Oatmeal Cookies

Perfectly soft and chewy Oatmeal Cookies that are the perfect base for all your favorite add-ins like nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, dried cranberries and more! There’s no chilling required making them fast to make. Fill up the cookie jar with these, plus these freeze great!

Looking for the perfect simple oatmeal cookie that’s soft and chewy? We love these chewy Monster Cookies with oatmeal, but here’s the perfect base oatmeal cookie recipe for adding in your favorite mix-ins! This is it! This easy recipe requires no chilling and is perfect for stocking your freezer and cookie jar with.

They are chewy, buttery and comforting, there’s nothing fancy about these cookies, but they are perfect because you can’t go wrong with them. I bet you have all the ingredients you need to make these right in your pantry.

That’s the best part. You don’t need to buy any special ingredients that won’t get used again, plus you can mix them up with adding in whatever you have in the pantry!

Why You’ll Love These Oatmeal Cookies!

• Simple pantry ingredients come together to make this classic cookie recipe.
• These cookies freeze great so it’s easy to make a double batch a stock the freezer with half of them.
• So many great add-ins to mix up the flavor. This recipe is a great base recipe and will turn into your favorite cookie.

Ingredients Needed for Oatmeal Cookies

• Butter – We used salted. Be careful to only soften it, if it’s melted the cookies will spread out more. You can use unsalted butter, just add 1/4 teaspoon more of salt. It’s best to let it sit out and come to room temperature instead of using a microwave to warm it.
• Sugars – You will need both light brown sugar and granulated sugar to get a soft chewy cookie with a slight caramel flavor.
• Eggs – Will bind together the dough.
• Vanilla Extract – Pure Vanilla Extract not imitation will give you the best flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour – Bleached or unbleached will work.
• Baking Soda – Helps give the cooking it’s lift.
• Salt – Balances out the sweetness of this cookie.
• Spices – Cinnamon and Nutmeg for that classic taste.
• Oats – We prefer old fashioned which give the cookies a chewier cookie. You can use quick or instant oats, but they will result in a denser, less chewy cookies.

Add-In Ideas!

You can totally enjoy these oatmeal cookies on their own, but if you want to mix it up these are some great ideas to add to them. If you choose to add any of these into the cookies you will add it when you mix in the oats. We recommend 1/2 – 1 cup of the add-in you choose, but it can vary according to your preference.

• Raisins – Who hasn’t had a classic oatmeal cookie with raisins? Raisins offset this sweet cookie with a zingy flavor and these make the best base for oatmeal raisin cookies.
• Chocolate Chips – This is my personal favorite- add in chocolate and never look back. I prefer to use milk chocolate, but you can use semi-sweet or even dark chocolate. You may even like to try sprinkling a little flaky sea salt on the cookie before it’s placed in the oven to off-set some of the sweetness and add another dimension of flavor.
• Dried Cranberries – This delicious combination goes perfectly with these oatmeal cookies. We recommend about 1 cup dried cranberries. A great addition to the dried cranberries is ½ cup of coconut or white chocolate chips.
• Chopped Walnuts or Pecans – Even though the outside of these cookies has a nice crunch, nuts are a great addition for texture and flavor. You can choose to add in only nuts or add them in addition to raisins or chocolate chips. If you are adding nuts into the mix in combination with another ingredient, only add in ½ to ¾ cup of nuts. If you are only adding nuts, use 1 cup chopped nuts.

How to Make Oatmeal Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place parchment paper on baking sheets and set aside.
2. To make the oatmeal cookie dough, using a hand mixer or using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Add in flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix dry ingredients with the wet until combined. Fold in oats and any mix-ins like chocolate chips, raisins etc. if you are using them.
4. Roll into 2-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Gently press the cookie down just slightly with palm of your hand. Bake for 8-10 minutes in preheated oven at 350 degrees F or until edges are golden brown.
5. Remove and let cookies sit on pan 2 minutes and then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Can I use Quick Oats instead of Old Fashioned Oats?

If you use quick oats instead of old fashioned oats the cookies will be denser. So, while you can use the quick oats we recommend using old fashioned.

How to Store Leftover Cookies

ROOM TEMPERATURE: You can store these at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.

FREEZER: If you’d like to store these longer place in a freezer safe container or resealable bag and store in the freezer for up to three months.

Did you know you can stick a piece of bread in the container to keep them soft. The cookies will absorb the moisture from the bread. White bread is best because it doesn’t transfer the taste to the cookies.

More Easy Cookie Recipes!

• Love soft, chewy oatmeal cookies then make these Monster Cookies next!
• The easiest Sugar Cookies that are super soft and don’t require rolling out.
• There’s nothing like a classic White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie that’s soft and chewy.
• Love the flavors of a homemade S’more? Make these S’mores Cookies!