These soft and slightly chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are just like the ones from childhood! They require no chilling and are ooey-gooey as can be.

Cookie season is approaching with winter holidays right around the corner, but this is one of my year-round favorite cookie recipes to make. Growing up, my mom made cookies every single week and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were often in rotation.
Much like my chocolate peanut butter cookies, double chocolate chip cookies, and molasses crinkles, this recipe is modified a bit from my childhood favorite to make the baking process easier and fuss-free.
- These oatmeal cookies don't need to chilled. Many recipes call to add extra flour to make cookies spread less, but while testing I found the extra flour makes the cookies too dense and dry. Instead we add one teaspoon of corn starch to prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
- They're ready in under 30 minutes. And like I said, no chilling!
- You can make big or small cookies. See below for tips.
- Add in any extras you'd like: raisins, chopped nuts, cinnamon...
- They are soft and only slightly chewy. I'm not a huge fan of chewy oatmeal cookies, so these are more like your traditional chocolate chip cookie, just with oatmeal.
What you'll need
We are using classic baking staples for these oatmeal cookies.
- All-purpose flour: I recommend using the spoon and level method to measure out the flour for the most consistent results. To do this, measure out flour into a measuring cup until it is overflowing. Wipe off excess flour with the back edge of a knife.
- Light brown sugar and white sugar create a sweet and lightly chewy cookie.
- Rolled oats, AKA old fashioned oats, add a slight texture. You can use instant oats if you prefer a less textured oatmeal cookie.
- Chocolate chips: Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips are my go-to in chocolate chip cookies but any kind will work.
- Unsalted butter: The butter should be room temp before using. Room temp butter will indent easily when lightly pressed with your finger.
- Corn starch helps soften and thicken the cookies. Don't skip this ingredient!
- Whisk together dry ingredients, except for rolled oats. Set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar using a stand or hand mixer. Add the egg and vanilla extract.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients.
- Add the oatmeal, then fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will still be a little sticky. It will be a little stickier than plan chocolate chip cookies would be.
- Portion out cookie dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake until the edges are set and golden. The center will still be soft.
The dough should hold together in a large ball but still be slightly sticky to touch.
Cookie sizes
This recipe makes 10 medium to large cookies and about 20 smaller cookies.
To make small cookies (traditional homemade cookie size) use a table spoon to scoop out ping-pong sized balls. I mean an actual spoon you use at the table, not the measurement kind. The dough does not need to be rounded. Bake for 9-11 minutes.
To make larger cookies use a cookie scoop to measure out about 3-4 tablespoon measure portions. This is the size of cookie in the pictures. I usually go for smaller cookies like above, but the cookie scoop size are my favorite with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Bake for 13-15 minutes.
Recipe FAQ
You can make the cookie dough up to 3 days in advance. Cover tightly and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Yes to both! Let the cookies cool to room temp before freezing in an airtight container.
Freeze all of the dough together in one container or make individual cookie dough balls. Let the cookie dough container thaw in the fridge until malleable. The frozen cookie dough balls only need to cook one minute longer in the oven.
Store cookies in a closed container at room temp for up to 4 days. I usually throw them in the freezer after three days because they start to lose their quality, but they should keep up to 4 days.
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📖 Recipe
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened at room temp
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 and ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dry rolled oats also known as "old-fashioned oats"
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar using a stand or hand mixer. Mix over medium speed for about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing for another minute.
- Slowly beat in the dry ingredients over low speed. Stir in the the oatmeal. I use a wooden spoon at this point instead of the mixer. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using a cookie scoop (see note 1), portion out cookie dough on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place cookie dough about 4 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges are set and golden and the center is still soft. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Cookie scoop: For medium to large cookies, use a cookie scoop, which is a 2 ounce volume (equal to 4 tablespoons). For smaller cookies, use a large spoon to make cookie dough portions half the size (about 2 tablespoons) and bake for 9-11 minutes.
- Make-ahead instructions: You can make the cookie dough up to 3 days in advance. Cover tightly and keep in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
- Freezing: You can also freeze the cookie dough. Freeze all of the dough together in one container or make individual cookie dough balls. Let the cookie dough container thaw in the fridge until malleable. The frozen cookie dough balls only need to cook one minute longer in the oven.
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