These are the easiest, most delicious, chewy oatmeal cookies with walnuts ever. It's a one-bowl dough that can be made ahead and frozen so you can have freshly baked soft cookies whenever the craving hits!
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I've been using this particular recipe for ages, literally, twenty years or so. And it's a no-fail recipe, guaranteed. That sounds like a lot, but this recipe delivers.
And except for the walnuts, it uses simple ingredients that are probably in your pantry right now. One of our favorite cookie recipes, especially when we slightly underbake them and we get almost a gooey cookie.
Oats appear often in our recipes, from the perfect oatmeal breakfast muffins to an easy peach crumble, or our fantastic carmelitas bars.
Table of Contents
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About this recipe
- Very easy to make: you simply mix the ingredients in one bowl. I recommend an electric mixer to make the process easier and faster, but you can make them by hand with a whisk, a large bowl, and some arm muscle.
- Flavor: the mix of sugars and butter makes delicious cookies. They have a caramel undertone and just enough sweetness to let the flavors of the oats and walnuts come through.
- Chewy texture: if stored properly, the texture remains wonderful for a few days. The key is baking them just until they are dry but slightly soft in the center.
- Make ahead: you can keep the cookie dough refrigerated for up to a day before baking it. Or freeze the unbaked cookie balls for up to a month and bake them directly, no need to thaw them!
Ingredients
- Oats: rolled oats (also called old-fashioned oats or traditional oats) are the best for this recipe because they add texture. But you can use instant oats.
- Unsalted butter.
- Sugar: both white, granulated sugar, and brown sugar are used in this recipe.
- Egg: fresh, large.
- Milk: I use whole milk but you can use low-fat or almond milk.
- All-purpose flour.
- Baking soda: make sure it's not expired.
- Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works.
- Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.
Type of oats to use
There are 2 types of oats good for making oatmeal cookies:
- Rolled oats - also called traditional or old-fashioned oats, are medium-sized and shaped like irregular discs (image below). It's the one in the box we grew up with, that is used to make porridge, the best granola recipe, or oatmeal muffins. This is the most commonly used oat and a sure way to get good results.
- Instant oats - also known as quick oats, are more processed than the ones above. I find that they lack enough texture, but you can absolutely use them.
One of my favorite things about this oatmeal cookie recipe is that the base mixture (which is pretty similar to chocolate chip cookies) is super simple to make.
- Mixers: using an electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment will make this process much easier. The cookie dough needs to be mixed for several minutes in the beginning, which is harder to do by hand.
- Creaming: it's important that the butter is soft and that it's well mixed with the sugar, until very creamy. Add the sugars gradually so they incorporate better, especially if using a handheld electric mixer.
- Adding the egg: don't overlook this step and take the time to beat it for several minutes. It will help the cookies' texture and shape. The dough should be soft and creamy (image below).
- Adding the flour mixture: also called dry ingredients, they include the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add them at low speed. We don't want to develop the gluten in the flour, so it needs to be mixed until well incorporated but no more than that.
Baking
- Preheated oven: make sure it's at the right temperature when you put in the cookies.
- Cookie sheets: I like to recommend turning the baking pan around (back to front) halfway through baking so the cookies bake better. Ovens transfer heat differently and this is the easiest way to bake them evenly, especially if you use a large baking sheet.
- Preparing the pan: after years of baking homemade cookies, I like to lightly butter the pan. It works well for me. But you can use parchment paper or some other type of lining.
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 (with a cookie scoop), and place them on a cookie sheet, no need to leave much space between them. Pop the cookie sheet into the freezer.
- Transfer to a bag: once the raw cookie balls are frozen rock solid transfer them to a plastic bag or freezer 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 walnut cookies, take the number of frozen cookie balls you want to bake, place them on 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 when you put them in the oven.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and make sure you have ingredients at the right temperatures, equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
- Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. Use a thermometer inside the oven (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that the temperature is right. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Measuring the cookies: Use an ice cream or cookie scoop so that you're cookies bake evenly. Leave roughly a 1 or 2-inch separation between each (depending on the size) so they can spread comfortably during baking.
- Refrigerating the dough: I don't chill it, bake the cookies directly, and the texture is fantastic. But the type of oats you use might be different from mine as they can vary depending on what part of the world you live in and what brand you buy. If using quick-cooking oats you should not have issues because it hydrates quickly. With rolled oats, I recommend you test bake a few cookies first and see how they come out. Letting the dough rest from 1 hour to a day will help to make moister and softer cookies. The oats will soften with the extra hydration time.
- Baking: underbake them a tiny bit, when the center is still very soft, and they will be chewier. If you want crunchier cookies, bake them a few minutes more, depending on the size. You can do a test run and bake a few cookies first and find your sweet spot when it comes to baking time and texture.
- 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.
- Flavorings: boost the flavor of these cookies by adding ground cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, or a tablespoon of Frangelico or some other nut liqueur.
- Storing: cookie jars or tins are ideal for keeping any cookie. But plastic bags work well too if you have no choice.
- Run out of granola? Crumble a few of these over your bowl of yogurt and fruit.
- Want to play around with your crumble recipes? Omit the milk in the recipe and use this cookie dough as a topping for apple crumb bars, raspberry apple bars or cherry crumble.
- Make sandwich cookies: if you make small-sized cookies, you can fill them with dulce de leche and have awesome alfajores cookies.
Related recipes you might like:
Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
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Best Walnut Oatmeal Cookies
These are the easiest, most delicious, chewy walnut cookies ever. It's a one-bowl dough that can be made ahead and frozen so you can have freshly baked cookies whenever the craving hits!
Ingredients
- 3 cups 255g old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ¼ cups 165g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup 170g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup 210g brown sugar
- ½ cup 100g white sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- 1 cup chopped walnuts, about 4oz (measured after chopping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Butter cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
- Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth, about 20 seconds.
- Gradually add sugars and beat for 2 minutes, until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg and beat at medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times.
- Add the milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
- Add the flour, baking soda (sifted to avoid lumps), and salt and add to the butter mixture. Mix at low speed just until well blended and no dry spots remain. Don't overbeat at this point.
- Mix in the oats in two parts so they're easier to incorporate.
- Add the walnuts and mix well. I use a rubber spatula for this part. Make sure no flour remains in the bottom of the bowl.
- At this point, the cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to a day. See note below.
- Scoop out portions onto the prepared sheets, leaving space between them, an inch or two depending on the size of the cookie. If making larger cookies I flatten them slightly with my fingers tips so there's less chance of the center taking too long to bake and the sides being too brown.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on the size, until golden brown and still soft in the center. I use a 1.5-inch cookie scoop and bake them for exactly 10 minutes.
- Smack the pan on the counter immediately after you take it out of the oven. It will deflate the cookies a little and help with the texture.
- Let cool on a wire rack before lifting them carefully from the paper and cooling them completely.
- As soon as they cooled down completely, transfer the cookies to jars or an airtight container.
Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and make sure you have ingredients at the right temperatures, equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
- Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. Use a thermometer inside the oven (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that the temperature is right. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Oats: rolled oats (also called old-fashioned oats or traditional oats) are the best for this recipe because they add texture. But you can use quick oats which are finer if that's what you have.
- Refrigerating the dough: I don't chill it, bake the cookies directly, and the texture is fantastic. But the type of oats you use might be different from mine as they can vary depending on what part of the world you live in and what brand you buy. If using quick-cooking oats you should not have issues because it hydrates quickly. If using rolled oats, I recommend you test bake a few cookies and see how they come out. If you want them to be softer and moister, letting the dough rest from 1 hour to a day will help. The oats will soften with the extra hydration time.
- Measuring the cookies: Use an ice cream or cookie scoop so that you're cookies bake evenly. Leave roughly a 1 or 2-inch separation between each (depending on the size) so they can spread comfortably during baking.
- Baking: underbake them a tiny bit, when the center is still very soft, and they will be chewier. If you want crunchier cookies, bake them a few minutes more, depending on the size. You can do a test run and bake a few cookies first and find your sweet spot when it comes to baking time and texture.
- 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.
- Keeping: cookie jars or cookie tins are ideal for keeping them. But plastic bags or airtight plastic containers work well too.
Did you try this recipe?Let me know in the comments below!
Susan Franco says
Hello! Can you use 1 minute oats for this recipe?
Paula Montenegro says
Yes you can Susan. The cookies might not have as much texture as the ones with old-fashioned oats that are sturdier.
Inka says
I would like to add raisins. I feel the walnuts and raisins together will add a good flavor but wondering how much should I add. Thanks!
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Inka, yes, they go great together. Add half cup raisins and half cup walnuts.
Stifu says
Good recipe, a lot of unneeded text at the top... It was really annoying to scroll down to the ingredients and the way of baking them.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi, there's a jump to recipe button at the top of the post that takes you straight to the recipe, in case you don't want to read the post.
The post is written with info for those that are beginners and need details. Have a good week.
Diana says
Perfect. Did use soy as intolerant. of dairy. For the other half batch, I chopped up half of a 70% chocolate bar. Also doubled the walnut amount --pretending the cookie is now healthy.
Jordan says
Delicious flavor and perfect texture! I used hazelnut coffee creamer instead of milk. Turned out great!
Paula Montenegro says
I like that substitution Jordan, it allows for different flavors! Have a great week.
Suky says
I loved the flavor of these cookies, they're a perfect snack! Except I had a problem when I made them - why didn't my cookies spread at all?? I did everything in the instructions and I also only added about 3/4 of the milk. My dough came out nice and firm and held together. I used quick oats and left them in the fridge for about 3 hours before I bakes them. Any suggestions as to where I might have gone wrong? Thanks!
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Suky! I'm glad you liked them and from what you write, I think the type of oats probably absorbed too much liquid or needed more. I would use a tablespoon or two more milk next time and if baking them directly without chilling gives you the spread you want. Hope this helps. Happy baking!
Amy Houchin says
I added a few chocolate chips and mandms and the kids loved them!! Thanks for the best cookie recipe ever!!
Paula Montenegro says
So happy to hear that Amy! Yes, you can add whatever you want, and they're always great. Have a great week!
Will says
I noticed that only half the milk is added to this recipe. However, the cookies taste beyond amazing!
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Will, glad you liked them! You add half the milk and if the mix is too dry you can add the rest, or part of it. The size of the egg and type of oats vary, so it's better to err on the dry side and add more milk if needed.
Debra says
Made these cookies for my Adult children and grandchildren. Divided the dough in half . First batch had raisins mixed in. The other half had butterscotch chips.Yum ..Will let you know what they think later as I am traveling to see them tomorrow!
Thanks for the recipe 0
Paula Montenegro says
Good idea the butterscotch Debra! Thanks for the comment.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I love the idea of using a few of these cookies instead of granola over yoghurt for an awesome breakfast. They look wonderful, Paula.