These oatmeal cookies are a classic favorite. They are extra moist and chewy, and taste amazing with added mix-ins or on their own. They’re a delicious treat to end your day and are so incredibly easy to make!
What makes oatmeal cookies so good? Not only are they moist, chewy, and delicious, but, for me, it’s also the nostalgia they carry. My grandmother would serve me all kinds of cookies whenever I’d go visit her, like her famous oatmeal cookies, soft and chewy chocolate chips cookies, and coconut cookies. However, her oatmeal cookies were always my favorite. She’d throw in chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, or sometimes different kinds of nuts. I always loved sitting at the kitchen table with her eating these scrumptious cookies.
The recipe I’m sharing with you today is a slightly adapted version of my grandma’s recipe and is very near and dear to my heart. The cookies bake thick and beautiful, are extra chewy, and full of flavor. You will love them!
How to make chewy oatmeal cookies
- Cream butter and sugar together. Do this for about a minute, until the butter looks light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowls to ensure that the egg and butter mixture completely emulsify.
- Incorporate dry ingredients. Combine the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and add them to the mixer. Mix just until the dough comes together. Then add the oatmeal.
- Add mix-ins. Add whatever mix-ins you’d like, or simply leave the dough as is.
- Chill. This dough is soft and sticky, so I recommend chilling it for at least an hour.
- Bake. Form rounded balls of cookie dough and place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake in a 350°F/185°C oven for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool.
Mix-ins for oatmeal cookies
This oatmeal cookie recipe is an amazing base, but you can add all kind of mix-ins if you’d like! Some of my favorites include:
- Raisins
- Other dried fruits, like cranberries, blueberries, or apricots.
- Chopped nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, or macadamia nuts.
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If using nuts, take a few extra minutes to toast them You can do this by putting the nuts on a sheet pan in an oven set to 350°F/185°C and baking for 8-10 minutes, until they are lightly browned and fragrant. Be sure to cool them slightly before adding them to your dough.
Tips for making perfect chewy oatmeal cookies
- Don’t overmix your dough. Be careful when adding any mix-ins that you only mix the dough until it comes together. Overmixing will make tougher cookies, and we are going for chewy and soft.
- Don’t use quick or instant oats. Old-fashioned oats, like the classic Quaker Oats, have the best flavor and will produce the best texture. Quick oats make less chewy cookies, and instant oats lose their shape and make a dense cookie. You can use any leftover oats to make some homemade granola bars.
- If adding nuts, toast them before adding to the cookie dough. You can do this by placing them on a sheet pan and putting them in a 350°F/185°C oven for 6-8 minutes. Tossing halfway through. This will really bring out their flavor and make the cookies even better. Just be sure to let the nuts cool before adding to your cookie dough so the butter doesn’t melt.
- Use brown sugar. This gives the cookies a slight caramel flavor and makes them super moist and chewy. If you want the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to be more crispy and don’t mind them a bit sweeter, you can add a few more tablespoons of granulated sugar. However, don’t compensate by reducing the amount of brown sugar or else the cookies will lose their chewiness.
- Mix up the spices if you’d like! If you want to add some additional flavor, reduce the cinnamon to ¼ teaspoon and add another ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg or cardamom to shake these cookies up!
More delicious cookie recipes
- Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies: Thick, chewy, bakery-style peanut butter cookies loaded with Reese’s peanut butter chips.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies: These cookies are the perfect fall treat!
- Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies: Delicate, buttery shortbread cookies dipped in decadent dark chocolate.
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Nutty brown butter adds a deep caramel flavor to these chewy cookies.
- Brownie Cookies: Like a rich, fudgy brownie in cookie form.
Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅞ cup (100g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar (dark is fine, too)
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (120g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1-2 cups add-ins (see note for options)
Instructions
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In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
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In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in the egg until combined, then beat in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Don’t over mix. Add in oatmeal and all other add-ins, and keep mixing on low just until combined. The less you mix, the softer the cookies will be. Dough will be sticky and soft at this point, so I highly recommend chilling it for at least 30-60 minutes. Cover and place in the fridge.
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Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line pan with parchment paper and set aside.
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Drop rounded balls of dough onto prepared baking sheet, the size of 2 tablespoons each, and spacing 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies just begin to brown at the edges and center is still soft. Cookies will appear undone and moist in the center, but will continue to bake on the warm baking sheet. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw, leave on counter, still covered, or overnight in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
– To toast nuts: Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes in a preheated 350F/180C oven, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Allow to cool, then chop into pieces.
– For add-ins: A great combination of add-ins is chocolate chips, toasted nuts (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts), and dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries). Pecans and raisins are great together, as are pistachios and cranberries, dried cherries and chocolate chips. If you only add one kind of add-in, use 1-1.5 cups. If you use more than one kind, use up to 2 cups total.
Winnie says
מאדדדדדדדדדדד אוהבת עוגיות כאלה. שוב – במיוחד שיש בהן שיבולת שועל!
יכולה לזלול אותן כל היום!
לא בטוחה באיזה אזור אתם גרים\ אבל מאחלת לכולנו לעבור את הסערה הזאת בשלום ומהררררררררררר
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Oatmeal cookies are my favourite. I baked some from Bouchon Bakery a while ago and they were very delicious too. I am saving this for my next batch. They look awesome!
Shiran says
I love everything from Bouchon Bakery, and love the book too!
Kelsey says
I just made these exactly to your recipe and they are perfect! Sweet, salty, chewy and a little different than the usual oatmeal cookie. Thank you!
Shiran says
Thank you so much Kelsey! 🙂 I’m so glad you like them!
claudia says
Do i have to use eggs?
Shiran says
Hi Claudia, yes, eggs are necessary for this recipe both for taste and texture.
claudia says
Thank you Shiran! by the way i tried it. Girl best ever
Shiran says
Great! I’m really glad you like them 🙂
Celia says
I love that you put the converted measures in grams! It makes it so much easier for me when I grow lazy converting all of them myself (I’ll never understand the sticks of butter thing… Is it like a common size available or something?)
My oven is warming up, I hope it won’t fail me on these delicious cookies 😀
Shiran says
That’s great to hear Celia, thank you! US butter is sold in packages that are divided into “sticks”, and one stick equals 4 ounces. Enjoy your cookies!
Nammie says
I’m confused. Is it 1 cup or 2 cups of add-in? In the recipe card it says 1 cup then the note says 2…(1.5 cups of one kind)
Shiran says
I edited it and I hope it’s more clear now 🙂
Bayan says
Hi shiran
How Can I add banana to the recipe?
Shiran says
Banana will change the texture and flavor of the cookies, so I suggest using another recipe that uses it.
Luq says
Hi Shiran. I have a question..I tried this recipe but the batter turned out quite sticky and runny. I chilled it for few hours before baking it, but the dough spreads wide, leaving the cookies become really thin. What could be the issue?
Thanks
Shiran says
It shouldn’t be runny, and the longer you chill it, the less it spreads. Make sure that the butter is at room temperature, and not melted. If still runny, you can add more flour.
maffe says
this can happen if you live in a warm humid place… it happens to me all the time. I usually cut the butter half and use butter from the fridge, literally room temp wont work for me also chill the dough (less butter + cold butter +chill dough = works great for me )
Ronda Pedigo says
Hi Shiran, can I use quick oats instead of old-fashioned oats?
Shiran says
Hi Ronda, old-fashioned oats have the best flavor and will produce the best texture. It’s possible to use quick oats (but not instant), just know that the cookies will be less chewy.
Emily says
These are really great. I followed Alton Brown’s advice and used strong bread flour vs all-purpose and used 120g brown sugar and no white. And baked on convection. I don’t have a hand-mixer so I creamed my butter with a fork. Besides the changes, I’m a big fan!! Chewy with a nicely crisp, buttery exterior. The nutmeg is stellar.
Michelle says
Thank you very nice recipe. Just made the cookies turned out Great!
Melissa Kircher says
How do I figure out the measurements for 100 cookies? I’m going to make these for a cookie exchange but your recipe is only for 20-24 cookies. Thanks!
Shiran says
Hi Melissa, you can just multiply the amount of ingredients depending on on many cookies you want.
Becca says
I made these tonight for a soon-to-be-mom and they taste amazing! I love the amount of clove!
Mine turned out very thin and gooey, crisp on the edges, looking like oatmeal lacies. I had chilled the dough for 45 min in the fridge beforehand and followed the recipe to a T. Is there someway I can counteract this with some substitutions or instructions?
Deborah says
Made these, no cinnamon, half cup walnuts, half cup raisins, half cup dried cranberries. Let dough chill half hour. OMG. Best cookies I have ever made!!! Cooked 12 minutes. Crispy edges, softer center. It’s hard to make myself stop eating them!
Jen says
I found these turned out poorly – too gummy. Kinda regretting making a double batch before I had tested the recipe.
Torrence says
I used tart dried cherries and subbed in some honey and turbinado sugar, mixed everything by hand w a spoon.
These were some of the best cookies! Family and neighbors can’t get enough! Thanks
Jessie says
I used dried cherries and semi sweet chocolate chips…they’re amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Nancy says
I used dried apricots, raisins and dried cranberries and they just turned out delicious! Very moist and flavorful. Thank you for the recipe.
Emmi says
5 stars
Emmi says
Ohhhh and skip refrigerating the cookie dough for 30 minutes, just toss the bowl into the freezer for 10 minutes then make cookie dough balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Karen says
I made these added white chocolate chips and pecans . Great recipe thank you so much.
Pam says
Wow! I’m not a baker but decided to try these. I don’t have a stand mixer so used an electric mixer for the butter, sugars, egg & vanilla and then mixed by hand. For add-ins I used toasted pistachios, dried cranberries & dark chocolate chips. My bf absolutely loved these cookies. He brought some to work and they were a big hit. His boss said it was one of the best cookies he ever ate. I’ll be making these again!
trish walsh medina says
thank u i love oats and looked for a recipe that had more oats or portioned to flour . i tweaked it to make it well because u can . but the bace amounts work really well . i doubled amounts ,added ginger and all spice .soaked ,cran berry . no salt . used salted butter . melted ,the key is the temp cool enough so the beaten eggs don’t set up, cane sugar is what makes the chewy and brown sugar .just switch using more cane then brown . i melted no hand mixer soaking fruit keeps dough moist rolled out logs wrapped up and froze the dough is now x mas gifts , let some one else bake.
Linda says
Shiran this recipe really looks great! I’m going to make the with my 6 year old grandson tomorrow. However, can I eliminate the granulated sugar and use only the 1 cup of brown sugar. Will this affect the outcome of the cookies?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Linda, reducing the sugar might affect the final outcome of the cookies 🙂 I recommend sticking to the recipe if you can!
Martha Clark says
Such a good recipe, Shiran! YUM! I used dark brown sugar – so good and caramel-y. I added dates, raisins, white chocolate chips; and chopped pecans. I felt like the dates were too sweet, buts that just me. My BF doesn’t care – those cookies are disappearing as I type! 🙂. Thanks so much – delish!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Martha, that sounds amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies.
Anne Fisher says
Hi Shiran… sooo delicious. Can I freeze the cookie dough before baking? It only once cooked? I am a well known BAD baker, but these were gorgeous & I want to capitalise on my (all too rare) success) Thanks for a great recipe
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Anne, thank you! Yes, you should be able to freeze the cookie dough- I would form into balls first and freeze on a sheet pan so the balls stay separate. Once frozen, place the frozen dough balls in a ziploc bag and seal. You may have to adjust the baking time if baking them again directly from being frozen. I personally have not tried frozen dough with this recipe yet.
Anne says
I used a grain-free dried fruit & nut granola mix that I received in error.(way too expensive for me). I just Smashed up the larger bits & added it to the mix. It has dried cranberries, blueberries & various nuts
Anne says
Can I freeze cookies uncooked?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Anne, this should work. You may have to bake the cookies a little longer if placing frozen dough balls directly into the oven.
Sherri says
I tried your recipe yesterday. This morning, my significant other is having 2 with coffee. Definitely a keeper..both he and the cookie recipe.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Sherri, thank you so much! I love cookies with coffee too!
Marlene says
I made these cookies today and added Caramel Sea Salt baking chips from Trader Joes that I purchased for Christmas cookies. They baked up chewy awesome and I will use this recipe again using cran-raisins.
Nancy C says
I have frozen cranberries can I substitute them for dried?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Nancy, the water content will be much different so your results will be very different from my original recipe. Frozen cranberries will turn mushy.
Denise Botting says
The cookies were perfect. Not too sweet. The perfect texture for a chewy cookie – still chewy the next day.