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Oatmeal Cookies
November 1, 2021
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Soft and chewy, this is a classic recipe for Oatmeal Cookies. Filled with butter, sugar, lots of rolled oats, and a ton of sweet flavor. Enjoy them plain, add in raisins or chocolate chips or make them into Oatmeal Cream Pies. They are sweet perfection.
A Note About Oats Before We Begin
Can I use Steel Cut Oats?
No. Steel cut oats have the texture of a grain or rice. They require a much longer cook time and won’t work very well in baking cookies.
Oatmeal Cookie Variations
These Oatmeal Cookies are some of my favorites! I am a bit of a plain jane and thoroughly enjoy the unadulterated flavor of a plain oatmeal cookie (or really any plain cookie like these sugar cookies or these peanut butter cookies) mainly because when made well, you don’t need any extra add-ins PLUS I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Win-win!
Where’s the Cinnamon?!
Lots of classic oatmeal cookie recipes add cinnamon into their dough. I left it out because this recipe is a lot more versatile that way. BUT if you are missing that warm spice, simply mix in 1 teaspoon to the dough.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Are you one of the many people on Instagram telling me I need to add raisins to my cookies? If that is you and you’d prefer an oatmeal raisin cookie, simply stir in 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1 cup of raisins to the cookie dough. Scoop and bake as usual.
For more details, see my Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe!
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
My husband is a chocolate addict and requires chocolate/chocolate chips in just about every dessert. (See this chocolate chip cookie recipe that is my husband’s favorite!) To add chocolate chips to this recipe, simply stir in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the dough, after the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Then scoop and bake as usual. Feel free to add in that 1 teaspoon of cinnamon if you like that flavor combo of chocolate + cinnamon.
For more details, see my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Add-Ins
Of course, raisins and chocolate chips are two obvious additions you can add to this simple cookie dough to turn these into some new combinations. But, here are a few other tasty ideas:
- Mini M&Ms. This is a super fun option for kids because of all the colors. See my Monster Cookies!
- White Chocolate. I love adding white chocolate chips into any cookie dough for more of a vanilla/creamy flavor.
- Craisins. For a fancier twist, try craisins instead of raisins. Super festive for the holidays too.
- Walnuts or Pecans. To contrast, all the soft and chewy, walnuts are a great option for crunch.
- Combination! Mix and match with any of these ingredients. I’m dying to try a white chocolate, craisin and walnut oatmeal cookie.
How to Make Oatmeal Cookies
I use the creaming method for these cookies. It’s the classic method for just about any cookie dough out there. Keep in mind the ingredient increments and directions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Also, note the oven temperature is 325 degrees. A lower oven temperature helps keeps these cookies soft.
Preheat + Prep
Preheat oven. Line two light-colored baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Of course silicone baking mats work well as do plain cookie sheets sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. For softer cookies, be sure to use light colored baking sheets, not the darker teflon ones (they darken the edges much quicker for a much crispier cookie).
Make the Cookie Dough
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs and vanilla until well combined. Slowly incorporate the remaining ingredients until the dough has just come together.
Scoop into cookies and place on prepared sheets.
Bake + Cool
Bake until edges are golden brown and the centers are soft but not gooey.
Cool on the hot baking sheet before transferring to cooling racks.
Keeping Oatmeal Cookies Soft
Leftover oatmeal cookies should be stored in airtight containers for up to 3 days. This is so that the cookies maintain their softness and freshness. If after a day or two they are getting a little crispy or noticeably stale, add in a slice of plain white bread into the container to get them soft again. It won’t completely fix the problem, but it will certainly help them stay soft. As someone who has spent most of her adult life avoiding crispy cookies, trust me when I say this works like a charm.
Make Ahead to Freeze
Oatmeal cookies great to make ahead. Simply make and bake as normal, cool completely then store in an airtight freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months! Don’t forget to give them enough time to defrost before digging it. A quick 10 second zap in the microwave will do the trick.
More Oatmeal Cookies Recipes!
Why yes, I DO have a bunch of Oatmeal based cookie recipes. Here they are:
- Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Stuffed Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting
- Absolutely Loaded Oatmeal Cookies (lots of different kinds of chocolate plus rice krispies!)
- Coconut Peanut Butter Oatmeal Scotchies
- Monster Cookies
Printable recipe card is below, friends. Print it, bookmark it or pin it to save it. Enjoy 🙂
Oatmeal Cookies
Soft and chewy, this is a classic Oatmeal Cookies recipe. No raisins and no chocolate chips, just oatmeal and a ton of sweet flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups rolled oats
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two light-colored baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Slowly incorporate remaining ingredients until the dough has just come together. Scoop into cookies and place on prepared sheets. Bake 9-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown and the centers are soft but not gooey.
- Cool 5 minutes on the hot baking sheet before transferring to cooling racks. Store in airtight containers for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
I use and prefer salted butter for all my baking. However, if you prefer unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
For oatmeal raisin cookies, add in 1 cup raisins and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to cookie dough before scooping.
For oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, add in 1-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips to cookie dough before scooping.
Nutrition
Calories: 120kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
When a recipe starts with a cup of butter you know it’s going to be good. These cookies didn’t disappoint. I made these this morning and threw in the chocolate chips because it’s Valentine’s Day and oh boy, they’re good. It’s a good thing I brought them to work because I don’t think I could stop at just 1 if they stuck around my house.
Can you substitute self rising flour for all purpose flour?
No. Self rising flour can only safely be substituted if there is 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of baking soda for EACH cup of regular flour used in the recipe. This recipe does not have enough baking soda used per cup of flour.
How did you know I was looking for a new oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe? Going to try these tomorrow! A million thanks!
Absolutely loved this recipe. Making again for my in-laws! Was a hit!! Very moist with really good flavor!! Thank you!!
These look amazing and I am planning to make them to surprise my father. I am curious about the missing cinnamon though. Every other recipe I have looked at includes it and I wonder if these have the traditional oatmeal cookie taste without it? Since my father loves oatmeal cookies I don’t want to make him something that doesn’t hit the spot.
In the recipe notes, I say you can add in the 1 teaspoon of cinnamon if you prefer!
Good recipe but the cookies tasted too much like flour. I think the next time I will add raisins to give more flavour
Love this recipe. Best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever made. Thank you!
I’m going to bake these this morning. My son in law is sick with the pneumonia and has no appetite. I’m hopeful and praying that once he smells these cookies, as he loves plain oatmeal cookies, that he’ll eat a little bit. Thank you for sharing your recipe, I’ll let you know if they did the trick. Blessings to you and your family this holy season.
I made these and I added apple slices cinnamon and raisins and walnuts! Next batch will be chochlate chip
Oatmeal cookies were fantastic. Added cranberries and orange zest. Excellent
Do the cookies taste salty..?
Not at all! 🙂
I love a good Oatmeal cookie but most of them are soft and chewy – how could I make them crispy?
Just bake at 350 for 10ish minutes. Typically a higher temp and a longer bake will give you a crisp cookie 🙂
This recipe popped up today on my Instagram feed. It’s the perfect cookie to fill up our cookie box again. They are easy to make and taste delicious. I guess the cookie box will be empty in 3 days.
I followed recipe,making sure that the butter,sugars were fluffy before adding the rest of ingredients. I added raisins,tsp.cinnamon and chopped pecans. Turned out great nice and big fluffy cookies. Next time I will add choc.chips and coconut for a different cookie.
I loved these cookies! Great tips as I always over bake and my cookies are too hard. Baking at a lower temp was a great idea, I added however a teaspoon of cinnamon as I didn’t have the other ingredients and they were lovely, again the best cookies I’ve had with the great tips.
So I made these couple days ago and instead of flour I used almond flour, sugar / substitute sugar, brown sugar/ substitute brown sugar. They turned out delicious, my husband loved them and that’s saying a lot. Thank you
I wasn’t sure how big to make these so I used a Tbs. and they came out pretty good but I wish they would’ve came out darker. If I make them again I am going to add dried cranberries.
Oatmeal is one of my most favourite foods. Was looking for a new good cookie recipe. Made these today. I made the plain version. Absolutely delicious. This is my new, go-to oatmeal cookie recipe. Thank you so much!! 😊
These are Not chewey, they are cakey nasty, don’t be fooled by the pictures, find another recipe, I threw half the dough away, yuck!!!!!!
Perhaps this was operator error?
yep, great recipe, i did add the cinnamon, cookie wasnt dry, had the right amount of sweetness, thank you.
This is a great recipe! Thank you for sharing it. The kids and I were brainstorming all the extra yummy things we could add to them next time, like chocolate chips, some pecans, maybe a little cinnamon. They were a hit! Will definitely be using this recipe in the future.
I followed the recipe exactly, cookies didn’t come out good. I can taste the flour flavor in them, also they didn’t get flat in the oven kept almost same shape as the ball. What did I do
Wrong?
Sounds like you added too much flour! If they didn’t spread and tasted too much like flour, then that was probably the problem. How do you measure your flour? I like to ‘fluff’ my flour before measuring. I just stick a whisk into my flour bag and stir it, then measure and level the tops.
These are FABULOUS!! I use unsalted butter, and add 1 cup roasted/salted sunflower seeds. Yummy!!!!
I made these for a friend with out raisins. Made them again with raisins. They turned out chewy, on the inside, and lightly crisp on the outside.they are so good.
What size scoop do you use?
These are wonderful. I added the cinnamon as we love the flavor! These are the best tasting oatmeal cookies!
These are absolutely amazing!! So buttery and flavorful . I used vegan butter and substituted 3Tbs Just egg and 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for the eggs and added a sprinkle of cinnamon. I’ll try adding cranberries and chocolate chips next time 🙂