immediately break when you bend it. A “slow bend cookie” as I like to call them—and this is the key difference between a regular oatmeal cookie and a really great oatmeal cookie.
They’re also:
- Supremely soft, buttery, and flavorful. Using more brown sugar than white helps guarantee a flavorful base.
- Super chewy thanks to old-fashioned oats. Thick whole rolled oats, not quick oats, guarantee a chewier cookie. Quick oats are finer; you simply don’t get the same texture.
- Loaded with chocolate chips. Lots of chocolate in every single bite. And for my fellow raisin lovers: try subbing in half raisins. The dough is pretty similar to my oatmeal raisin cookies.
- Taste just like grandma’s. I find the 1 Tablespoon of molasses is what makes these taste like grandma’s old-fashioned oatmeal cookies. I strongly encourage adding it.
About the molasses, one reader, Hannah, commented: “These cookies are FANTASTIC! I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical about adding the molasses, but it added a depth to the cookies that I wasn’t expecting. Bookmarking to use again for sure! ★★★★★“
Key Ingredients You Need & Why:
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cookies rise and spread.
- Butter: Butter is the base of any delicious cookie recipe. Make sure you are using room-temperature butter.
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: Sugar is not only used for sweetness, but also for providing structure and tenderness. I like to use more brown sugar than white sugar because (1) it has incredible flavor and (2) it contains more moisture than white, which produces a softer cookie.
- Molasses: Molasses is my secret ingredient! 1 scant Tablespoon enhances all the wonderful flavors of these buttery, cinnamon-sweet cookies.
- Vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, & Salt: Each provide flavor. You can also top the cookies with a little flaky sea salt for more flavor.
- Oats: Oats provide a chewy texture, and there is no shortage in this dough! I use and recommend old fashioned whole oats here—just like I do for flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies and big giant monster cookies.
How to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
I especially love this recipe because the process is quick & simple—with minimal dough chilling.
Whisk the dry ingredients together. Just the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt—you’ll add the oats later. Use an electric mixer for the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients and mix in 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.
How Large Do I Make the Cookies?
These are drop-style cookies, so scoop the dough and drop it onto the baking sheets. 1.5 Tablespoons (30g) for regular-size cookies, 2 T. (40g) for large cookies (pictured), or 3 T. (60g) for XL cookies!
Success Tip: Use a cookie scoop. Oatmeal cookie dough is super chunky and soft, and this one can get pretty sticky. A cookie scoop not only prevents a mess, it also helps ensure all cookies are the same size and shape.
The cookies are done when the edges are set and the centers still look soft. After baking, I like to lightly press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies while they’re still warm. This is optional and just for looks. I also add a light sprinkling of flaky sea salt, which, again, is optional.
Here are the 3 characteristics we should look for in oatmeal cookies: Slow bend, chewy goodness, and ultra soft. Check, check, check! Today’s cookies have it all.
And if you’re looking for a peanut butter version, try my peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies next! Or try the sweater-weather, festive-feeling cousin recipe, these big fat dark chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies!
Print
Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 24 minutes
- Yield: 32-35 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. To prevent the cookies from over-spreading, don’t skip the brief dough refrigeration in step 4.
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 (16 Tbsp; 226g) 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 (315g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- optional: flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until combined and creamed, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Beat in the oats and chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky.
- Cover and refrigerate 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 firm.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough, about 2 Tablespoons (40g) of dough per cookie, which is a heaping cookie scoop-ful, and place 3 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 cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops and sprinkle with flaky sea salt—both are optional!
- 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 4. 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 | Medium 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!
- Different Size Cookies: Use 1.5 Tablespoons (30g) for regular-size cookies, 2 T. (40g) for large cookies (what is pictured), or 3 T. (60g) for XL cookies. The bake time will be a minute or so shorter for regular-size and a minute or so longer for XL cookies.
- Can I Add Raisins or Chopped Nuts? Yes, you can add either. I recommend 1 cup (180g) chocolate chips and 3/4 cup either raisins (110g) or chopped walnuts or pecans (100g).
Reader Comments and Reviews
Girl I made these cookies for the cookie exchange and these were the best ones other than s’more bars . Great great recipe thank you ma’am
Best oatmeal cookies I’ve had. Buttery and chewy. I use pecans in ours and these cookies stay chewy down to the last cookie. Sometimes I add chopped Craisins, nuts, and 2 tbl chunky peanut butter. Awesome hiking snacks!
Mine did not spread at all. They browned at the top and edges.
Hi Kim, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured, which can dry out cookies and soak up too much of the wet ingredients, making it difficult for the cookies to spread. See this post on 5 cookie baking tips, specifically the section on “What if my cookies AREN’T spreading?”, for more troubleshooting tips. Thank you for giving these a try!
my cookies are delicious with just tight amount of chewy…! That is part of everything!
Hello Sally hope you doing great. I baked these cookies but they came out flat, why was that?
Hi Natasha, You can see this post on how to prevent cookies from spreading for troubleshooting tips.
I’ve made these cookies several times and enjoyed them thoroughly. I tried using less sugar but noticed that the cookies retained their ball shape in that case. I guess sugar helps them ‘flow’ during baking. Do you have any ideas for using less sugar (I don’t want to substitute with sweetener) while keeping the same texture?
Hi Abraham, that’s correct—sugar plays an important role in initiating spread. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but just keep in mind that it will impact the overall taste, texture, and structure of the cookies. You may need to gently press the dough down with the back of a spoon to help with the spreading. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
This is it! 40 years of baking my husband’s favorite cookie and I’ve finally found the BEST recipe!
Sadly, this recipe was a big disappointment. Flavor is relatively decent, but the bake turned out awful. Completely flat. And I did use new baking soda and the dough sat in the fridge for over an hour. Wish I knew how to fix it. But a second attempt yielded the same results. Very bummed.
Hands down this is now the family favorite cookie. My grandson is the biggest fan of all…I mix these up and send the chilled dough home with him so he can have fresh warm cookies.
Hi, what are your recommendations for baking times in making this recipe into smaller cookie size? My father’s favorite cookie is oatmeal raisin, but at 92 yrs young, he won’t take a big cookie because “oh i will never finish that”. Do you have any suggestions on smaller sized cookies for this delicious sounding recipe? Thank-you!
Hi Sue, you can definitely make them smaller! The bake time will be less, so just keep an eye on them.
Is it okay to omit granulated sugar and use 1.5 cups of brown sugar instead?
Hi McKinna, you can, but the cookies won’t spread as much.
Was this recipe tested at all by listed weights?
Hi Matt, yes. Are you experiencing trouble? I’d love to help troubleshoot.
Same question as cooked by weight and ended up with flat thin cookies. It looks like the effect of too much butter at 230g?
Hi Stephanie! I’ve had this same problem before, and what I’ve noticed is that my oven heats a little hotter than it should! I’d recommend reducing your oven temperature slightly or investing in an oven thermometer!
Awful! Sorry, I wanted to bake fresh oatmeal cookies with some chocolate “kick”. Got just the opposite following this recipe. Gloppy chocolate surrounded by soft and gooey (IDK what to call it). Circular file, as we say for both the wasted product and this recipe! It’s not even a cookie!!!!
It sounds like you didn’t cook them long enough. This is definitely an excellent cookie recipe if followed correctly.
I made these tonight and wow so tasty. I didn’t use the molasses. And used butter scotch chips instead of chocolate. They were perfect. Mine baked beautifully at 11min might have just been my oven but now I have this recipe down packed. Thank you for sharing a recipe that not only was delicious to eat but very easy to fallow.
Excellent recipe. The oats are the best addition. I didn’t have molasses but they were still good. Can I reduce the white sugar to a 1/4 cup like you did in the magic cookies?
Hi Ruth, that should be just fine. Glad you enjoyed the cookies!
If I want to add walnuts to this recipe how much should I add? Do I omit anything if adding the walnuts?
Hi Bethany, we recommend keeping the total amount of add-ins to 1 and 3/4 cups. You could try 1 cup of chocolate chips and 3/4 cup walnuts for a total of 1 and 3/4 cups. Enjoy!
Fantastic recipe and have been asked for it many times! I didn’t have molasses so didn’t use. I also substituted 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup white. Didn’t seem to change anything.
Made these today and the wife said “Next time, add walnuts”. She never asks for anything to be made again unless she really likes the product. Followed recipe exactly and they came out amazing!!
Can I leave out the chocolate chips?
Sure! The cookies will be a little thinner.
Just made two batches. One used dark brown sugar, one used light brown sugar. The batch made with dark brown sugar has a much richer taste. I think if I had increased the molasses a bit it would have compensated for the difference. I’d probably add an extra tablespoon of the molasses. I made some plain and some with dried raisins for the hubby. He said they taste like eating a bowl of oatmeal.
This is my favorite cookie recipe!! Thank you for sharing
family favorite – added 1/4 cup of coconut.. They ship well too! not one broken cookie to Japan!
This recipe turned out so good!! Love the flavor and added walnuts too. Quick question – how can I prevent my cookies from turning out really flat?
Hi Jaclyn, we’re so glad you enjoyed these! Here are all our best tips to prevent cookie from spreading. Hope this helps!
Honestly and truly this is a fantastic recipe even for a cost efficient based menu. Let’s face it, everything is expensive and hard to manage but, the size versatility, ingredient swap out capabilities, Margarine works just as well as butter, they freeze well, bake like a dream exactly as the time stipulated, double duty as an air freshener, makes my neighbors jealous, makes me look like I know how to bake etc….. I 100% recommend this recipe if you just need something that works, tastes like heaven, and easy to make.
I wrote in a few days ago. I said the cookies are my favorite, but there must be a Cookie Monster in the house. They disappeared. Husband, neighbors and housekeepers are the culprits. No worries! I’m making another batch to bake tonight. I love sharing them!
My Tip… molasses is a definite must. Room temperature butter makes all the difference. So happy for the tip! I want to try making carrot cake next. I like it with walnuts mixed in I’d like to make cupcakes. Which carrot cake do you recommend for cupcakes? I’ve read the recipes. I just can’t decide. Thank you
Hi Suzy, so happy to hear that these cookies are a success! Here’s our carrot cake cupcakes recipe – you can add the optional walnuts.
These cookiescame out great! They taste like they came from a fancy bakery. So chewy, chocolaty and flavorful. Highly recommend this recipe! Make sure you use 3 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, don’t skimp. I actually weighed each ball. 50grams per cookie
This has been my Go To recipe for years! I started making it at first without the molasses. It makes the cookie dough!
I have learned so many good baking tips from your website. Today I read what room temperature butter truly is. What a difference. Passed the tip to my baking friends. We didn’t know! So many recipes from your site I have tried. I love your crème brûlée. The espresso powder is the best.
Thank you.
This is absolutely my favorite cc cookie recioe! I make it often and just did again today. I alter it a bit by omitting molasses and adding 2 Tsp cinnamon and the rind of a orange plus a cup of chopped pecans. I don’t chill the dough but I do use a small cookie scoop. It makes close to 80 cookies, good -sized and they don’t spead to the next cookie. Oh, I also use a pkg and a fourth of dark chocolate chips. The yummiest cookie ever! Thanks for posting this recipe.
These are delicious and my kids ask for them whenever it gets cold. When I made them today my butter was too soft and so they are overspreading even after chilling for 1+ hours. Any tips to fix the dough?
Hi Katie, there’s not much you can do to fix the dough at this point besides extending the chill time, or you could try freezing the dough balls and baking from frozen. If the cookies continue to spread, you can use a spoon to gently bring them back together like we demonstrate in our chocolate chip cookies tutorial. Glad these are a favorite for your family!
Can you make this recipe into bars?
Hi Susan, You can definitely use this cookie dough for cookie bars. A 9×13 inch pan would be best. We’re unsure of the exact bake time. Hope this helps!
Can I use quick oats instead of old fashioned oats?
Hi, that would work in a pinch, but quick oats are thinner and much more powdery, so your cookies will be a bit dry. We highly recommend making them with whole rolled old fashioned oats if you can.
My son and I loved this recipe.This is the second time I made them.
I forgot the molasses but it is still delicious.
I thank you so much and appreciated you are sharing your recipe, Sally.
These are AWESOME! I’ve made these several times and they never last. Just yesterday, I bought a KitchenAid commercial 8 qt mixer and now…. it is time to go make a triple batch of these babies for the masses! Sally, your stuff is fantastic!! Thank you. Now excuse me, I have a book to buy.