These soft, thick, and chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with a sneaky secret ingredient for the BEST flavor and texture. My recipe makes 24 large cookies and can be made in advance. Includes a how-to video!
The Ultimate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
There are few things that can’t be improved by the addition of chocolate. While I already have a pretty fantastic (in my humble opinion) recipe for oatmeal cookies, this space was sorely missing a standalone oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe.
While, sure, you can just toss some chocolate chips into my classic recipe (and I include instructions over there on how to do so), I felt this standalone recipe needed a bit more pizzaz, so I borrowed a critical secret ingredient from my chocolate chip cookies. Can you guess what it is?
Maple syrup! Just a few tablespoons enhance the flavor and add to the chewiness of the cookies WITHOUT actually making them taste like maple syrup. Everyone will be wondering what makes these cookies so good, but only you will know 😉
Why use my recipe:
- Uses simple pantry staples.
- Strikes just the right balance between oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies.
- Makes large cookies, just like a bakery!
- Can be made in advance.
- Super soft and chewy results!
What You Need
Several carefully selected ingredients come together to make these oatmeal cookies:
- Butter. I use unsalted butter to have maximum control over the flavor of my cookies. You can read more about this in my salted vs unsalted butter post.
- Sugar. Using more brown than granulated sugar makes for mega-soft and chewy cookies. I prefer to use dark brown sugar for the best flavor, but you can substitute light brown sugar if you don’t have dark on hand.
- Maple syrup. If you don’t have maple syrup on hand, I suggest you make my classic oatmeal cookie recipe instead and just add chocolate chips (there are notes in the recipe on how to do so).
- Ground cinnamon. This is optional, but I love the subtle, festive depth of flavor that it adds.
- Old-fashioned oats. Use old fashioned oats, not “quick” or instant oats. Old fashioned oats gives you chewier and heartier cookies.
SAM’S TIP: I know that some people are maple syrup purists, but I’ve made these oatmeal cookies with both pure maple syrup and with pancake syrup and either will work perfectly fine here.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cream the butter – Beat the butter until creamy, then add the sugars and mix well.
- Add the flavorings – Stir in the eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup.
- Stir in the dry ingredients – Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Add the mix-ins – Stir in the oats and chocolate chips until combined.
- Cover and chill – Cover with plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Scoop and bake – Drop 2 tablespoon-sized scoops onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12-13 minutes.
- Enjoy! Let the cookies cool completely on their baking sheets before enjoying.
SAM’S TIP: Never place cookie dough on a hot cookie sheet! The dough will start to melt before the cookies even make it into the oven and your cookies will spread much more than they are supposed to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! You can substitute an equal amount of raisins for the chocolate chips, or you can make my oatmeal raisin cookies instead.
Yes! If you’d like to freeze before baking, check out my how to freeze cookie dough post for instructions. If you’d like to freeze after baking, simply wrap well and store in an airtight container or ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
The most likely reason for hard, dry oatmeal cookies is over-baking or over-measuring your flour. Make sure to take your cookies out of the oven when they are still a bit underdone in the middle; this will allow them to finish cooking outside the oven on their baking sheets for soft and chewy results!
Love oats and chocolate? Try my cowboy cookies or my oatmeal cookie bars!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (216 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup (real maple syrup or pancake syrup will work)
- 1 ¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons (230 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch cornflour in UK
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- 3 cups (285 g) old fashioned rolled oats
- 2 cups chocolate chips I prefer semisweet or dark, but milk or even white chocolate chips would work, depending on your preference
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Place butter in large bowl and beat with an electric mixer (alternatively you can use a stand mixer) until creamy.1 cup (216 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until thoroughly combined.1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar, firmly packed, ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- Add eggs and egg yolk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup and stir until well-combined.1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.1 ¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons (230 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture until ingredients are completely combined.
- Add oats and chocolate chips, stirring until thoroughly combined.3 cups (285 g) old fashioned rolled oats, 2 cups chocolate chips
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and transfer cookie dough to refrigerator. Chill for at least 30 minutes¹.
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.
- Once dough has chilled, drop cookie dough by rounded 2 Tablespoon-sized scoops onto parchment paper, spacing cookies at least 2" apart.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 12-13 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 enjoying.
Notes
Video note
In the video I call for 1 egg and 1 egg yolk. I’ve since updated the recipe and prefer it to be made with 2 whole eggs. It will still be good the other way! I just prefer it now with 2 eggs.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 recipe was originally published 01/19/2018. Post has been updated to include more information, photos, and an instructional video on 09/18/2019.
Melissa Middleton
Upon finding out that my granddaughter is allergic to eggs, unfortunately. What can I use in place of the eggs if you would have any suggestions, it would greatly be appreciated.
Sam
Hi Melissa! Iโm so sorry to hear it. Unfortunately Iโm not very familiar with baking without eggs so I am hesitant to advise without having tried it myself. Iโm hoping someone else here who has tried it can chime in. If it interests you, I do have an eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe as well as quite a few other egg free recipes. ๐
Melissa Middleton
Thank you Sam and will definitely check out the egg free recipes ๐
Veronika
Iโm going to adapt this recipe to be a lactation cookie by replacing 1/4 cup of the flour with brewers yeast and flax meal. Do you have any opinions on specific measurements when doing this?
Sam
Hi Veronika! Unfortunately, without having tried it, I wouldn’t be able to say exactly how to alter the recipe. ๐
Carmen
I donโt use corn products. Will arrowroot powder work as a replacement for the cornstarch?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
It’s worth a shot! Let us know how it goes for you ๐
Tiffany
I baked several of your recipes and they all turned out so yummy. Last week I baked your white chocolate oatmeal and it was such a hit. Thank you very much!
Yesterday I tried the oatmeal chocolate chip recipe. I didnโt have maple syrup so I left that out. Could this have caused the cookies to spread and be extremely flat? What did I do wrong?
Sam
Hi Tiffany! Leaving the maple syrup out would actually make them less likely to spread. I wonder if something else may have accidentally be mismeasured?
Kate
I made these cookies a while back and let me tell you, this is the best recipe ever! I just have a problem, I mixed up this recipe with the another of your recipe and melted my butter instead of having it softened.. does it have to be soften or could I just let the butter cool off then continue with the recipe?
Sam
Hi Kate! You’ll definitely want to chill the dough a little bit longer than the 30 minutes called for and they may spread slightly but I think it’ll still turn out. ๐
Misty
I made these for a new years party & everyone seemed to love them! I am terrible at making cookies ๐ but hope to get better.
Pat
Hi Sam! Made these yesterday with the 2 cups Ghiradelli semi-sweet choc chips. They are freakin’ awesome!!! This even after accidentally adding 1 tablespoon baking powder and fishing it out (I know – who does that??!!!) and forgetting the sugars until after I added the other dry ingredients. Genius on adding the maple syrup (I used the real deal). Thank you for another delicious recipe!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Pat! ๐
Star
Hi Sam! this is such a huge hit at home, i even get to sell these and they were gone in a flash! the cookies are more than perfect especially when chilled for a day or two. i just added dark choco chips with the semi sweet choco chips and it was sooo divine!
I just want to ask if you have any cookie recipes that includes matcha, or will you develop something like that in the future?
I love your youtube videos by the way, they are easy to follow and remember!
Sam
Thank you so much! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the cookies so much! The dark chocolate chips sound excellent! I do not currently have any recipes that include matcha. I don’t currently have any plans to develop any but I will definitely keep it in mind. ๐
Amanda
Hello!
Love your recipes!!!!
Can Raisins be used in place of the chocolate chips in this recipe?
Sam
Hi Amanda! Yes that will be fine, enjoy!
Elena
I absolutely loved making these cookies. My son and his friends devoured them!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Elena! ๐
Debbie Phillips
I have made these cookies so many times, they are so delicious. Iโve even added a little shredded coconut and a few chopped pecans to make them like magic cookie bars!!! This recipe is a keeper!!!!
Sam
That sounds so tasty! I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Debbie! ๐
Paige K
I just made these, I got too tired to finish baking them so I was able to leave the dough in the fridge until I could get back to them a few days later. They’re so chewy and good! I did 1 cup dark chocolate morsels and 1 cup mini semi-sweet chips.
I do have a question…the recipe calls for 2 eggs, but the video says 1 egg and 1 yolk. I did the 1 egg and 1 yolk since I assumed you were making it in real time…part of me feels like the 2 full eggs would have made them a little less dry?
Sam
Hi Paige! I’m so sorry for the confusion. If there’s ever a discrepancy it’s always best to go with the written recipe. Sometimes I don’t catch errors in the videos. I’m glad you still enjoyed them. ๐
Terry
Before I bake these delish sounding cookies, I wanted to ask you if I could use a sugar substitute (Iโm diabetic).
Sam
Hi Terry! I haven’t tried it but I think it could work. Enjoy! ๐
Carmen
Terry,
Monk fruit sugar doesnโt affect your blood sugar levels and can improve your glycemic control. It is used 1:1 for cane sugar in recipes. I buy it at natural food grocery stores. Thatโs the sugar Iโd use in these cookies and for all your baked products. Iโm a nurse who enjoys cooking and learning about nutrition.
Emma
HOLY COW THESE ARE SO!!! GOOD!!!!
I am a tough cookie critic (will literally scrutinize every detail to find the perfect cookie) and these are my new favorite cookies! They strike the perfect balance between sweet, buttery and oaty. The bit of maple syrup โ chefโs kiss.
I didnโt have cornstarch so just omitted it, and I weighed the rest of my ingredients. They came out perfectly. They baked up even yummier after a night in the fridge. Jesus they were so good. If you are trying to decide on an oatmeal cc cookie recipe, stop searching and just follow this to a T!!!
Sam
Thank you for this sweet review, Emma!! ๐
Bianca
These are so great!! I love everything about it. May I ask how long this will keep when baked? I’m planning to sell it. โบ๏ธ
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Bianca! Theyโll last about a week if stored in an airtight container. ๐
Maryann
They are the best ๐ โค ๐ ๐
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Maryann! ๐
Maryann
Do you have a receipt with Almond paste?
Thx
Sam
Unfortunately I do not. ๐
Ann
I’ve made this more than a hundred times and it still gets wiped out within 5 minutes of setting it on the table! Is there any way that i can halve the sugar in the recipe and still end up with the same consistency?
Sam
Hi Ann! I haven’t tried it. They should still turn out but you will definitely lose a lot of flavor. ๐
Carole Carretta
Why is your recipe for plan oatmeal cookies, not this one minus the chocolate chips?
Sam
Hi Carole! Here is my classic oatmeal cookie recipe. Enjoy! ๐