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Baking · American

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy brown-sugar oat cookies studded with chocolate chips, mixed by hand in one bowl.

Hands-on
25 min
Hands-off
40 min
Total
1 h 5 min
Makes
42 cookies
Serves
42

Preheating overlaps mixing. 42 cookies bake in about 3 rounds of 12-14 minutes; while one sheet bakes you scoop the next, so about 25 minutes hands-on and 40 minutes of baking and cooling. Total about 1 hour 5 minutes.

Oven 180 °C · 160 °C fan (350 °F)

Pan ungreased cookie sheets (US: ungreased cookie sheets)

  • easy
  • vegetarian
  • cookies
  • lunchbox
  • freezer-friendly

Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means

Illustration of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Amount
Units
Oven

Ingredients

You need: cookie sheets, ungreased (shiny aluminum is best; two let you load one while the other bakes) · large bowl and sturdy spoon · small cookie scoop (about 3 cm / 1 1/4 in) or two tablespoons · thin spatula · wire cooling rack · oven mitts

Contains: milk · egg · wheat

Method

  1. Heat the oven

    Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F).

  2. Sugar and butter

    In a large bowl, mix the 320 g (1 1/2 cups) brown sugar and 227 g (1 cup) soft butter, pressing out any lumps of sugar, until well blended.

    Ready when: Smooth and well blended, with no lumps of sugar left.

    Otto tried this firstOtto zaps the butter in the microwave to soften it fast and ends up with a puddle. Melted butter makes flat, lacy cookies. If it happens, chill the finished dough 10 to 15 minutes before scooping.

  3. Egg and vanilla

    Stir in the 1 tsp vanilla and the egg until the mixture is light and fluffy.

  4. Add the dry ingredients

    Add the 178 g (2 cups) quick oats, 180 g (1 1/2 cups) flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt and mix well.

    Ready when: A stiff, evenly mixed dough with no dry flour or oats at the bottom of the bowl.

  5. Chips in

    Stir in the 170 g (1 cup) chocolate chips, and the 113 g (1 cup) chopped nuts if using, until they're spread evenly through the dough.

  6. Scoop

    Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets, 5 cm (2 in) apart.

  7. Bake

    Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 14 minutes.

    Ready when: The cookies are golden brown.

  8. Cool

    Leave the cookies on the sheet for 1 to 2 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. Let the sheet cool before you scoop the next batch onto it, and repeat until the dough is used up.

Swaps

  • Instead of quick-cooking oats: old-fashioned rolled oats, same volume Rolled oats make even chewier cookies.
  • Instead of semisweet chocolate chips: milk chocolate, dark chocolate or butterscotch chips, same amount

Don’t swap

  • instant oatmeal for the oats: its additives change the taste and texture
  • granulated sugar for the brown sugar: it doesn't give the same moisture or flavour

Make ahead, store & reheat

Make ahead
Scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate up to 24 hours; let it stand about 30 minutes before baking. Or freeze the scooped mounds for 1 to 2 hours until firm, bag them and keep up to 12 months; bake from frozen, adding up to 5 minutes.
Storage
Keep cooled cookies in a tightly covered container in a cool place for up to 1 week. To freeze, layer them between waxed paper in a freezer container for up to 12 months; thaw about 15 minutes.
Reheat
Warm one cookie in the microwave on 50% power for about 30 seconds. The chips get much hotter than the cookie, so let it cool a moment before biting.

If something goes wrong

  • Flat, lacy cookies Why: The butter was melted or too soft.
    Use butter softened without melted spots. If the dough is very soft, chill it for 10 to 15 minutes before scooping.
  • Dry, crumbly cookies Why: Too much flour, usually from scooping the cup into the bag.
    Spoon the flour into the cup and level it, or weigh it: 180 g.

Good to know

  • Use large eggs: smaller ones make the dough drier.
  • For a spiced batch, add 1 tsp cinnamon or 1/2 tsp ginger with the flour.
  • Lining the sheets with parchment makes clean-up easier.

Safety

  • Don't taste the raw dough: it contains raw egg and raw flour. Only the baked cookies are safe to eat. Wash your hands after handling it.
  • The oven and cookie sheets get very hot. Use oven mitts, and kids should let an adult move the sheets.
  • Freshly microwaved cookies have very hot chocolate inside; let them cool before giving them to kids.
  • Adding nuts adds a tree-nut allergen. Oats are often processed with wheat, and chocolate can contain milk and soy: check the labels.