Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Genevieve Ko

Published September 21, 2021

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Christina Lane.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(4,174)
Comments
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These taste distinctly homemade: much smaller than giant, thick bakery-style disks and more delicate, with just enough buttery dough to bind the chocolate and oats. Mixing by hand turns out cookies that are crisp at the edges and tender in the centers. These can be mixed and baked in under an hour, but the dough balls also can be packed in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to a month. You can bake them from ice-cold, though they’ll need a few more minutes to turn golden brown.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 to 3 dozen cookies

  • ¾ cup/100 grams all-purpose flour

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 8 tablespoons/114 grams unsalted butter, softened

  • ½ cup/94 grams packed brown sugar

  • ¼ cup/59 grams granulated sugar

  • 1 large egg, at room temperature

  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 1 ¼ cups/134 grams old-fashioned rolled oats

  • 1 cup/189 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • ½ cup/63 grams chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

15 grams carbs; 16 milligrams cholesterol; 127 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 7 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 65 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 9 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Mix the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until creamy. Beat in the egg until incorporated, then stir in the cream and vanilla.

  3. Step 3

    Add the flour mixture and gently stir until no traces of flour remain. Add the oats, chocolate chips and nuts (if using), and fold until evenly distributed. Loosely scoop a rounded ball of dough using a measuring tablespoon or small cookie scoop and drop onto a prepared sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls 2 inches apart.

  4. Step 4

    Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack for 1 minute, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
4,174 user ratings
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Comments

Mary

This is essentially the recipe handed down to me from my mother. One thing it doesn't mention is, it's important to NOT overbake the cookies. These cookies puff up while they're baking and then deflate at the end, so I start watching the cookies after they've baked for about 10 minutes and as soon as the first one or two deflate I remove the pan from the oven and let them cool for 3-5 minutes on the sheet or until they're firm enough be moved to a wire rack.

Jan

If you’re torn between raisins and chocolate chips in your oatmeal cookies, try dark chocolate raisinets. The best of both worlds!

Leslie Verner

I just happened to bake these cookies last week! I got the recipe from the Quaker Oats website. If you don't have patience or time to make several dozen cookies, they say on the website you can make bar cookies by using a 9x13 inch baking pan, which is what I did and they came out great!

Chris

Made these as bars in my toaster oven, trying not to heat up my house. They were amazing and I’ll make them again. Had a mixture of different chocolates, perfect.

Mimi

I baked the recipe as listed but omitted about 20g sugar. Taste is excellent. Other reviewers had some great ideas, like adding cinnamon and working everything by hand. Totally doable. My only complaint is that these took much longer to cook - almost 20 mins! I sized and spaced them as suggested.

Christina

I added finely chopped walnuts. I followed the directions exactly. This is an excellent recipe. ( OK I may have put in another heaping tablespoon of brown sugar because I like that taste.) I worked in a bakery for years and you really do need that hand mixing. It does make a difference for certain recipes and no refrigeration was needed for me. I learned from my mom to always use super fresh baking soda. Definitely enjoyed the old-fashioned oats and if you like nuts, that was a really nice addition for texture.

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