Our best oatmeal cookies are easy and healthy and exactly what you want, whether chewy or crispy, and made with whichever ingredients you want to include, sorta like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. We’re talking way beyond raisins, chocolate chips, and peanut butter.
Can I use regular rolled oats instead of quick oats in these oatmeal cookies?
Yes. In this instance, either will work fine. The texture will be slightly different but overall everything else remains the same. If you want, if using rolled oats in place of quick oats in this or most recipes, you can pulse them a few times in a food processor to more closely mimic the texture.
Our Best Oatmeal Cookies
Special Equipment: Decision-making prowess
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grab a couple baking sheets.
In a large bowl, beat the Fat with a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the Sugar, baking soda, Spice, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl every once in a while. Beat in the eggs and Flavoring. Beat in as much of the Flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining Flour and the oats. Stir in your Stir-Ins, if desired.
Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons, tablespoons, or 1/4-cup measures on baking sheets, spacing them 2 to 3 inches apart.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes for rounded teaspoons or tablespoons or 12 to 14 minutes for 1/4-cup or cookie-scoop portions, or until the cookies are lightly browned and the centers appear set. Cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
Make-it-Yours
- Fat Choices (Choose Just One)
2 sticks (8 ounces | 227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature (Note: Cookies made with all butter tend to be thin and crisp.)
1 stick (4 ounces | 113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, and 1/2 cup (92 g) shortening
1 stick (4 ounces | 113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, and 1/2 cup peanut butter- Sugar Choices (Choose Just One)
1 1/2 cups (320 g) packed light brown sugar
1 cup (213 g) packed light brown sugar and 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 cup granulated sugar (100 g) and 1/2 cup molasses (add 1/4 cup additional all-purpose flour)
1 cup granulated sugar (100 g) and 1/2 cup (170 g) honey- Spice Choices (Choose Just One)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice- Flavoring Choices (Choose Just One)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon maple extract- Flour Choices (Choose Just One)
1 1/2 cups (200 g) all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
3/4 cup (100 g) all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup (98 g) whole-wheat flour
1 cup (135 g) all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup oat bran
1 1/4 cups (170 g) all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ- Stir-In Choices (Choose 1/2 to 1 cup any of the following)
Raisins or snipped dried apricots or dried red cherries or other mixed dried fruit
Semisweet or milk chocolate, chips or chopped
White chocolate, chips or chopped
Butterscotch chips
Peanut butter-flavor baking pieces
Flaked coconut
Chopped toasted pecans, walnuts, or other nuts
Recipe Testers' Reviews
I really love the idea of using what you either like or have on hand to make these oatmeal cookies. I chose to use butter and shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar, apple pie spice, vanilla, and coconut. Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, this recipe produced 18 huge cookies. Brilliant idea, best cookie!
In the world of baking, there are few recipes that offer freedom of choice when it comes to ingredients and their quantities. Baking is such a precise science that people often feel intimidated substituting one ingredient for another. This foolproof recipe, however, instills confidence in home bakers, allowing them to feel like they’ve created something amazing to call their own. Below are the choices that I made to customize my “Make-It-Mine” Best Oatmeal Cookies.
Fat: 1 stick unsalted butter and 1/2 cup peanut butter
Sugar: 1 cup packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Spice: 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Flavoring: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Flour: 3/4 cup all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
Stir-In: Chopped toasted pecans
Yield: I used a 1/2-inch scoop and the recipe made 34 cookies
These cookies were unbelievable, and they barely made it a day past the day they were baked! The texture was to die for—crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I loved them! You can clearly identify the peanut butter in the cookies, though it’s not the predominant flavor, and it definitely doesn’t overpower the cookie. The oatmeal offers a chewy bite that's pure heaven, and the flavors of the oatmeal and peanut butter balance each other perfectly. I’m looking forward to playing with this recipe again and again and customizing it differently each time. I might however, find it hard to stray from the amazing combination that I created.
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
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As I was looking for something different for my annual batches of holiday cookies, I came across this wonderful concept for making oatmeal cookies. I decided to give it a try, and my version used 2 sticks of unsalted butter, 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup of maple syrup (not on list but something I’ve done before) for my sugar component, vanilla, and allspice for some extra flavor, then ½ cup each of toasted pecans, dark chocolate chips and raisins. I got 36 wonderful oatmeal cookies. I’m looking forward to trying some different combinations next year.
Wonderful, Craig! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
Adjustments to make as bars?
Lee, we haven’t tried them as bars, so we can’t say if you’d need to make any adjustments. You might need to cut back the amount of oats a bit or your bars may be a bit crumbly. If any of our readers have tried making these as bars, we’d love to hear from you.
Another high five to the chorus for these. I just made a version with dried fig + bittersweet chocolate, rosemary, and vanilla, and I added a splash of anise extract too. Fully on board.
Those sound amazing, Lauren. Thanks so much for letting us know.
Delicious! The chocolate chips make a huge difference!
Don’t they, Celia! Am completely with you. Magnificent to hear that you love these cookies! Looking forward to hearing which recipe you try next…
I have used this recipe multiple times. And I love it! I have replaced the eggs with two tablespoons of flax meal and 6 tablespoons of water if anyone wants to go eggless. Though it is excellent with eggs too.
Great tip, Jessica! Thanks so much for letting us know.