Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

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This is the Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie Recipe and is perfect for any occasion! Made with a rich buttery oatmeal base, a chewy texture, and super soft center. These are hands down the best oatmeal cookies!

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Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

There’s something extra special about oatmeal cookies. I remember indulging in them when I was little and I still crave the same nostalgic oatmeal cookie flavor from this recipe. Your whole family will love them, I know mine did-even my one year old was begging for more!

Fresh warm oatmeal cookies out of the oven with a glass of cold milk is SO satisfying. It’s one of my favorite combinations and I always seem to forget about it until I make this recipe. These chewy oatmeal cookies are extra buttery, delicious, and are the perfect cookies to make all year round- not just the holidays!

You can even make the best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by adding a handful of your favorite raisins or studding the tops of the cookies.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Soft and Chewy: These are the ultimate soft and chewy cookies. The extra chewiness comes from the brown sugar and the softness comes from the milk and oats. Baking them for only 10-12 minutes helps with the softness too.

Portable: These cookies are perfect for any occasion and can be transferred easily by placing cookies in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Pack them up for a picnic, party, lunch box treat, or bring them to work.

Any Occasion Dessert: These cookies make a perfect treat for any occasion, all year long! Bring them to a summer BBQ or serve them on a Christmas cookie tray.

Simple Ingredients: You don’t need any fancy ingredients to make these cookies and you’ll likely already have what you need in your pantry and fridge.

Key Ingredients

Flour: Spoon and level regular all-purpose flour when measuring it. Be sure not to scoop it out of the bag using the measuring cup. This way, you won’t accidentally measure out too much. You can also swap the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour if you wanted a healthier alternative.

Sugar: We use both granulated white sugar and light brown sugar or dark brown sugar.

Butter: You could use salted or unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, make sure to omit salt from the recipe.

Milk: The milk will make the cookies extra soft and the oats will absorb in the milk while the cookie dough chills.

Whole large egg: It’s best if the egg is at room temperature so it can incorporate with the other ingredients.

Vanilla extract: Enhances the flavors and adds warmth.

Old-Fashioned Oats: The star ingredient! Adds a wholesome and nuttiness flavor.

How To Make The Ultimate Oatmeal Cookies

Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Cream Butter and Sugars. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add milk, vanilla extract, and egg and beat again until fully combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Combine Dry Ingredients and Wet Ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two increments, then add the oats.

Chill Oatmeal Cookie Dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 1-3 hours.

Bake. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the cookie dough into balls with a mini ice cream scoop or cookie scoop (equivalent to 2 tablespoons of dough). Place onto the baking sheets at least 2-inches apart as they will spread. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Please note the bake time may vary depending on your oven. Remove and let cookie cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!

Pro Tips

Chill Dough: Don’t skip this part! Since the cookie dough has milk and softened butter, it needs to set so the cookies don’t come out flat. Chilling the dough will help the dough firm up and develop great flavor.

Add a Hint of Cinnamon: One of my favorite tips is adding a dash or two of ground cinnamon to the cookie dough. It adds so much flavor and takes these cookies up a few notches!

Room Temperature Ingredients: It’s always important that all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help the cookie mixture combine together more smoothly.

Leave Space: These cookies will spread so make sure to leave at least 2 inches of space between each cookie.

Oats: Make sure to use old-fashioned rolled oats- not quick-cooking oats, instant oats, or steel cut oats as it will completely change the texture.

Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Variations

Peanut Butter: Give these a peanut butter flavor by adding a few tablespoons to 1/3 of a cup of peanut butter to the cookie dough. Incorporate the peanut butter with the wet ingredients.

Chocolate Chips: You can add chocolate chips to the cookie dough for a chocolatey flavor. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, caramel chips, white chocolate chips, or chop up a chocolate bar instead.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: Add 1/4-1/3 cup of raisins, dried cranberries, golden raisins, or currents to the cookie dough when you add the oats.

Mini Cookies: Instead of scooping the dough into 2 inch dough balls, only scoop into 1 inch dough balls for smaller cookies.

Toppings: Top with these cookies with powdered sugar, a drizzle of your favorite icing, frosting, or white chocolate.

Add Crunch: Add a handful of your favorite chopped nuts to the top. Chopped walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts work well with this recipe.

Make Into Cookie Bars

Line a 9×13 cake pan with parchment paper. Prepare cookie dough batter according to the directions. Transfer the dough into the prepared pan and smooth out with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is very lightly browned and set. Cool fully before lighting parchment paper out of pan.

Once cooled, cut into bars and enjoy! 

Leftovers & Storage

To-store: Store cookies at room temperature in an air-tight container or large ziplock bag. They will stay fresh for 7 days. They will still be ok to eat after 7 days but they may start to get crumbly and stale. 

To-freeze: Allow the baked cookies to cool completely. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes to flash freeze or harden. Once hard, place the cookies in a large freezer bag or stack in an airtight container. Store for up to 3 months- when ready to serve, remove from the freezer to thaw until softened. 

Other Cookie Recipes

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
• Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
• Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
• Italian Ricotta Cookies
• Sugar Cookies