With my easy oatmeal cookies recipe, you will have fewer dishes to clean, no time is required for softening butter, chilling the cookie dough is optional, and the batter can be frozen for cookies another day. These might be the best oatmeal cookies ever! For more cookies with oats, see our oatmeal raisin cookies that do call for creaming butter and sugar together or these white chocolate cranberry cookies.
Key Ingredients
Oats: For the best chewy texture, I highly recommend old-fashioned rolled oats. Instant oats will work in a pinch but create a slightly different result. Avoid steel-cut oats for this recipe. Flour: I typically use all-purpose flour, but whole wheat flour is a good substitute. If you use whole wheat flour, your dough might be a tad dry, so add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk to compensate. Baking Soda: This is our leavening agent, ensuring our cookies rise beautifully and develop that gorgeous golden brown color. Spices: These oatmeal cookies taste amazing thanks to a combination of salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cardamom for the best flavor Sugar: We’ll need both brown sugar and granulated sugar. The brown sugar contributes to that irresistible chewy center and rich molasses flavor, while the granulated sugar helps create those crisp edges we all love. Butter: Melted butter makes this recipe so easy (it also allows us to add a nutty flavor with brown butter, which is optional but so good). If you’re vegan, swap it out for plant-based butter or coconut oil (just be aware that coconut oil might make your cookies a bit more oily). Egg: We’ll use one whole egg and one egg yolk for the perfect chewy, soft texture. If you are making vegan cookies, I’ve included tips for an egg substitute in the recipe. Optional Mix-Ins: These cookies are fantastic plain, but feel free to get creative with mix-ins! Dried fruits like raisins or cranberries, chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts, or chocolate chips are all delicious options.
How to Make Oatmeal Cookies
These oatmeal cookies are incredibly easy to make, and I’m here to walk you through the process (there’s also a quick recipe video next to the recipe below). You’ll start by melting your butter. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can brown the butter for an extra nutty, caramelized flavor. It’s totally optional, but I highly recommend it! (I use the same technique in my easy chocolate chip cookies and blondies.) Once your butter is melted (or browned), whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in one bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugars, egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and melted (or browned) butter. Then, combine the wet and dry ingredients, fold in your oats, and add any mix-ins you like, such as dried fruit or nuts. From there, you can bake or freeze the cookies for another day. Instructions for both are in the recipe. Easy! If you have an extra five minutes to spare when making these cookies, try browning your butter before adding it to the cookie batter. Browned butter adds a nutty richness to the cookies. I’ve provided instructions below, or you can see my recipe for brown butter. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, optional 10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 ½ cups (150g) old-fashioned rolled oats 1 cup (130g) raisins, dried fruit, chopped nuts, or chocolate, optional 2For browned butter (our favorite), melt the butter in a light-colored skillet over medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally to be sure the butter is melting evenly. As it melts, the butter will begin to foam, and the color will change from light yellow to golden and finally to brown. This only takes a minute or two. 3When the browned butter smells nutty and is a light golden brown, transfer it to a heatproof bowl to cool. When cool to the touch, use the browned butter in the recipe below. 2Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a medium bowl. Set aside. 3In a large bowl, whisk the sugars, whole egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and melted butter (or browned butter) together. 4Switch to a large rubber spatula, then add the flour mixture in 3 parts, stirring until they disappear. Fold in the oats and mix-ins like dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate. 5Roll the cookie dough into balls (about 1 ½ tablespoons of dough) and place onto baking sheets. Leave 2 inches between the cookies to allow for spreading. (For large cookies, use 3 to 4 tablespoons of dough and space them apart by 3 inches.) 6Gently press the tops of the cookies down a little to help them spread more evenly in the oven. 7Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, rotating once during cooking, for 9 to 15 minutes (larger cookies take a bit longer). They should be light golden brown around the edges but almost wet in the middle. 8Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
