My oatmeal cookies recipe yields soft, chewy, bakery-style cookies. This old-fashioned classic is an all-time favorite, and I think you’ll love the incredible flavors, perfectly balanced texture and sweetness, and ease of this recipe! Includes a how-to video!
Truly the Best Oatmeal Cookies
Despite their humble appearance, my oatmeal cookies are always the very first cookies to disappear from their cookie tins each Christmas.
While they may not look as exciting as chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, or flashy iced sugar cookies, they have a classic hearty texture and incredible depth of flavor that’s rich with brown sugar, vanilla, and butter. They’re also easy to prepare, are made with basic, easy to find ingredients, and are perfect for beginner and advanced bakers alike.
Why You Should Try THIS Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
- Incredible flavor. A blend of brown and white sugar, a healthy splash of real vanilla, a subtle sprinkling of cinnamon, this recipe checks all the boxes for a satisfying cookie.
- The *perfect* texture. Hearty and satisfying, the oats make for a sturdy cookie with perfectly balanced sweetness.
- Easy to make! This recipe is perfect for bakers of any level of expertise.
- Over 250 five-star reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! Since I first published this recipe in 2017, it’s garnered hundreds of rave reviews and has become a new staple in households across the world. So don’t just take my word for it, check out the comments!
I know there are literally hundreds of thousands of other oatmeal cookies out there, but give this one a try and I strongly suspect it will become your new go-to, too.
What You Need
Oatmeal cookies are made with pantry staples, which is one of the many reasons they’ve been so popular over the years! Let’s go over a few key ingredients.
- Oats. I recommend and prefer old-fashioned oats in my oatmeal cookies, but discuss alternatives in the FAQ section below.
- Sugar. My oatmeal cookies use a blend of white granulated and light brown. The brown sugar adds moisture and flavor, helping to make these cookies nice and soft.
- Softened butter. Perfectly softened butter should be slightly cooler than room temperature; 65°F is ideal, if you want to get technical (it does not need to be exact!).
- Vanilla extract. I use a healthy pour of vanilla in my recipe, which gives the cookies incredible depth of flavor. Now is a great time to whip out your homemade vanilla, if you have any!
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour. Bleached or unbleached will work, I personally use unbleached. Do not use self-rising flour which contains baking powder, which this recipe does not use, and salt, which we have already accounted for.
- Corn starch. As I mentioned, this is one of my favorite ingredients to use in my cookies (it makes an appearance in my peanut butter blossoms, too). It makes them nice and soft and chewy without making them cakey. You could alternatively substitute arrowroot starch.
- Baking soda. This leavening agent gives the cookies the perfect chewy texture and just the right amount of spread. It also helps cause some of that golden caramelization that gives the cookies their beautiful coloring (and rich flavor). No baking powder is needed in this recipe
- Ground cinnamon. You can leave this out if you have allergies, but the flavor of these oatmeal cookies is so perfectly enhanced by a dash of cinnamon.
SAM’S TIP: If you don’t have cornstarch and can’t find arrowroot, you can substitute the cornstarch with an equal amount of flour. The oatmeal cookies will be a tad flatter and they won’t be quite as soft and chewy, but they’ll still be very good!
This is just an overview of the ingredients I use in my oatmeal cookie recipe and why I do so. For the full recipe with measurements, please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Tips for Perfect Cookies, Every Time
I love these oatmeal cookies (and really all cookie recipes) because I think they’re the perfect recipe for beginner bakers and seasoned pros alike. I wanted to share a few tips that helped me level up my own cookie game, hopefully they help you, too!
- Cream the butter and sugar well. Creaming, or thoroughly beating together the butter and sugars, is necessary in this recipe because it helps incorporate air into the batter and helps the cookies achieve the proper texture. This means going beyond simply stirring together the butter and sugar until just combined; you want the mixture to appear light and fluffy, and an electric or stand mixer is best for easily achieving this.
- Weigh your ingredients! A kitchen scale (⬅️ that one is my favorite!) is a game changer when it comes to baking anything, from cakes to macarons and oatmeal cookies. It will also save you on dishes, no more measuring cups to wash. Here is my guide on using a kitchen scale to get you started. If you don’t have a scale, don’t worry, you can still make great cookies, just make sure you are measuring your flour properly (don’t scoop it into your measuring cup!).
- Roll your cookies. Most drop cookies (like these) can simply be, well, dropped on the baking pan and baked. No problem! But if you want your cookies to look more uniform and round, roll the dough between your palms to make a round ball before baking.
- Know your oven temperature. Many ovens run hotter or cooler than they let on (I once had an oven that was 25 degrees hotter than it told me it was!). I highly recommend keeping an oven thermometer in the center of your oven to monitor the temperature. Also make sure you bake in the center rack, unless otherwise noted.
- Underbake slightly. Remove the oatmeal cookies from the oven before they’re baked all the way through! The edges should look set/slightly golden but the centers will appear slightly underdone (but not raw!). Let your cookies cool completely on the baking sheet, where they’ll finish cooking to perfection. This will give you cookies that stay soft and chewy for days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes you can! Any of these may be added to the dough without having to make any other alterations to the recipe. I recommend adding about 1 ½ cups of your favorite add-ins, stir them in with a wooden spoon or spatula after adding your oats.
I also do have a standalone oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe and an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, both of which are different from this recipe.
I used to recommend against using quick oats (also sometimes called “instant oats”), but after a series of recent tests I’ve concluded that it’s fine to use quick oats instead. Note that your oatmeal cookies will be less chewy, less hearty, and may be a tad more dry.
Substitute an equal amount.
This recipe is specifically designed to yield soft, chewy cookies. You can help ensure your cookies stay soft by following my instructions for not over-baking the cookies. When storing, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature, they’re best when enjoyed within 5 days of baking.
I hope you love this oatmeal cookie recipe every bit as my family does!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup (215 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (cornflour in UK)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 cups (285 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or raisins optional!
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or using an electric beater) for about 30 seconds.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy (pause to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, if needed).1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.2 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract.1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.1 ¾ cup (215 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until completely combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so ingredients are well-mixed.3 cups (285 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- Gradually stir in oats until completely combined. If using raisins or chocolate chips, stir them in at this point.1 ½ cups chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or raisins
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.
- Drop cookie dough by rounded 2 Tablespoon-sized balls onto parchment paper, spacing at least 2" apart. If desired, roll cookies between your palms to make a smooth ball, which will give you more uniform cookies.
- Bake on 375F (190C) for 10-12 minutes (edges should be slightly browned, centers may still be slightly underbaked but shouldn't be raw, they'll bake completely as they cool).
- Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before serving and enjoying.
Notes
Brown sugar
You may substitute dark brown sugar for an even softer and more chewy oatmeal cookie!Oats
You may substitute an equal amount of instant oats for the old-fashioned.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This oatmeal cookie recipe was originally published April of 2017. Photos have been updated, additional tips have been added, and a video has been added. Recipe remains the same.
Pearl
These are good cookies but just a little too sweet for me. I did add butterscotch chips and raisins. I’ll probably stick with my current recipe for oatmeal cookies but I plan to try a lot of your other cookie recipes. Thanks for posting this one.
Sam
Butterscotch is quite sweet and may have contributed to the sweetness, but I am glad you tried out the recipe, Pearl! Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Ryan
These have been my favorite cookies to make lately I put in coconut, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and toffee chips. I always make a double batch and there still gone in a couple days.
Sam
That sounds amazing, I’m going to have to try them with all of these add-ins!! Yum!
Marnae Kelly
The only problem with these cookies is that I can’t keep a batch around for more than a day. My family devours them! They are divine, and by far the best oatmeal cookie recipe I have found. We LOVE them.
Sam
So happy to hear this!! Thank you for coming back and commenting 🙂
Yvonne Auerswald
Do you think I could use cranberries instead of raisins? Have lots of those and no raisins
Sam
Definitely! I also have this recipe, which is similar: https://sugarspunrun.com/white-chocolate-cranberry-oatmeal-cookies/
April Hammond
These turned out so good, it’s hard to find a recipe without raisins. I liked raisins but not in cookies. I tend to think chocolate chips and then get disappointed once I find out the truth, lol.
Sam
I am exactly the same with the raisins! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe, April!! 🙂
Elle
I used your recipe today to make cannabis oatmeal cookies…they turned out great, though I didn’t make them huge….I have to be careful with cannabis edibles. I’m afraid I’d eat just as many big cookies as small!
I always add a banana to keep cookies moist..you don’y even taste it in the cookie…I also added walnuts and cranberries and used Pumpkin Pie Spice as I was out of plain cinnamon…so while I was at it, I grated some fresh nutmeg into the flour blend.
I appreciate that you use less white sugar than many other recipes. And the hint to chill the dough was very helpful.
Thanks for sharing the recipe..and I love the lavender blossoms in your pictures..did you ever make candied lavender flowers? Yummy!
Marcia
Do you have a recipe for a Molasses Ginger cookie? Not a ginger snap hard cookie kind of a medium soft hard cookie?
Sam
I’m literally working on developing a molasses cookie now, so it’s funny that you ask, but I don’t currently have one published, I’m sorry. Once I finish the recipe I’m working on I will share it with you, though!
K
How many cookies = 1 serving?
Sam
1 (large) cookie is 1 serving. Enjoy! 🙂
James Spalding
Your recipe made me an oatmeal cookie convert. I used to not like them before.
Sam
Well your comment just made my day!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed them so much, James!
Mary Anne Zurn
Wanted soft cookies so googled “softest oatmeal cookies” and found yours. Really good. I like that I can taste the cinnamon without it being overpowering. Didn’t add raisins or chocolate chips but will try a few with the peanut butter Delightfuls chocolate chips next time, which will be soon. Adding this recipe to my favorites. Glad I found your site. I’ll be back! Thanks.
Sam
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed them, Mary Anne! Thank you so much for coming back to comment, I appreciate it!
James S.
Cooked mine for 9 minutes, 50 seconds and drizzled with some melted chocolate I had lying around. Your recipes are why I can finally bake my wife treats she likes.
Sam
So glad to hear that you enjoyed! The chocolate addition sounds so good!!
Shane
Hi Sam! This was the first recipe of yours that I tried… and it definitely won’t be the last. Awesome cookies! We love them – and the soft centers are amazing =)
Thank you so much,
Sam
Shane I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed them! Thank you for writing! 🙂
Kristin
These are good, but I think next time I’ll make them slightly smaller and reduce the heat a bit to get them to bake more fully. Even completely cool, they’re a touch gooey after 12 minutes of oven torture.
The taste is spot on, though, and we are definitely enjoying them. Thanks for sharing!
debby gillis
Every oven is a little different in temps….my brand new oven is way off and I use a oven thermometer in it to verify the temps before I put in my goodies. It makes a big difference. My oven takes a long time to heat up even though the ding sounds to say it is ready.
deb
Donna Howard
Looks and sounds yummy!! By the way the little purple flowers on the look beautiful!! Nice touch!! Thanks for all your yum recipes!!
Sam
Thank YOU, Donna!! 🙂
Sues
A good oatmeal cookie is my all-time favorite cookie. These look amazing and they have been pinned! I never eat raisins on their own, but for some reason, I loveeee them in oatmeal cookies. Yum!
Sam
Thanks so much, Sues! My mom loves raisins in oatmeal cookies, too!
Ajay
Please, Please, please can you share a perfect peanut butter cookie recipe?
Sam
Definitely! This is my FAVORITE peanut butter cookie, feel free to leave out the chocolate chips! https://sugarspunrun.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/
They are so peanut buttery and soft, I’m a little obsessed!