These are soft and chewy oatmeal cookies with a lot of chocolate chips and walnuts. It's a super easy, one-bowl recipe that comes together in minutes so that you can have freshly baked cookies in 30 minutes. Or make the cookie dough ahead and freeze it for when the craving hits!
After trying different recipes for years, I found my favorite chewy oatmeal cookie. It's a no-fail, super-easy recipe. That sounds like a lot, but it delivers.
Adding chips and walnuts takes them to another level of crunchiness and flavor. It makes them a sibling to our popular oatmeal walnut cookies and a cousin to the fantastic carmelitas bars. It all stays in the family.
- 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 combination 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 until they are slightly soft in the center.
- Make ahead: refrigerate the cookie dough 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!
It's one of our favorite holiday cookies, especially when we slightly underbake them and eat them warm. You get a sort of gooey cookie, so delicious.
Ingredient list
- Oats: rolled oats (also called traditional oats or old-fashioned oats) are best for this recipe because they add texture, but you can use instant oats.
- Chocolate chips: use your favorite semisweet chip.
- Walnuts: they will be chopped, so don't bother buying the half-pieces if they're more expensive. Broken walnuts are fine. You can also use pecans.
- Unsalted butter.
- White granulated sugar.
- Light brown sugar.
- 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 extract.
- Ground cinnamon.
- Salt.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
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 use them.
One of my favorite things about this oatmeal cookie recipe is that the base mixture (similar to chocolate chip cookies) is super simple to make.
- Mixers: using an electric or stand mixer with the paddle attachment will make this process much easier. The cookie dough must be mixed for several minutes at the beginning, which is harder to do by hand.
- Creaming: the butter must be soft (not greasy or starting to melt) and mixed with the sugar until very creamy. Add the sugars gradually to 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 a few minutes. It will help the cookies' texture and shape. The dough should be soft and creamy. After this step, you add the rest of the wet ingredients.
Flour mixture
Also called dry ingredients, includes flour, salt, baking soda and oats. Add them at low speed (I use a spatula). 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.
At some point, it might feel as though the dry part will never integrate, but it will.
Final dough
It's thick and sticky. You can bake the cookies immediately or chill the dough for a few hours or a day.
Cookie scoops: use them to measure the cookies, so they're all the same size.
Cookie sheets: I recommend turning the baking sheet 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.
After years of baking homemade cookies, I like to lightly butter the pan. It works well for me. But you can use parchment paper, a silicone mat, or some other type of lining.
If you're making them right away, it's not necessary.
However, if you're refrigerating the dough for several hours or days and you like soft, chewy cookies, I recommend you flatten them slightly. The dough will be firmer and drier, as the oats will have absorbed more liquid, so they might not expand well and take too long to fully bake.
This depends on the texture you want. Use the time given in the recipe card as your guide.
I like chewy cookies with crisp edges, so I underbake them a tiny bit and take them out when the center is still very soft. For crunchier cookies all around, bake them for a few minutes more, depending on the size.
Do a test bake
I always recommend baking two or three cookies first to find your sweet spot regarding baking time and texture. Check the time to ensure they're baked according to your palate. Also, see how much they expand and adjust accordingly if needed so they don't touch during baking.
Topping
I add extra chocolate chips the second the cookies are out of the oven. Then sprinkle chopped walnuts on top so they stick to the chocolate.
It adds another layer of flavor that is fantastic! And makes the cookies a little messy to eat if they're still warm, but it's part of the fun.
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 their freezing temperature when you put them in the oven.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, utensils and equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend keeping track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Measuring the cookies: use a cookie scoop to make even-sized cookies. 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, I bake the cookies directly, and the texture is fantastic. But the type of oats you use might differ from mine as they can vary depending on what part of the world you live in and what brand you buy. You should not have issues using quick-cooking oats because they hydrate 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.
- Batching and freezing: Make a large batch (double this recipe) and freeze them. It will save you time and always have freshly baked oatmeal cookies.
- Flavorings: to boost the flavor of these cookies, add ground nutmeg, orange zest, or a tablespoon of Frangelico or some other nut liqueur. If you like a sweeter cookie, substitute half the dark chocolate chips for milk chocolate chips or white chocolate chips. Use dark brown sugar for soft cookies with a hint of molasses.
- Storing: cookie jars or tins are ideal for keeping cookies and my first choice, but plastic bags or airtight containers can also work.
- 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:
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Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract , or ¾ teaspoon vanilla paste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups rolled oats
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips , or chocolate chunks
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts, about 3 ounces
- Extra chocolate chips and walnuts for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Butter cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.
- Beat ¾ cup unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth, about 20 seconds.
- Gradually add 1 cup light brown sugar and ½ cup white sugar and beat for 2 minutes, until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add 1 egg and beat at medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times.
- Add 2 tablespoons whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Mix until incorporated.
- Add sifted 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt 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 3 cups rolled oats in two parts so they're easier to incorporate.
- Add ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips and ¾ cup chopped 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 baking sheet, leaving space between them, an inch or two depending on the size of the cookie. I flatten them slightly with my fingertips so they bake faster with soft centers. This is important if making larger cookies so there's less chance of the center taking too long to bake while the edges brown too quickly. If you're not sure if you want to flatten them or not, do a test bake with two dough balls, leaving one whole and flattening the other, and see which one you like best.
- 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.
- Sprinkle them immediately with extra chocolate chips and finely chopped walnuts if desired.
- Let them cool on a wire rack (cooling rack) before carefully lifting them from the paper and cooling them completely.
- As soon as they cool down completely, transfer cookies to jars or an airtight container.
Naomi Campbell says
Can I use quick oats?
Paula Montenegro says
Yes you can.
Linda Luckasavitch says
These cookies are amazing! I did double the batch and froze some. Do you have to let them thaw first or bake from frozen?
Paula Montenegro says
Happy to know you loved them Linda! Bake them frozen directly from the freezer. It might need a minute or two more in the oven. Happy baking!
angiesrecipes says
They look thick and chewy...for sure my kind of cookies!
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks Angie!