Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with quick oats

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2. Cookies & Bars
3. Oatmeal cookies

These cookies, our 2015 Recipe of the Year, are soft and chewy, packed with chips, and go beyond the standard chocolate chip cookie with the addition of nutty tasting oats. They're a specialty of our Bake Truck, which travels the country serving these as part of our Bake for Good fundraising program.

Our thanks to the Cookies for Kids' Cancer non-profit, the originator of this recipe.

Yield

20 to 100 cookies, depending on size

These soft, chewy, incredibly easy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are made in one bowl using simple ingredients: old-fashioned oats, melted butter, brown sugar, and cozy cinnamon and nutmeg for spice. Use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate and don’t forget a sprinkle of sea salt on top! No mixer and no chilling needed for this simple oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Why you’ll love these cookies

Ok, those of you who follow me on Instagram know that I’ve been holding out on you, and for that I apologize. I absolutely meant to share this unbelievably easy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe with you over the summer, then in the fall, then over the holidays, and…life just happened, as it does. But no longer – today is the day!

For years, my recipe for the easiest chocolate chip cookies has been one of the most popular recipes on this website, and so many of you make it over and over again just like I do. It’s not hard to see why – a one bowl, no mixer, no chill recipe for 24 cookies in 30 minutes? You just can’t beat it.

So it was only a matter of time before I created an oatmeal chocolate chip version of the recipe. I’m actually glad I waited to share it because I’ve been refining it over the past few months and now — now, it’s perfect. These cookies are soft and chewy from the oats and brown sugar, with pockets of chocolate throughout and a cozy blend of cinnamon and nutmeg for the best spiced oatmeal cookie flavor.

Recipe Ingredients

We’re keeping it simple with the ingredients here because when you want cookies at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday, you’re not messing around with browning butter and sifting flour and doing all the things. No siree.

So here they are:

• Unsalted butter – melted, in the same bowl you’re going to mix everything in
• Brown sugar – light or dark will work!
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg (you can omit or add more cinnamon if you prefer)
• Baking soda
• Salt
• All-purpose flour (a gluten-free all-purpose blend would work too!)
• Old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats (but NOT steel cut oats!)
• Chocolate chips or, my preference, chopped chocolate so it melts into glorious chocolate pools in the oven
• Sea salt on top if you’re feeling fancy

How to make easy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Like my other “easiest” recipe series, these chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are made in one bowl and no mixer is needed. Here are the step by step instructions — spoiler alert, it’s a short list:

1. Melt the butter in a large bowl (or melt separately and pour into a large bowl), then whisk with the brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and spices until well-combined and smooth.
2. Stir in the flour and oats until a dough is formed. It’s a soft dough – don’t be concerned!
3. Fold in the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
4. Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (I recommend this cookie scoop!). Add extra chocolate chips or chunks on top of each dough ball to make them look like my photos.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes!
6. Sprinkle sea salt on top after baking if you’d like for that perfect salty-sweet cookie.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

My most important tip for success in this oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe (and in all cookie recipes) is to weigh your flour. I cannot stress enough how important it is to accurately measure your flour for consistent, excellent results, and weight is the most accurate way.

I know it’s annoying – I resisted this method of measuring for a long time too, thinking it was too fancy or too complicated for my purposes. But I’ve discovered that, counterintuitively, baking by weight is SO much easier than using measuring cups. All you have to do is zero out (or tare) the scale each time you measure an ingredient into the bowl. You don’t have to get measuring cups or additional bowls dirty, and your ingredient measurements will be super accurate every time.

A cup of flour weighs 125 grams, and when you measure it using a scale, it will always be 125 grams. When you measure using cups, different brands will be slightly different sizes and you might accidentally pack the flour in too much, making your cup 140 or 150 grams which could lead to dry cookies. And what a sad day that would be.

So. Use a scale. They aren’t expensive! Here’s the one I use and love, but there are far cheaper ones out there that work just as well.

Storing & Freezing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature. Not that they’ll last that long, if my house is any indication.

Baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies can be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic and stored in a freezer bag, for up to 3 months.  Simply thaw at room temperature for an hour or heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to serve. 

The oatmeal cookie dough can also be frozen and baked later: scoop dough onto a flat surface like a plate or baking sheet, and place in the freezer for an hour.  Then store frozen cookie dough balls in a freezer-safe bag to be baked whenever cookie cravings strike!  Bake from frozen for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F, or 14 minutes if you like them crispy on the edges.

I like to keep cookie dough on hand in the freezer for cookie emergencies. It’s a real thing.

Additions & Substitutions

Add-ins: feel free to use raisins if you prefer (but…really, we don’t prefer) or any other combination of chocolate, fruit, or nuts in place of the chocolate chips.

Spices: you can omit the nutmeg entirely or add more cinnamon in its place – or leave them both out if you want pure oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I like the complexity and coziness of the spices, though.

Gluten-free: You can substitute an equal amount of gluten-free all-purpose flour if you’d like! Make sure to use certified gluten-free oats, as well.

Vegan: a bit more complex but use vegan butter, and use a flax egg (1 tbsp flax + 2.5 tbsp water, mixed and let sit for 5 minutes to form a gel) in place of the chicken egg. Make sure to use a vegan chocolate too if you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I double the recipe?

Yes, but I recommend making two separate batches, rather than doubling the ingredients in one bowl.  The reason is that if you double the ingredients in one bowl, you’re doubling the volume but not the surface area, which means more heat will be retained by the batter and you’ll have flat, spread-out cookies.  For this reason, I recommend making two separate batches, but if you must double everything in one bowl, I would recommend chilling the dough for at least an hour before scooping.

How do I make these oatmeal cookies gluten-free?

Make sure to use certified gluten-free oats and substitute in an equal volume of a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, such as Bob’s Red Mill One-to-One (the blue bag).

More Cookie Recipes

• The Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookies
• The Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies
• Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Salted Brownie Cookies

If you make these simple oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I’d love if you could leave a star rating and review below! It helps other readers like yourself and gets this recipe seen by more people. Also feel free to tag me on Instagram @katiebirdbakes – I love to see your bakes!

These soft, chewy, incredibly easy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are made in one bowl using simple ingredients: old-fashioned oats, melted butter, brown sugar, and cozy cinnamon and nutmeg for spice.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate chip, cookies, easy, oatmeal

Servings: 24 cookies

• 2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper

• 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/4 cups (155g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (86g) old-fashioned (rolled) oats
• 1/2 cup (85g) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (plus more for tops if desired)
• Coarse or flaky sea salt (optional, for sprinkling on top)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

• In a large bowl whisk together melted butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, spices, baking soda and salt.

• Stir in flour and oats until a dough is formed. Fold in chocolate chips.

• Drop by tablespoons (a #40 cookie scoop is perfect for this) onto parchment lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart, then roll into balls in your hands if you want them perfectly round. Add extra chocolate chips to the tops of each dough ball if desired.

• Bake for 10 minutes! Sprinkle sea salt on top after baking if desired.

• Let cookies cool on sheet for at least 5 minutes, then cool completely on a rack.  Store, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Note on measuring flour: for best results, please either weigh your flour (see notes in the post) or make sure you use the “spoon and level” method for measuring flour, rather than using your measuring cup to scoop flour directly from the bag.  The spoon and level method produces a lighter cup of flour, while scooping from the bag produces a packed, heavier cup that will prevent the cookies from spreading as they should.

Freezing cookies and cookie dough: baked cookies can be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic and stored in a freezer bag, for up to 3 months.  Simply thaw at room temperature for an hour or heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to serve.  Cookie dough can also be frozen and baked later: scoop dough onto a flat surface like a plate or baking sheet, and place in the freezer for an hour.  Then store frozen cookie dough balls in a freezer-safe bag to be baked whenever cookie cravings strike!  Bake from frozen for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F, or 14 minutes if you like them crispy on the edges.

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