Oatmeal Cookies – Two Peas & Their Pod

These soft and chewy Oatmeal Cookies are the BEST oatmeal cookies. They are easy to make and a family favorite. You can’t go wrong with this classic oatmeal cookie recipe!

Classic Oatmeal Cookies

One of my favorite cookies to bake and eat are oatmeal cookies. Yes, plain and simple oatmeal cookies. I know they are often picked last because their friends are more popular…chocolate chip, chocolate, and snickerdoodles, I am looking at you, but I always pick oatmeal cookies first. They are always welcome on my team.

Oatmeal cookies are soft, chewy, sweet, buttery, and taste like home. They are a comforting cookie and just GOOD! There is nothing fancy about oatmeal cookies, but I don’t need fancy, I just need a really good cookie and oatmeal cookies are perfection. You really can’t go wrong with a classic oatmeal cookie.

What Kind of Oats Do You Use for Oatmeal Cookies?

Oatmeal is the star in oatmeal cookies so it is important that you use the right kind of oats. For my oatmeal cookie recipe, I use old fashioned oats, also called rolled oats. When processed, the whole grains of oats are first steamed to make them soft and pliable, then pressed to flatten them. The oats look like flat, irregular discs.

Old fashioned oats (rolled oats) provide a chewy, nutty texture and flavor to oatmeal cookies. They are thicker and heartier than quick oats (instant oats). I don’t recommend using quick oats because the cookies won’t have as much texture and you want a nice and chewy oatmeal cookie that is hearty with lots of texture going on. Quick oats also absorb liquid differently and you don’t want to end up with dry cookies.

You can find old fashioned (rolled oats) at any grocery store in the cereal aisle. You can also buy oats in bulk.

How to Make Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are easy to make and are made with basic, every day ingredients. They are the perfect cookies to make for Christmas, an after school treat, an easy weeknight dessert, when friends stop by, or just because you are craving cookies!

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. You will need: all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Don’t skip the cinnamon, it adds a warm, sweetness to the oatmeal cookies. If you like nutmeg, you can also add a pinch of nutmeg to increase the nutty flavor.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat with the paddle attachment until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula if necessary. This should take 1 to 2 minutes. Note-if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer or even mix by hand, just make sure you cream the butter and sugars together really well.
• Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and beat until combined and smooth. Make sure you use pure vanilla extract for maximum vanilla flavor.
• With the mixer off, add all of the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and mix until just combined. Stir in the oats with a spatula.
• Line large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Scoop the cookie dough into round balls, about 2 tablespoons per ball. Place on the lined baking sheets, about 2-inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown but the centers are still light golden and soft. Don’t over bake!
• Remove from the oven and sprinkle the cookies with flaked sea salt. The flaky salt is the perfect finishing touch! Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

How to Keep Oatmeal Cookies Soft

Here are a few tricks to keeping oatmeal cookies soft and chewy!

• Using butter, brown sugar, and old fashioned oats in the recipe will help create a soft and chewy cookie.
• I also use a large egg and a large egg yolk. The yolk makes the oatmeal cookies extra chewy.
• Don’t over mix your cookie dough or you will end up with a dense cookie.
• Make sure you don’t over bake the cookies. This is really important! The cookies are done baking when they are still soft in the center and slightly golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes. The cookies will finish baking as they cool.
• Store the cooled oatmeal cookies in an airtight container. You can even put a half piece of bread in the container to keep the cookies super soft. The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread, the bread will get hard, but the cookies will stay soft. White bread is best, as it won’t transfer its own flavors to the cookies.

Optional Mix-Ins

I love the simplicity of a plain oatmeal cookie, but if you want to jazz up your oatmeal cookies, this is a great base recipe for different kinds of oatmeal cookies. You can add up to 2 cups of the following ingredients, depending on how loaded you want them to be.

• chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips
• chocolate chunks
• chopped nuts
• raisins or dried cranberries
• M&M’s
• flaked coconut
• chopped toffee

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