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Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

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Make irresistible soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies loaded with old-fashioned oats and melty chocolate. This easy oatmeal cookies recipe is slightly underbaked in the middle with crisp, buttery edges, and finished with flaked sea salt.

If you love this recipe for classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, try my traditional chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, too!

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

It’s not a secret that I’m not-so-slightly obsessed with oatmeal cookies.

Today, I’m taking it back to where it all began with this perfect, buttery, chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies recipe. 

These are hands down the best chewy oatmeal cookies I’ve ever had. They’re soft and textured in the middle, crispy around the edges, and bursting with melty chocolate chips. 

I top these cookies with a sprinkle of sea salt, and the flavor combination is to die for! Prepare to be wholly obsessed.

Why You’ll Love These Oatmeal Cookies

  • Cold butter. The dough starts with cold-ish butter, which gives the cookies a bit more volume than if you were to use room-temperature butter. See the next section for details.
  • No chilling. You don’t need to chill the dough, so you can have freshly baked cookies in approximately 30 minutes from start to finish.
  • Underbaking. I leave these oatmeal cookies slightly underbaked so that they’re buttery, soft, and chewy in the centers with crispy edges. The cookies also have plenty of texture from the oats and chocolate chips.
A stack of three chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies on an orange napkin.

What Makes Cookies Chewy?

So, what’s the secret to the best chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies? Let’s break it down:

  • More brown sugar than white sugar. You’ll notice that this recipe uses more brown sugar than regular granulated sugar. This results in a cookie that’s softer and more moist.
  • The right oats. Choosing the right oats for baking is key when making chewy oatmeal cookies. Rolled oats, for example, will yield a much chewier cookie than other kinds of oats. See the ingredients section for details.
  • Don’t overbake. I mentioned it earlier, but you want to take these cookies out of the oven when they’re still slightly underbaked, but not gooey in the middle. They’ll continue to set up while they’re left to rest on the baking sheet. Overbaked cookies will be dry and crunchy.

Key Ingredients

In addition to my tips above, the best soft and chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies come down to a few key ingredients. I’ve summarized these below, and remember to refer to the recipe card for the full recipe details.

  • Butter – As mentioned above, this recipe starts with cold butter to 1) skip the need for chilling and 2) avoid spreading.
  • Sugar – The chewiest chocolate chip oatmeal cookies call for both brown sugar and granulated sugar. Increasing the amount of brown sugar yields a softer cookie than granulated sugar alone.
  • Oats – I recommend using old-fashioned rolled oats when making oatmeal cookies. The texture is far superior to quick oats, see below.
  • Chocolate Chips – I prefer to bake with semi-sweet chocolate chips, but any variety of chocolate chips will do as long as they’re good quality! See further down in the post for more variation ideas and add-in suggestions.
  • Sea Salt – I give my cookies a healthy sprinkle of flaky sea salt before baking. Optional, but highly recommended! Maldon Sea Salt is the BEST way to finish off these cookies.

What Kind of Oats Are Best for Cookies?

Old-fashioned rolled oats are best when making cookies. They hold their texture and give the cookies an irresistible chewiness. You can still use quick oats in a pinch, however, quick oats tend to bake up a little mushier since they absorb more moisture. Your cookies will taste about the same, but they won’t have the ideal structure that comes from rolled oats.

Close up of a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie topped with sea salt next to more cookies on a white plate.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

While the oven preheats to 350ºF, give your cold butter a quick zap in the microwave (about 10 seconds) to soften it ever-so-slightly. Next, get started on your oatmeal cookie dough:

  1. Combine the wet ingredients. First, cream together the butter with both sugars. Next, beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, oats, and dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing to form the dough. Lastly, when the ingredients are just combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
  3. Portion the dough. Use a large cookie scoop to portion the dough out onto a lined baking sheet. Finally, give the tops a sprinkle with flaky salt. For this drop cookie recipe, I don’t recommend flattening your cookies before you bake them. It’s not necessary and they may end up spreading too much and too thin.
  4. Bake. Pop your chocolate chip oatmeal cookies into the oven to bake for 11-13 minutes, until they’re just set in the middle and golden at the edges. Once they’re out of the oven, leave the cookies to rest on the baking sheet. After a few minutes, move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Can I Make the Cookie Dough In Advance?

Yes. If you’d like to get a head start on your chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, you can prepare the cookie dough ahead of time:

  • To Refrigerate: Prepare the dough and then place it in the fridge tightly wrapped up to 1-2 days ahead. I recommend taking it out of the fridge 10-15 minutes ahead of portioning and baking the cookies as directed.
  • To Freeze the Oatmeal Cookie Dough: To freeze unbaked cookie dough, portion it out using the cookie scoop, and flash freeze for 30 minutes on a cookie sheet. Transfer the frozen balls of cookie dough to an airtight container. Allow the dough to come to room temperature before baking.

Recipe Notes and Tips

Here are my additional tips for the best chocolate chip oatmeal cookies:

    • Line your baking sheets with silicone baking mats. This is seriously a game-changer when baking cookies. The silicone surface prevents the bottoms of the cookies from over-spreading and burning.

    • Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough. This helps to ensure that the cookies are the same size, for even baking.

    • Cold vs. room temperature butter. When you compare the photos below, the cookie on the left is baked with cold butter. The resulting cookies are not-too-flat and not-too-puffed. Starting with softened or room temperature butter (photo on the right) results in spreading, for flatter oatmeal cookies with crispier edges. They still taste great, and you can use whichever method you prefer.

    • To get the butter to the right temperature, take the cold butter out of the refrigerator and microwave it for 10-12 seconds. That should be just enough to soften it without warming it completely.

    • How to fix cookies that spread: If your cookies come out of the oven a bit misshapen, use the flat edge of a knife or a spatula and gently push the edges of the cookies back into a circle. This also helps to keep the center nice and puffy.

    • Scale the batches as needed. A double batch of cookies yields approximately 20-24 cookies. You can also halve the ingredients to make 10-12 cookies instead.

Common Questions

Why did my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies turn out dry?

Dry cookies can be the result of overmixing the dough, or it can be that your flour was measured incorrectly. Be sure to spoon and level the flour or use a scale to measure.

How do I know when oatmeal cookies are done baking?

In most cases, you should be able to tell if your cookies are done by looking at them. For chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, they should be lightly browned at the edges and set (not jiggly) in the centers.

How long do homemade oatmeal cookies last?

When properly stored, these cookies will stay soft and fresh for up to 3-5 days. You can also prolong the shelf life of your oatmeal cookies by freezing them. See the section further on for detailed storing instructions.

A stack of chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies on an orange napkin.

Add-Ins and Variation Ideas

This chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe is easy to customize with more add-ins and delicious variations. Here are some ideas:

  • Salted Caramel – Swirl in salted caramel as I do in this recipe for Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
  • M&Ms – Swap out the chocolate chips for M&M candy (inspired by The Best Monster Cookies).
  • Different Chips – This recipe would be equally delicious filled with white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chips.
  • Nuts – Mix in crushed pecans, walnuts, macadamias, hazelnuts, or peanuts.
  • Spices – Sprinkle in a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin spice (mixed spice) for some cozy flavor.
A stack of chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies on an orange napkin.

How to Store Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

  • To Store: Homemade oatmeal cookies stay fresh when stored at room temperature. Store the cooled chocolate chip oatmeal cookies airtight for up to 5 days.
  • To Freeze the Baked Cookies: These chocolate chip oatmeal cookies freeze well. Place the cookies in an airtight container to keep them frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the cookies uncovered at room temperature. If, like me, patience isn’t your forte, you can also thaw the individual cookies in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before eating.

More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes

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Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies topped with sea salt on a white plate.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

  • Author: Julianne Dell
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 10-12 cookies

Description

Make irresistible Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies loaded with old-fashioned oats and melty chocolate! These easy oatmeal cookies are slightly underbaked with buttery edges and finished with flaked sea salt.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (229 g)  Unsalted butter, cold
  • 1 ½ cups (330 g) Light brown sugar
  • ½ cup (95 g) Granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) Pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups (270 g) All-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups (120g) Rolled oats
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups (12 oz) Semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Flakey sea salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Soften the cold butter in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Combine the softened butter with the brown and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes. Next, add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue beating until well incorporated.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, salt, and baking soda. Stir to combine and slowly add the dry ingredients into the dough, mixing on low speed until the dough starts to form. Before the dough thickens, add the chocolate chips. Beat a couple of times until they start to incorporate.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Scoop the dough using a large cookie scoop and place it on a sheet pan, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt.
  4. Bake for 11-13 minutes. The center of the cookie should be slightly under-baked but not too gooey. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

  • When your cookies come out of the oven and they do spread or are misshaped, take a flat edge, such as a knife, and press the edges of the cookie back towards the middle of the cookie, shaping it into a circle.
  • A single batch will make 10-12 cookies with a large cookie scoop
  • A double batch will make 20-24 cookies with a large cookie scoop
  • Storing: Store the cooled chocolate chip oatmeal cookies airtight for up to 3-5 days.
  • Freezing: Place them in an airtight container to keep them frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the cookies uncovered at room temperature. To freeze the dough, portion it out using the cookie scoop, and flash freeze for 30 minutes on a cookie sheet. Transfer the frozen balls of cookie dough to an airtight container. Allow the dough to come to room temperature prior to baking. 
Nutrition Information:
1 cookie
271
25g
134mg
12g
38g
1g
3g
35mg
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
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