Chewy and with a crisp edge, these one-bowl oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies are the best of both worlds! With mostly brown sugar, they have a deep caramel flavour, and plenty of chocolate.
These deliciously chewy chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies have a crisp, brown sugar edge. A large batch means more cookies for you, or at least some to have in the freezer! This is a great recipe for holidays and things like bake sales.
Just one bowl needed here, or the bowl of your standing mixer. Plenty of oats (3 cups!) so you know these are properly heavy on that oat texture, which is why we’re making oatmeal cookies rather than a classic chocolate chip cookie.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
Method
Add the sugars and butter to a large mixing bowl. Mix on high speed. Once mixed, it should be lighter and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix between each addition. The dough should be very fluffy at this point. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until the flour is incorporated. Add the rolled oats. Fold in with a spatula. Add the chocolate chunks. Fold until evenly incorporated. Scoop the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes.
Tips and Notes
This makes a large batch of about 26 cookies. If you want less, simply halve everything and bake a baker’s dozen.
If chilling for longer than a couple of hours, take the dough out of the fridge for ten minutes before scooping and baking so it can warm up a bit.
To freeze the dough, scoop into individual cookies, then freeze directly on the (lined) baking sheet. Remove and freeze in an airtight container, and then bake directly from frozen, adding another minute or two to the baking time. Baked cookies can be frozen too.
For a harder, crisper cookie, bake for the full eleven minutes. For a very chewy middle, do nine minutes. This will vary slightly based on the actual temperature of your oven (we use thermometers) so keep an eye on the cookies.
If you reduce the sugar, the cookies won’t spread enough, and will be tough and mounded.
Depending on the size of your baking sheets, you may need to bake six cookies at a time rather than eight. If using the fan setting, two sheets can be baked simultaneously.
The oats are folded in rather than mixed with the electric mixer because the dough gets too thick to mix easily. If using the paddle attachment on a standing mixer, there’s no need to switch to a spatula. Just do everything with the same attachment, on low speed for the oats and chocolate.
If your butter is unsalted, increase the added salt amount to 1 teaspoon.
Substitutions
For dairy free oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies, use a good vegan butter. We don’t recommend trying these with old.
Quick oats don’t work well here, but extra thick rolled oats (like the ones from Bob’s Red Mill) are good. Steel cut oats can’t be used.
Use chocolate chips if you prefer, or a mix of chips and chunks. Milk chocolate or a mix of different types can be used, but they’ll make the cookies very sweet.
Light and dark brown sugar can be used interchangeably for this recipe. Dark brown sugar will add a deeper caramel flavour from the added molasses.
More Cookie Recipes
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
Snickerdoodles Without Cream of Tartar
Recipe
Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Description
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Stand or hand mixer
- Spatula
- Ice cream scoop
- Towel
- Parchment paper
- Wire rack
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose (white) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
Instructions
- Add the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar to a large mixing bowl (or bowl of your standing mixer).
- Use an electric mixer to beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment for the full recipe (don’t switch to a spatula later).
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition to incorporate. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt to the bowl. Beat on low speed until fully incorporated.
- Fold the rolled oats into the cookie dough with a spatula. The dough will be thick.
- Add the chocolate chunks and fold in to evenly incorporate.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 24 hours.
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough onto the sheet using an ice cream scoop, about 2 tablespoons per cookie. Space at least 5cm (2 in.) apart from each other to allow for spread during baking.
- Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden with edges that are just hard to the touch. The middles will still be soft.
- Cool for about 10 minutes on the sheet before removing and cooling fully on a wire rack. Repeat until all of the dough has been used.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a week, or freeze up to 6 months.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published in July 2015. It has been updated with changes to the recipe (omitting coconut, millet, and cranberries) and improvements to the text as of September 2021.
Jessie Snyder | Faring Well says
These look and sound INCREDIBLE. Mega mega craving these now <3
Kelly Brisson // the gouda life says
Thanks Jessie! I made the 4 dozen thinking they’d last for a week or two… whoops. Hope you’re having a lovely Sunday Xx K.
Sarah | Well and Full says
These are such beautiful little cookies! In terms of veganizing these, would you recommend flax eggs or a banana for the egg substitute? :)
Kelly Brisson // the gouda life says
Hi Sarah!
Whatever you’d usually use for cookies is probably best. Having not tried either, it’s hard for me to say. I feel like a flax egg might be better for binding but the banana would taste SO GOOD in there, too. If you test it out, let me know how it works for you. <3
Heather (Delicious Not Gorgeous) says
the millet kind of scares me, but the other 11 words (thick! chewy! oatmeal! cookie!) sound so tasty i might have to go for it. have way too many oatmeal cookie recipes bookmarked, but what’s one more?
Heather says
I made these last night and live them so much! I only did 1/2 c dried cranberries and 1/2c dark chocolate and that did not ruin any consistency as far as I was concerned. I was trying to shave off a couple of calories for the individual cookie which for me ends up being 143 each (I made 37 cookies) thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I especially love how the nutmeg adds an amazing balance to the cookie. Recipes with coconut oil can sometimes be overpowered by coconut taste (which I love coconut) but appreciate that not every cookie has to taste like coconut. You did fabulously!
Kelly Brisson // the gouda life says
Thanks so much, Heather! I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed the cookies.
Carissa & Brenna Ritchey says
Followed the recipe to a T. They’re so, so good. My daughter searched for the recipe based on an “Oat & Millet Breakfast Cookie” she had at Breakfast coffee house in Santa Barbara, and these seemed close. We made these together and both of us were pretty befuddled by the dry, crumbly nature of the dough; they hardly held together when using the cookie scoop and rolling them into balls. We kind of smooshed them down a bit before baking, and that only exacerbated the crumbliness. That said, the flavors are terrific, and the cookies, though crumbly, are in no way dry. The millet is a necessary component because it adds such interesting crunch and texture, and the sweetness of the chocolate with the tart cranberries is such a great contrast. We’ll happily make them again — and again. Not sure what we’ll try to make the batter a bit more chewy next time…I’m open to suggestions!
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Kelly Brisson // the gouda life says
Hi Carissa and Brenna!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the cookies and thank you so much for taking the time to write a review! You might try experimenting with an extra egg so they bind a bit more if you’re looking for a softer texture. I’d love to hear how it works out. I’ve been wanting to make a batch again soon so if I get to it before you do, I’ll be sure to report back.
Take care.
Kelly B.
Carissa & Brenna Ritchey says
School’s out and Brenna’s home and we finally had the chance to make these again! I’m so happy we did! We used 2/3 C. or so coconut oil and 1/3 vegetable oil and it really moistened the cookies nicely. Because of the low flour content and the high oat content, they’ll always be a bit more crumbly (especially because it’s rolled oats, not quick cook), but the dough was substantially easier to scoop and smoosh this time, and they held together beautifully. They baked up moist and still-crispy and turned out pretty darned perfect! We also split the cup of chocolate chips in half and added 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, which we’ll do again. Such a terrific recipe; thanks for sharing, Kelly!
Kelly Brisson // the gouda life says
Hi Carissa!
Thanks so much for the comment. These have become our go-to “healthy” cookie for snacks and I’m glad your family is loving them too. Will have to try adding walnuts next time. <3