Easy Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

These are the easiest, most delicious, one-bowl oatmeal walnut cookies ever.
Super versatile, you can freeze them and bake them to order!

But who needs another oatmeal cookie recipe, right? Hear me out.

I've been using this particular recipe for ages, literally, twenty years or so. And it's a no-fail recipe, guaranteed.  If that sounds too much, this recipe delivers, trust me.

And except for the walnuts, the ingredients are probably in your pantry right now.

Base mixture and different add-ons.

One of my favorite things about this oatmeal cookie recipe is that the base mixture (image below) is dead simple to make, but you can change the final cookie depending on what you add to it.

Besides the oats, obviously, the base is pretty similar to chocolate chip cookies. It has a combination of white and brown sugars - very necessary to that sweet caramel flavor we love - good unsalted butter and a bit of milk. This last ingredient will hydrate the oats and make the cookies soft and chewy.

You can customize this base mixture to your taste: add walnuts, chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, a mix of them, some orange zest. And don't forget sliced almonds, they add a crunch that is amazing. Just remember to use the same amount, that is 1 cup.

Freezing oatmeal cookies.

The way to make a large batch and have freshly baked cookies any time you want is to freeze them individually.

It takes 3 simple steps:

• Measure and freeze: Pretend you're about to bake them, measure them and place on a cookie sheet, and then pop the cookie sheet into the freezer, with the raw cookies. I use a small ice cream scoop so they bake as even as possible (image below).
• Transfer to a bag: Once the raw dough is frozen rock solid you can transfer them to a plastic bag or container. That way you won't have the cookie sheet stuck in the freezer until you decide to bake.
• Bake straight from the freezer: when you want fresh oatmeal cookies, take the number of frozen cookie balls you want to bake, place them in a cookie sheet and bake them as directed in the recipe below. They might take an extra minute or two due to the freezing temperature they have.

What type of oats to use.

There are 2 types of oats (image below) good for making oatmeal cookies:

• Quick cooking oats - (right side), also called traditional or old-fashioned, is medium-sized, shaped like a disc but very irregular or downright broken in aspect. It's the one in the box we grew up with, that is used to make porridge (big fan here!), granola and so many other breakfast dishes. This is the most common used oat and a sure way to get good results.
• Rolled oats - (left side) is coarser and thicker, the discs are more formed and need more hydration to become chewable. Further processing these can result in rolled oats.

The main difference between the two is that rolled oats require an extra rest in the refrigerator (from 8 to 24 hours in my opinion) to absorb the liquid and soften a bit before going into the oven. If you make cookies with this type of oats and bake them immediately, you will feel that the oat is not cooked enough when you bite into them. Not good.

Then there are instant oats which should not be used to make cookies as they will not hold and will make for a mushier cookie and not a chewable one. Not recommended, though you can technically use it.

Tips and tricks for this recipe.

• Type of oats: Use whatever of the 2 types of oats described above you want, but leave the mixture for at least 1 hour in the fridge before using if using quick-cooking oats, and 1 day if using rolled oats. The extra hydration will improve a lot the final cookies.
• Liquid: Don't use all of the milk at once. Add half of it and see how thick the mix is. It should be stiff, otherwise, the cookies will expand too much. Oats differ a lot according to brand and to where you live.
• Measuring the cookies: Use an ice cream scoop so that you're cookies bake as even as possible. Leave about 2-inch separation between each.
• Baking: underbake them a tiny bit and they are chewy. Bake them a few minutes longer and they are crunchier and a little caramelized, my favorite. You truly can't go wrong here.
• Batching and freezing: Make a large batch (double this recipe for example) and freeze them. It will save you time and you'll always have freshly baked oatmeal cookies.
• Different extras: If you make a large batch, you can also divide it and add different extras to each part. So you can have, say, oatmeal raisin cookies and walnut chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, all from one batch.
• Keeping: cookie jars or tins are ideal for keeping any cookie. But plastic bags work well too if you have no choice.

Other uses for oatmeal cookies.

Run out of granola? Crumble a few of these over your bowl of yogurt and fruit. I learned this one morning at a Cafe I owned at some point when we ran out of granola and improvised. Some customers thought it was even better.

Want to play around with your crumble recipes? Omit the milk in the recipe and use it as a topping for apple crumb bars, raspberry apple bars or cherry crumble.

And if you make small sized cookies, you can sandwich them with dulce de leche and have awesome alfajores.

Didn't I tell you they are the best oatmeal cookies? They keep well and are a total crowd pleaser.

Other recipes you might like:
Pistachio Butter Cookies
Fudgy Brownie Cookies
Coconut Citrus Shortbread
Homemade Oreos
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Sunflower Oatmeal Dinner Rolls
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Squares (no-bake)
Chocolate Walnut Oat Bars
Raspberry Apple Crumb Bars

Easy Walnut Oatmeal cookies

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Paula Montenegro
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 30 medium cookies 1x
• Category: Cookies
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American

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Description

These are the easiest, most delicious, one-bowl oatmeal walnut cookies ever.
Super versatile, you can freeze them and bake them to order!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 3 cups (270g) rolled oats
• 1 ⅓ (180g) all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup (180g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) dark brown sugar
• ½ cup (100g) white sugar
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• ¼ cup (60g) whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
• 1 cup (100g) chopped walnuts

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Instructions

1. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or butter the pans.
2. In a bowl beat butter with sugars, egg, half the milk, and vanilla.
3. Add oats, flour, baking soda (I sift it to avoid lumps) and salt. Mix just until well blended and no dry spots remain. If the mixture is dry add the rest of the milk.
4. Add nuts and mix well.
5. It is recommended at this point to refrigerate it. See note below.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF / 180ºC.
7. Drop teaspoons (up to a tablespoon if you want really big cookies; take into account the separation between the cookies) onto prepared sheets, leaving space between them. I leave them as they come out of the cookie scoop, but you can flatten them slightly with a fork. This is a good idea if you want to underbake them a bit.
8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden and beginning to harden around the edges. If you want crunchier cookies, bake them a few minutes more, depending on the size.
9. Let cool for a few minutes on a wire rack before lifting them carefully from the paper and cooling them completely.
10. Keep in tightly closed tins or jars.

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Notes

 

• Type of oats: Leave the mixture for at least 1 hour in the fridge before baking if using quick-cooking oats, and 1 day if using rolled oats. The extra hydration will improve a lot the final cookies.
• Liquid: Don't use all of the milk at once. Add half of it and see how thick the mix is. It should be stiff, otherwise, the cookies will expand too much. Oats differ a lot according to brand and to where you live.
• Measuring the cookies: Use an ice cream scoop so that you're cookies bake as even as possible. Leave about a 2-inch separation between each.
• Baking: underbake them a tiny bit and they are chewy. Bake them a few minutes longer and they are crunchier and a little caramelized, my favorite. You truly can't go wrong here.
• Batching and freezing: Make a large batch (double this recipe for example) and freeze them. It will save you time and you'll always have freshly baked oatmeal cookies.
• Different extras: If you make a large batch, you can also divide it and add different extras to each part. So you can have, say, oatmeal raisin cookies and walnut chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, all from one batch.
• Keeping: cookie jars or tins are ideal for keeping any cookie. But plastic bags work well too if you have no choice.

Keywords: oatmeal cookies, oatmeal walnut, walnut cookies

Paula Montenegro

I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.