Description
This best chewy oatmeal cookie recipe combines wholesome oats with warm cinnamon spice, creating cookies with crispy edges and gloriously chewy centers. Made with simple, wholesome ingredients and ready in just 25 minutes, these easy oatmeal cookies taste like they came from a specialty bakery.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
Optional Add-Ins (choose 1-2 cups total):
- Raisins
- Chopped walnuts or pecans
- Chocolate chips
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped dried apples
- Shredded coconut
- Chopped dates
Instructions
- Preheat your oven. Position an oven rack in the center and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Proper oven temperature is essential for cookies that bake evenly – use an oven thermometer if you suspect your oven runs hot or cool. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking and ensure even browning on the bottom.
- Cream butter and sugars. Place softened butter in a large mixing bowl. Add packed brown sugar and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale – almost the texture of frosting. If mixing by hand, cream with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes until well combined and fluffy. This creaming process incorporates air, which helps cookies rise slightly and creates tender texture.
- Add egg and vanilla. Beat in the room temperature egg until fully incorporated, about 30-45 seconds. Add vanilla extract and beat again to combine. The mixture should be smooth and well combined. Scrape down the bowl occasionally to ensure all ingredients are evenly mixed.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisking combines these ingredients evenly and aerates the flour, contributing to better texture. This step prevents pockets of baking soda or spice in the finished cookies.
- Mix wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in two additions, stirring on low speed or by hand just until combined after each addition. Do not overmix – stir until you don’t see any streaks of flour remaining, then stop. Overmixing develops too much gluten, making cookies tough rather than chewy.
- Fold in oats and add-ins. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, fold in the old-fashioned rolled oats until evenly distributed throughout the dough. If using optional add-ins like raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips, fold them in now, adding up to 2 cups total of your choices. The dough will be thick and relatively stiff, which is exactly right for chewy oatmeal cookies.
- Portion cookies onto baking sheets. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart as they’ll spread slightly during baking. For uniform cookies, use a cookie scoop – this ensures each cookie is roughly the same size and bakes evenly. You’ll fit about 12 cookies per standard baking sheet.
- Bake cookies until golden brown. Bake for 11-13 minutes until the edges are golden brown but the centers still look slightly underdone – they’ll appear almost too soft. This is the secret to chewy cookies! The residual heat will continue cooking the centers as they cool, resulting in the perfect chewy texture. Overbaking creates hard, crispy cookies rather than chewy ones.
- Cool on baking sheets. Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes without moving them. This allows them to firm up slightly and become stable enough to transfer without breaking. After 5 minutes, transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. This cooling process is important – moving them too early breaks them, and they firm up too much if left on the baking sheet too long.
- Store and enjoy. Once completely cool, store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. The cookies will soften slightly as they sit, becoming increasingly chewy. Some people prefer adding a slice of bread to the container to help retain moisture, though it’s not necessary.
Notes
- Chewy texture secret – Remove cookies from the oven when they look slightly underdone in the center; residual heat finishes cooking them perfectly
- Room temperature ingredients – Butter and egg should be at room temperature for proper creaming and mixing
- Don’t overmix – Overmixing develops gluten and creates tough cookies instead of tender ones
- Add-ins flexibility – Use any combination of dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate totaling 1-2 cups
- Batch baking – If making multiple batches, let baking sheets cool between batches or use additional sheets
- Frozen dough option – Scoop dough onto baking sheets, freeze, then bake from frozen, adding 2-3 extra minutes
- Half-batch possible – Divide all ingredients by two for smaller batches if needed
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 165
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 145mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 18mg