Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

These chewy oatmeal cookies are packed with warm spices, brown sugar, and hearty oats, giving them the perfect soft texture. They’re a classic treat that always hits the spot.

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Reasons to Make This Recipe

There’s nothing quite like a fresh-baked oatmeal cookie with just the right amount of chewiness. There are about a million different recipes out there for oatmeal cookies, and here’s why this recipe stands out:

• Perfect texture – Crispy edges with a soft, chewy center.
• Simple ingredients – No fancy add-ins, just pantry staples.
• Quick to make – No chilling time, so you can enjoy them sooner.

These are very close to the oatmeal cookies my mom used to make, and I’ve baked this exact recipe at least five times.

If you love a classic cookie, try my perfect chocolate chip cookies and my birthday sugar cookies next.

Ingredients for Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Here’s what to know about each ingredient. Full amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Butter: unsalted and softened, so it dents when you press it but isn’t shiny or melting.
• White and brown sugar: pack the brown sugar firmly into the cup when you measure it.
• Eggs and vanilla: use real vanilla extract. I keep a gallon of homemade vanilla extract in my pantry so I never run out.
• Flour: all-purpose. I measure it by dipping the cup into the flour and leveling it off, which works out to about 140 grams per cup.
• Kosher salt: I use Morton. If you only have table salt, use about three-quarters as much, since it’s saltier by the spoonful.
• Cinnamon: or swap in pumpkin pie spice, which a lot of readers love here.
• Oats: see Quick Oats vs. Old-Fashioned Oats below.
• Walnuts: chopped. See the variations below for other mix-ins.

Quick Oats vs. Old-Fashioned Oats

This is the question readers ask me most. The short answer: both work. I use whatever oats are in my pantry, and right now that’s a bag of organic sprouted oats from Costco.

• Quick-cooking oats (what the recipe card uses): the flakes are cut smaller and rolled thinner, so they soften fast and give the cookies an even, tender chew.
• Old-fashioned rolled oats: the cookies come out a little chewier, with more oat texture, and they may spread a bit more.
• Skip instant oatmeal packets and steel-cut oats. Packets make gummy cookies, and steel-cut oats stay hard.

Whichever oats you use, let the dough rest for a few minutes before baking to help the oats absorb moisture, creating a better texture. With old-fashioned oats, give it longer. A couple of readers said the oats tasted a little raw, so cover the dough and chill it for 30 minutes before scooping.

How to Make Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Making the best chewy oatmeal cookies at home is easy. The full recipe can be seen in the recipe card below, but here’s an overview of the simple process:

Step 1: Mix the wet ingredients

Cream together softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract.

Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Step 3: Incorporate the dry ingredients

Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients.

Step 4: Mix in the oats

Fold in the oats and chopped walnuts. The dough will be very thick.

Step 5: Scoop and flatten

Use a cookie scoop to drop dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Slightly flatten each cookie before baking.

Step 6: Bake and cool

Bake in a preheated oven for 8 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Common Oatmeal Cookie Problems (and How to Fix Them)

These are the problems readers have told me about in the comments, and what fixes them.

• Flat cookies: warm butter is the usual cause (see the butter note above). Old baking soda can do it too, so check the date. Chilling the scooped dough for 30 minutes helps them hold their shape, and so does going easy when you flatten them.
• Still raw in the middle at 8 minutes: every oven is different, and a silicone baking mat can add time. Give them another minute at a time until the middles no longer look wet.
• Baking at high altitude: add a little more flour. King Arthur Baking suggests 1 extra tablespoon at 3,500 feet, plus 1 more for every 1,500 feet above that. Their guide also cuts the baking soda and sugar a little and raises the oven temperature 15 to 25°F.
• Fewer than 4 dozen cookies: the yield is based on small cookies, about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough each, with 12 to 15 on a standard baking sheet. A medium scoop makes bigger cookies, so you’ll get fewer and they’ll need a minute or two longer.

★★★★★

“This is the only recipe we use since making these cookies (we’ve used many different recipes). This by far is my kids favorite, they love the flavor and consistency of the cookie! We make them on Sunday in order to have cookies for their lunchboxes all week!”

Nadia, reader review

Variations and Mix-Ins

You can never go wrong with a classic oatmeal cookie, but that’s not to say you can’t switch things up with different add-ins. Try one of these variations:

• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – Swap the walnuts for a handful of raisins.
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – Stir in chocolate chips for a sweet twist.
• Nut-Free Version – Skip the nuts for a simple, chewy oatmeal cookie.
• White Chocolate Cranberry – Replace walnuts with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. This is what I make when I put together Christmas Cookie mason jars.
• Pecans – Use chopped pecans in place of the walnuts.
• Coconut – Swap the walnuts for shredded coconut, or use both. I love coconut in oatmeal cookies.

Storage and Freezing Tips

To keep these cookies soft and chewy, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. If you’d like to freeze them:

• Freeze the baked cookies – Let them cool completely, then store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
• Freeze the cookie dough – Scoop dough into balls, freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a bag. Bake straight from frozen, adding an extra minute to the baking time.
• Make the dough ahead – Scoop it into balls, cover, and refrigerate. Bake within a day, straight from the fridge.

Can I cut this recipe in half?

Yes. Click the 1/2x button in the recipe card and every amount is halved for you, including 1 egg instead of 2.

Is the nutrition information per cookie?

Yes. It’s for one cookie, based on 48 cookies per batch. It’s an estimate from a nutrition calculator, and it doesn’t include fiber.

What can I use instead of butter?

Earth Balance is the best 1:1 butter substitute I’ve found, and it makes these dairy-free. Readers have also swapped half the butter for coconut oil and loved the results. I haven’t tried all coconut oil, so I’d stick with half.

Can I use all brown sugar?

Yes. Readers replace the white sugar with more packed brown sugar all the time. Brown sugar makes the chewiest cookie, so an all-brown-sugar batch comes out even softer.

Can I make these gluten-free?

A reader made them with gluten-free flour and loved them, but I haven’t tried it myself. If you’re baking for someone with celiac disease, use oats labeled gluten-free too, since regular oats are often processed alongside wheat.

More Cookie Recipes

Here are a few more cookies to bake next.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

Molasses Cookies

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies