Soft, chewy, and flavorful Oatmeal Cookies — enjoy these cookies as is, or read on to add in raisins, nuts, and/or chocolate chips!

Once you’re totally in love with these cookies, don’t stop there—give our Snickerdoodle, Costco Raspberry Crumble Cookies, or Peanut Butter Cookies a try!

Up-close overhead photo of an Oatmeal Cookie with a sprinkle of sea salt on top and additional cookies in the corners of the photo

Oatmeal Cookies

While I’m ALL about chocolate, sometimes an old-fashioned oatmeal cookie is exactly the treat I’m craving. Soft, buttery, chewy, and flavorful–this is the recipe! I’ve been working on this recipe for months, and am finally ready for the big reveal. Are you ready??

If you’re looking for chocolate chips, raisins, or nuts in your cookies, you can add them to this base recipe OR, try these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies or these Oatmeal Pecan Cookies. And for something even better than oatmeal raisin cookies, try this recipe using dried cranberries in place of raisins!

Process shot of making Oatmeal Cookies :showing the butter being added with brown and white sugar

What ingredients do you need for oatmeal cookies?

The main ingredients in a classic, simple Oatmeal Cookie recipe are sugar, butter, flour, eggs, and of course, the old-fashioned oats.

In addition to these basic ingredients, we also use a few unique products to get these Oatmeal Cookies to taste their very best! Those ingredients are:

  • Cornstarch: This keeps the cookies nice and soft.
  • Oat flour: This gives the cookies a more intense oat-y flavor.
  • Dark brown sugar: Gives these cookies a chewy consistency as well as a deeper molasses flavor. Don’t worry — light brown sugar also works!)

Now that we’ve talked ingredients, let’s talk process and tips!

Process shot of making Oatmeal Cookies: on the left the wet ingredients are finished and then the dry ingredients added on top

Tips for making perfect oatmeal cookies:

  • Precise measuring: Too much flour will give you dense cookies. Spoon your flour into the measuring cup (if you scoop it into a measuring cup, it usually gets packed in too tightly) and level it off with the flat edge of a butter knife.
  • Slightly under-bake: This ensures the soft and chewy texture we all love! Over-baked Oatmeal Cookies lose their delicious chewy texture and a lot of flavor.
  • Don’t over-mix: If you over-mix the batter, the cookies will become denser and less soft and chewy.
  • Properly chill the dough: Chilling the dough makes a huge difference in both the flavor and the texture of the cookies. It allows the sugar and flavors to absorb and meld together.

Process shot of making Oatmeal Cookies -- adding flour and mixing. at this point you can make oatmeal raisin cookies or oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or leave them plain

I’ve talked a lot about how to make these Oatmeal Cookies chewy. But what makes a cookie chewy anyway? This is determined by the amount of moisture in the cookie. The extra butter and the dark brown sugar add moisture to the oatmeal cookie mixture in this chewy cookie recipe.

The number one tip to keeping a cookie chewy: Do not over-bake the cookies (because this dries the cookies out)!

Process shot of making Oatmeal Cookies -- adding flour and mixing. at this point you can make oatmeal raisin cookies or oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or leave them plain. Photos show dough balls being weighed and then placed on a tray to bake

A common question I get is “Can you use quick oats in cookies?” And the answer is generally no. When you use quick oats, the cookies are much drier and become cake-like. Definitely NOT what we’re going for with these Oatmeal Cookies:)

ENJOY!

Overhead photo of six Oatmeal Cookies. This recipe is the best!

4.82 from 32 votes

Oatmeal Cookies

Soft, chewy, and flavorful Oatmeal Cookies -- enjoy these cookies as is, or read on to add in raisins, nuts, and/or chocolate chips!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Chilling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 23 minutes
Servings: 15 -18 cookies

Ingredients  

  • ยฝ cup (equivalent to 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature, NOT melted
  • ยฝ cup dark brown sugar, packed (light brown sugar also works)
  • ยฝ cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ยผ cup oat flour, Note 1
  • ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
  • ยฝ teaspoon salt (I use fine sea salt)
  • ยฝ tablespoon cornstarch
  • ยฝ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional* (Note 1)
  • 1 ยฝ cups old-fashioned oats, ( Note 2) not quick oats
  • ยฝ cup + 3 tablespoons white all-purpose flour,
  • Optional: flaky sea salt for topping cookies

Instructions 

  • BUTTER: Remove butter from refrigerator 30 minutes in advance so it reaches room temperature.
  • MIX: Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and creamy, at least 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
  • OATS: To make oat flour, blend up regular oats in a blender or food processor until they resemble flour. Measure to get a leveled 1/4 cup. Add to the same bowl on top of the wet ingredients: oat flour, baking soda, sea salt, cornstarch, cinnamon, and old-fashioned oats. Beat until ingredients are well combined.
  • fLOUR: Add the flour (measure by spooning the flour in the measuring cups and then leveling). Mix until JUST combined. Cover dough tightly and chill for 1 hour. These cookies will spread without being chilled.
  • DOUGH BALLS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop out balls of dough (if you have a food scale, do cookie balls about 1.7 ounces in size; this will yield exactly 15 cookies)
  • CHILL: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a baking liner. Place balls of dough (no more than 9 cookies at a time) on the cookie sheet. Return the tray of cookies to the fridge for 10 minutes.
  • BAKE: Bake for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges (even if the center looks a little under-done -- they cook a bit more after being pulled out of the oven). These cookies set up and become extremely delicious and chewy if they're slightly underbaked. Err on the side of slightly under-baking these cookies for soft, chewy, and tender cookies! Add a sprinkle of sea salt if desired to the cookies. Cookies are best enjoyed within 2-3 days

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Cinnamon: We love the hint of cinnamon in these cookies, but you can leave it out if you prefer. For more of a spiced cookie, add 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and ground cloves in addition to the cinnamon.
Note 2: Oat flour: It's easy to make your own oat flour. Just add old-fashioned oats to a blender jar and process until it's the texture of flour. Stir it around to be sure all the oats are ground.
ย 

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 215IU | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

 

The ultimate BEST EVER soft, chewy, and flavorful oatmeal cookies! Enjoy these cookies as is or learn how to add in raisins, nuts, and/or chocolate chips! via chelseasmessyapron.com #oatmeal #cookies #cookie #recipe #easy #quick #christmas #exchange

Meet Chelsea


Hello, and welcome to Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron! Iโ€™m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. Iโ€™m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping byโ€”I hope you find something delicious to make!

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4.82 from 32 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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77 Comments

  1. Grace says:

    Delicious recipe! Will they still turn out great if I refrigerate them overnight and bake in the morning, or would that be too much chilling?

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      I find overnight chills makes the cookies not flatten enough (so they’re like thick balls), so I wouldn’t recommend overnight chilling. Enjoy Grace! ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Natasha says:

    5 stars
    Love these with the oatmeal and little salt sprinkled on top – all the tricks to a perfect cookie!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Thanks Natasha! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Becky Hardinbeck says:

    5 stars
    The best cookies ever!!!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Yay! Thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Valentina says:

    5 stars
    The best oatmeal cookies recipe!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      So happy to hear it! Thanks Valentina! ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. Jacqui s says:

        5 stars
        I never leave comments on recipes but these cookies were too good ! Everyone absolutely loved them

        1. Chelsea Lords says:

          Yay! Love hearing that ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks so much Jacqui!!

  5. Emily says:

    5 stars
    I loved the sea salt on the cookies, it gave them such a yummy flavor!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment Emily! ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Suzy says:

    5 stars
    These cookies are hands down, the BEST!

  7. Keri says:

    5 stars
    I made these last night and they turned out wonderfully! I found that forming the balls first and then refrigerating them yielded a better result once baked. I was handling them too much at first when forming the balls and the dough was getting quite warm causing A LOT of spreading.
    Thanks for the great recipe!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      I’m soo glad you loved these! And YES!! That is great advice!! Thanks for sharing!!

  8. Cindy says:

    5 stars
    These cookies were the best I’ve had (and I’ve made hundreds of dozens in my 65 years). I added the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. I just had one concern. The recipe says “this will yield exactly 15 cookies), but the Nutrition Facts say it “Serves 18”. How do you decide which people get only half a great cookie?

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Hi Cindy, I am soooo happy you love these cookies! ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks for your sweet comment! So it makes up 15-18 cookies depending on how small/big you roll your balls.

    2. Judith says:

      I literally signed up just to reply “LMAO!” to this comment haha

  9. lauren kelly says:

    5 stars
    Oatmeal cookies have always been my favorite! Thanks for a great recipe!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      You’re welcome! ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. Dorothy says:

    5 stars
    The SECRET IS OFFICIALLY OUT! This iIS the BEST OATMEAL COOKIE RECIPE ! Flavorful โœ… Soft โœ… Chewy โœ… WARNING: THESE COOKIES DISAPPEAR FAST.

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Awe, thank you Dorothy! Your comment made my day! So glad these were a hit ๐Ÿ™‚