Cozy up with a cup of tea and some homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies still warm from the oven. All you need are a few pantry staples to pull off this recipe!
I love a good oatmeal cookie, especially a homemade one. And especially one with plenty of chocolate chips ?
- This recipe is absolutely foolproof to put together. The dough is so easy and you don’t even need a mixer if you don’t have one. I do like using my hand mixer for even quicker prep, but it really isn’t necessary.
- The cookies come out thick, soft and chewy thanks to using both quick oats and old fashioned oats. The magic lies in the combination of both kinds of oats here!
- You can easily freeze the cookie dough balls to bake fresh cookies whenever you need them. Great for busy days and after school snacks!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Oats: I very strongly recommend using half quick oats and half old fashioned oats in this recipe. This nicely balances the texture of the dough to yield thick, soft cookies with a chew. If you use all quick oats, the cookies will spread more and turn out crisper. If you use all old fashioned oats, the cookies may turn out too thick/too dry.
- Butter:
- I use unsalted butter. If you use salted, reduce the salt in the recipe to a pinch.
- Your butter should be softened for easy beating, especially if you’re making the dough without a mixer. To quickly soften butter, unwrap it and put it on a plate. Rinse a medium bowl (one that fits over your butter) with piping hot water, then immediately invert it over the butter. It should be nicely soft in 5-10 minutes.
- If you need to use margarine for any kind of reason, use a margarine intended for baking.
- Pecans: Adding the chopped nuts is absolutely optional and you can just skip them if you need to.
- Different mix-ins: For a variation of the recipe, try different mix-ins! You can replace the chocolate chips with cranberries or raisins (see my oatmeal raisin cookies!), or use something fun like M&M baking chips, salted peanuts or butterscotch baking chips instead.
How to make Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
beat butter and sugar; then beat in egg/vanilla beat in flour mixture fold in oats, choc chips and pecans scoop into balls, then chill
1. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy (the mixture may look crumbly at first, keep beating until it is creamy); then beat in the egg and vanilla just until incorporated.
2. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a small bowl, then beat into the egg mixture until combined. Do not overbeat!
3. Fold in both oats, the chocolate chips and the chopped pecans.
4. Scoop the dough into balls, then chill them in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes (you can place them closely together for the chilling part).
5. Once chilled, bake the cookies in batches (spaced 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets) at 350°F for 12-15 minutes, until baked and browned to your liking.
The tops should look dry/no longer greasy from the melted butter when they are ready. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe tips
- Do not overmix the cookie dough, only beat until the ingredients are incorporated. You don’t need to cream the dough for several minutes like you would cake batter. If you overmix the dough, the cookies may come out tough.
- I very strongly recommend sticking to the two kinds of oats in the recipe. If you change this, the texture of the cookies will change significantly.
- Do not skip chilling the cookie dough. If you don’t chill it, the cookies will spread too much in the oven and turn out thin/crispy instead of soft and thick.
- I always scoop the cookie dough before chilling – it may be counterintuitive, but the warm and soft dough is much easier to scoop, and the dough chills faster once shaped.
- Do not overbake your cookies, or they will come out too crisp. The tops should look dry (the tops of the cookies start to look greasy from the melted butter about halfway through the baking time, bake the cookies right until the tops look dry/set and no longer greasy). The cookies are still soft when they are ready and need to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before you’re able to remove them.
Storage tips
To freeze the cookie dough: I find it’s easiest to scoop the cookies, then freeze them in a single layer for about 6 hours (either on the lined cookie sheet or, if you don’t have the freezer space, on a plate lined with baking parchment.
Then, bag them in bags or containers suitable for freezing. Label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months).
Bake straight from frozen as directed in the recipe, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time. Make sure the cookies are no longer frozen in the middle and piping hot all the way through!
To freeze the baked cookies: Place the cookies in freezer-friendly containers, separating layers with wax paper. Label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months) before placing in the freezer.
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Everyday Easy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe details
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour spooned and levelled
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup quick oats
- ½ cup roughly chopped pecans
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Beat butter and both sugars in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until creamy.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat just until combined – do not overmix the egg or you’ll get tough cookies.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add to egg mix and beat on low speed just until combined.
- Fold in both types of oats, chopped pecans and chocolate chips (use a spatula here, or your mixer will get stuck).
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop roughly 2-3 tablespoon portions of cookie dough. Place on a lined baking sheet (it’s fine to place them close together at this point) and chill in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake in batches on lined baking sheets, cookies spaced 2 inches apart, for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown (they will still be very soft when they come out of the oven).
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in a cookie jar on the counter for 3-4 days.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Oats: I very strongly recommend using half quick oats and half old fashioned oats in this recipe. This nicely balances the texture of the dough to yield thick, soft cookies with a chew. If you use all quick oats, the cookies will spread more and turn out crisper. If you use all old fashioned oats, the cookies may turn out too thick/too dry.
- Butter:
- I use unsalted butter. If you use salted, reduce the salt in the recipe to a pinch.
- Your butter should be softened for easy beating, especially if you’re making the dough without a mixer. To quickly soften butter, unwrap it and put it on a plate. Rinse a medium bowl (one that fits over your butter) with piping hot water, then immediately invert it over the butter. It should be nicely soft in 5-10 minutes.
- If you need to use margarine for any kind of reason, use a margarine intended for baking.
- Pecans: Adding the chopped nuts is absolutely optional and you can just skip them if you need to.
- Different mix-ins: For a variation of the recipe, try different mix-ins! You can replace the chocolate chips with cranberries or raisins (see my oatmeal raisin cookies!), or use something fun like M&M baking chips, salted peanuts or butterscotch baking chips instead.
Recipe tips
- Do not overmix the cookie dough, only beat until the ingredients are incorporated. You don’t need to cream the dough for several minutes like you would cake batter. If you overmix the dough, the cookies may come out tough.
- I very strongly recommend sticking to the two kinds of oats in the recipe. If you change this, the texture of the cookies will change significantly.
- Do not skip chilling the cookie dough. If you don’t chill it, the cookies will spread too much in the oven and turn out thin/crispy instead of soft and thick.
- I always scoop the cookie dough before chilling – it may be counterintuitive, but the warm and soft dough is much easier to scoop, and the dough chills faster once shaped.
- Do not overbake your cookies, or they will come out too crisp. The tops should look dry (the tops of the cookies start to look greasy from the melted butter about halfway through the baking time, bake the cookies right until the tops look dry/set and no longer greasy). The cookies are still soft when they are ready and need to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before you’re able to remove them.
Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published on 01/11/2016. Updated with a better recipe, new photos and better text on 05/23/2021.
Sher L. says
Love this recipe!!!
Many recipes out there required way too much sugar! I saw one that required 1 cup of granulated & 1 cup of brown sugar!
I baked mine with slightly under 1/2 cup of sugar and substituted brown sugar with raw sugar as I didn’t have any at home. They still came out great! So fragrant and not too sweet 🙂 Thanks…..
Nora says
I’m so happy to read this, Sher! And I agree – I’m perfectly fine with using sugar in cookies and baking, but often there’s just way too much of it. I want to taste more than just overpowering SWEET. I’m glad they turned out well for you – I bake them a lot with my kids and they’re always a hit. I love it when our favorite recipes bring joy to others, too 🙂
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says
I agree on the cookie scoop! One of my favorite kitchen utensils– they make such perfect cookies. These look so yummy. A perfect oatmeal cookie is essential!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
Maybe little gal was just trying to help you mop the floor? Haha! These cookies look delicious. I love oatmeal in chocolate chip cookies, they give the cookies a great chew.
marcie says
I can never turn down an oatmeal cookie, especially when there’s chocolate involved! These look so thick and chewy — cookie perfection!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
Oatmeal chip cookies are my absolute favorites! Yours look delish- pinning!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
These cookies look SO gooey and delicious – I’m loving that melted chocolate 🙂 I’m so with you on chocolate chunks > chips! They’re so quick and easy too. So cute that your little one helps you out in the kitchen!!
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
These cookies look just perfect, Nora! I have just recently started baking with my little guy and it is SO much fun! I can’t wait until he can do a little more unsupervised, he still wants to taste each ingredient so I kind of have to stay on top of that 😉