Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

byBeth Le Manach Published: Updated:
23 Comments
byBeth Le Manach
23 Comments
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These Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies are my new favorite cookie recipe! They are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside! Loaded with dark chocolate, walnuts, and shredded coconut, these cookies will become your new favorites!

They are so addictive, they are quickly becoming a “fan favorite” with some readers telling me they’ve even had them for breakfast?! Thanks to the oatmeal that’s in them?

Looking for more chewy cookie recipes? You may also like my Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Snickerdoodle Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, or my Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

a vertical image of a marble cake stand with cookies and milk on top

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • These cookies have everything going for them: crispy edges and chewy centers.
  • You’ll love the combination of the dark chocolate and crunchy buttery walnuts.
  • The unsweetened coconut adds one more texture and flavor that is unexpected but so welcome!
  • They use pantry staples you probably have on hand.

Butter, eggs, brown and white sugar, vanilla, dry ingredients and dark chocolate on a counter.

The Ingredients:

  • Butter: Be sure it’s at room temperature so it becomes nice and fluffy once beaten. Personally, I think butter is one of the most essential ingredients. If you live in the United States, use salted butter. I prefer the Land O’ Lakes brand because I think it has the best flavor. Even though the recipe calls for salt in the dry ingredients, I still use salted butter because I find it gives you the best flavor. If you live outside the States, use unsalted butter because salted butter is pretty salty internationally! (Hello, France, I’m looking at you!)
  • White Sugar and Brown Sugar: You’ll need both to achieve the best texture. The brown sugar will give you chewiness, while the white sugar will create crispy edges.
  • Large Egg: Only one egg to keep the cookies chewy.
  • Vanilla Extract: I use a full tablespoon. Be sure to use pure vanilla extract, and not imitation vanilla, for the best flavor.
  • All-Purpose Flour and Old Fashioned Oatmeal: The two arch-enemies of a soft and chewy oatmeal cookie are, funny enough, Oatmeal and Flour. Too much oatmeal, and your cookie will be dense and hard. Too much flour and you’ll have a cakey oatmeal cookie. If you want soft and chewy, 3/4 cup of each is all you need! Just be sure you are using Old-Fashioned oats; quick oats or quick cooking oats will not work in this recipe.
  • Baking Soda: I always use baking soda instead of baking powder for chewier cookies.
  • Salt: Use kosher salt for the best flavor, over table salt.
  • Dark Chocolate: I prefer using dark chocolate over the traditional semisweet chocolate chips found in most oatmeal cookies. I find you get a better, more sophisticated flavor. You can chop it and use chocolate chunks or buy dark chocolate chips. Tollhouse Dark Morsels will deliver the best flavor.
  • Walnuts: For a lovely buttery crunch, or you can also substitute the walnuts for pecans or any other nut.
  • Unsweetened Shredded Coconut: Really complements the dark chocolate and nuts. Just be sure it’s unsweetened to prevent the cookies from being too sweet.

Step#1: Beat the Butter and Sugars

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Anytime you are making cookie dough, having the butter at room temperature and beating it with the sugars for at least 4-5 minutes, until nice and fluffy and pale yellow, will help the other ingredients incorporate better.
  • Scrape down the bowl as needed, then add the eggs and vanilla extract.
Butter and sugars beaten with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.

Step#2: Whisk Together the Dry Ingredients

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
  • Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until combined.
  • Then stir in the oats until they are incorporated into the cookie dough.
Dry ingredients in a bowl with oatmeal.
Brownie cake scooped into a mug with ice cream

Step#3: Stir in the Mix-ins

  • Add the dark chocolate, walnuts, and coconut, and stir in with a spatula or wooden spoon.
  • Since cookies, in general, can be sweet, I find the relief of some dark chocolate that’s more chocolatey than sweet is the way to go.
  • Chop walnuts into pieces around the same size as the chocolate chunks or chips. This will add to the look of the cookie.
  • If you leave out any of the mix-ins, your cookies will spread out even more, so if you do leave something out, it’s best to add the same quantity of something else (raisins, dried cranberries, or more chocolate chips etc).
Cookie dough with dark chocolate, oatmeal being stirred in.
  • Using a 2-ounce cookie scoop, portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
  • Give them room, since they will spread in the oven. Six dough balls per tray are the limit.
  • It’s also better if you bake these one tray at a time, they’ll be more evenly baked that way, and the texture will be better.
  • Bake at 350°F (175 °C) for 15 minutes. They will be slightly golden brown at the edges, and their centers will be just set.
Cookie dough balls ready for the oven on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  • After your cookies have baked for 15 minutes, pull them out when the edges are golden brown and the centers are just beginning to set.
  • They shouldn’t look wet in the center, but they won’t be golden brown in the center either.
  • Once you take the cookies out of the oven, allow them to rest on the hot baking sheet for at least 10 minutes; the centers will set further as they cool from residual heat.
  • This technique works even better for an extra-chewy cookie than leaving them in the oven, where they would become too browned and crumbly.
Baked cookies resting on a cookie sheet.

Cookies are Even Better as They Cool

  • Allowing a cookie to cool may seem like torture! But if you can give these cookies just 30 minutes to cool on a cooling rack, you will be rewarded with greatness!
  • The cookies will become even chewier the longer they cool, and the chocolate chips won’t be as gooey or messy! But do not despair, and a warm chocolate chip can be just as good as a gooey one!
  • As the cookies cool, you’ll find the flavor even better! When food is piping hot, it can lose its flavor. Cooling will allow the flavor to be even more pronounced, leading to a better-tasting cookie!
Vertical Image of cookies cooling on rack

Storage Suggestions

  • Place the cookies in an airtight container and store on your countertop. For an even chewier cookie, store in the refrigerator.
  • Store any remaining cookie dough in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator, and bake cookies as needed.
  • Alternatively, freeze the dough for up to one month. Thaw it overnight in the regrigerator and bake as directed.
  • You can also bake all the cookies, allow them to cool, and then place them in a resealable plastic bag and store in the freezer. Then to reheat, wrap one cookie at a time in a papertowel and microwave on high for :30-:45 until hot and warmed through, they will taste freshly baked!

More Cookie Recipes

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Chewy Oatmeal Cookies on a cake stand

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 15 cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

These Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside! So delicious and EASY!

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (120g) butter, softened at room temperature
  • ½ cup (100g) white sugar
  • ½ cup (90g) brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) baking soda
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
  • ¾ cup (45g) Old Fashioned Oatmeal
  • ¾ cup (110g) Dark Chocolate Chips or Chopped Dark Chocolate
  • 1/3 cup (50g) walnuts, chopped
  • 1/3 cup (50g) unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (176 °C).
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy—about 5 minutes.
  • Then add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat together.
  • In a separate, small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and combine, scraping down the sides as needed. Then add the oatmeal and beat until combined.
  • Then add the chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut. Beat to combine.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then scoop out six scoops of dough with a standard-sized ice cream scooper.
  • Bake one tray at a time, for even baking, on the lower third rack for 15 minutes. The edges of the cookies will be golden brown, and the centers will be just set. They should not look wet, but “just set”. Removing them at this stage will make them nice and chewy!
  • Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking tray. The residual heat from the tray will continue to set the centers.
  • Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool for 30 minutes (if you can't stand it!). The flavors will be even better as they cool, and the cookies will have a beautiful chewy texture!

    • Notes

    • If you live in the U.S.A., use salted butter. It will give you the best flavor. I think Land O Lakes is the best quality. If you live outside the U.S.A., use unsalted. I find salted butter outside the U.S.A. is pretty salty!
    • For the chocolate chips, I prefer Nestlé's Dark Chocolate Morsels. I find they have the most chocolate flavor

    Nutrition Information:
    Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 449Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 9gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 311mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 4gSugar: 30gProtein: 8g
    © Beth Le Manach
    Cuisine: American / Category: Cookie and Bars
    Brownie cake scooped into a mug with ice cream

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    23 Comments

    1. Hi Beth, love your recipes. I followed this recipe as written, except I cut the sugar by 1/2. Wondering if this is the reason why my cookies did not flatten as much as yours. They flattened about 50% only. If not, what is another reason for cookie not spreading and flattening. I did measure flour as indicated by you and all other measurements were accurate. Please advise thank you

      Reply

      1. Hi Patty, yes if the sugar was reduced in half they wouldn’t have flattened. When sugar melts as it bakes in the oven, it turns to liquid which helps the cookies spread. But for a dessert with less sugar and more natural sweeteners you could try my Vegan Brownies. They are super yummy! And easy too!

        Reply

    3. I love these cookies! I made them for a gathering at my boyfriend’s family and they were a huge hit!! So good I am going to make them again for my Yahtzee Tuesday I have at my Nana’s house, and I know they are just going to love them. Thank you Beth for another yummy recipe!

      Reply

    4. Hi Beth, I’ve made these cookies a few times now but they keep coming out thin and crispy and they really spread out a lot. I use a smaller ice cream scoop to portion out the batter. I tried keeping the batter in the fridge before baking and even added some baking powder to see if they would stay a little fatter but it still didn’t help. I left out the coconut and nuts but not sure if that would be the problem. What am I doing wrong?

      Reply

    5. These turned out so well and did not disappoint! Just like a chocolate chip cookie but with more (much needed) depth and texture. So amazing and will become a new go-to. The only tip I would add is that it was just a little bit sweet for my taste, so I’d recommend cutting 1/4 cup of the white sugar out. Otherwise, they were caramelized, chewy, nutty, and perfect!!

      Reply

    6. Planning to make this cookie. Looks delicious! How can I make them vegan for my daughter? Can I coconut oil in place of butter and flax meal instead of egg? Any thoughts on these substitutes? Thanks Beth!

      Reply

      1. Oh they are so good! I hope you both enjoy them! I would actually use Vegan butter instead of coconut oil, I think you’ll get more flavor that way and yes flax egg is great, or you could also use 1/4 of unsweetened apple sauce in place of the egg too! Let me know how it goes!

        Reply

      1. Personally, I prepare two trays but only bake one tray at a time to allow for even browning and more precise timing in the baking. It’s not that long to wait in between batches and you’ll be assured a perfectly bake cookie 🙂 Hope you enjoy!

        Reply

    8. These were a big hit. I made them according to the recipe the first time and we all loved them. I also made a version with 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of white sugar and 1/3 cup of peanut butter to make up the volume of the reduced sugars. That batch was excellent as well. Terrific recipe, Beth. I think I will be make these quite frequently.

      Reply

      1. Aww YAY! I’m so glad they were a hit! These cookies are my absolute favorites so I’m so glad you enjoyed them too! Love the idea of peanut butter! I’ll have to try that! 🙂

        Reply

    9. These turned out delicious. My boyfriend has not stopped asking me to make another batch. I cut down the sugars a little bit but will add a bit more salt this time since we don’t keep salted butter on hand. Maybe I’ll sprinkle some flakey salt on top!

      Reply

    11. I bet these would have been good but I made a major error omitting the oats! They are not mentioned in the body of the instructions and I completely forgot to add them . They spread into a big, tasty mess. 🙂

      Reply

      1. OMG Sara I’m so sorry! I just updated that! I feel terrible but glad to hear it was still tasty!? LOL! So so sorry!!

        Reply

    12. the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies seemed a little thin, 3/4 cup of flour whereas for instance the barefoot contessa uses 1 3/4 cup flour for similar ingredients Was this just a typo?

      Reply

      1. Nope 3/4 cup flour and 3/4 cup oatmeal is correct! Ina may be using more butter? Or more eggs? That would be a factor or her cookies may be thicker, cakeier etc. I’m not familiar with her recipe so it’s hard to say 🙂 But for this recipe 3/4 cup of each is all you need for the texture you see in the video and photos 🙂 I hope you enjoy!

        Reply