Sometimes, the simplest recipe can be the hardest to find. That’s why, today I decided to help you solve your longtime search for the ultimate old-fashioned oatmeal cookie. You know the one, flat and buttery, with crisp edges and a soft, chewy texture. And that vanilla aroma as they bake! Oh, the right oatmeal cookie is just so good.
I’ve baked dozens of batches of oatmeal cookies, but no more than I have in the past few weeks. I had a couple close successes, a few failures, and then I pulled these out of the oven, and the clouds parted. I wasted no time grabbing a glass of milk and plucking one hot off the pan. And then another one.
Even my meh-about-oatmeal hubby couldn’t resist a short stack of these scrumptious cookies!
Oatmeal cookies combine all the classic goodness of every good cookie in the world – the buttery indulgence of a chocolate chip and the spiciness of a snickerdoodle. Those are the best cookies in the world according to my household, at least! There is just nothing not to love about an warm, home-baked oatmeal cookie. The perfect throwback treat when you need a comforting sweet!
These are the best oatmeal cookies you will EVER bake. They’re so irresistible and delicious.
Bake a batch and I promise these will be one of your go-to cookie recipes for all time!
Old Fashioned Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars until fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until well blended. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir into butter mixture. Gently stir in oats until well blended.
- Shape dough into rounded golfball-sized balls (about 2 Tbsp. each). Place on prepared baking sheet (I fit 9 per sheet). Flatten with the bottom of a measuring cup dipped in sugar.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
These cookies look so perfect! Love oatmeal cookies with a glass of milk :)
I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for what feels like ages! Oatmeal cookies are my absolute favorites and I love how yours are thin yet with a soft and chewy centre. Can’t wait to try them out!
xo, Elisa
I could eat these cookies every day! YUM!
Mmmm oatmeal cookies are my favourites! I love your little nifty cookie rack as well :) Purdy! Thanks for the recipe :) x
I can always justify eating an oatmeal cookie because they just seem so healthy – even if there are better choices :) These look delicious Georgia!
mmmm I love classics like this!
I truly think soft and chewy oatmeal cookies are my favorite cookies in the world. There’s just nothing like biting into one warm from the oven! Or dipping one in milk. Or sandwiching ice cream between two of them. Or…. that’s it. I have to make these now.
Classic oatmeal cookies are one of my favs! I love your recipe…they look perfectly chewy.
Buttery oatmeal cookies are the best!
I’ve never made an oatmeal cookie without raisins in it. Yours look so perfect – I need to try this recipe.
Just made these! I did 1 1/4 cups of butter and 1/2 a cup of coconut oil…so. good.
I baked these cookies tonight. They are excellent!!! I made smaller cookies using a Tbsp. cookie scoop… they were the perfect size! I was wondering if there are any suggestions on cutting the sugar in this recipe and still have them taste good? I know it sounds crazy, but I want to make them for my dad, who can’t have a lot of sugar. Thank you in advance for any thoughts and thanks for a great tasting cookie recipe :)
I made these cookies today and they are wonderful! The first bite took me back to when I was a little girl and my mom would make oatmeal cookies. Thanks so much for this recipe!
I’m glad you enjoyed my favourite Oatmeal Cookie. This has been a family favourite for many years.
~Ann
Just made these cookies tonight and they are fantastic! I resisted the urge to double the recipe and made 2 separate batches.
I don’t think they will last till Christmas. But I am going to try to hide them away. They are really amazing. Just wondering if you have any ideas for storage to keep them soft and fresh till Christmas? Someone told me to put in Tupperware and add a slice of bread….any thoughts? Thank you again – I am so happy to have stumbled upon your recipe :)
I was wondering how old fashion oats would work? That’s what I keep in the house.
They sound so ooo yum!!
Old fashioned oats should work fine. Enjoy!
I add a piece of bread once they start going a little hard and it softens them everytime!
Freeze them! I do it all the time!
I tried these cookies out today for the first time and they are SO DELICIOUS! I’ve made a couple of oatmeal cookies before and so far this is the best one yet. I love the chewy texture and the taste is simple being plain bu the nutmeg and cinnamon just take it to another level. Definitely going to make these again and they are incredibly easy to make :D
Can you add raisins or chocolate chips to this recipe without messing the cookies up? Thanks
Yes, that should work fine. Enjoy!
Thank you Thank you i have found THE best oatmeal cookie recipe without raisins lol. My husband hated oatmeal cookies till i fixed these now both my son and husband fight over them. They come out perfect everytime!
Tried this recipe on Friday, they turned out amazing! Will definitely be my go to for oatmeal cookies. A friend said they taste a little like a snicker doodle. Which is always good. Lol
These are great, they turned out perfect when we made them. Thanks for posting.
Simon
Can I use old fashioned oats instead of instant? I bought this big box from Costco and am trying to find yummy ways to use it.
Great Recipe But it seemed a bit lacking in the oatmeal department so i added an extra cup of oats and they still came out wonderful :D
I made these tonight, and as soon as I opened the oven to take them out and the aroma hit my nose, I knew they’d be amazing! I did 1.5 batch and they’re wonderful. Just the right amount of crispness and chewiness.
I just took the first batch out! Great! Love them flat and chewy. I didn’t have quick oats so I used old fashioned. Really doesn’t seem to make any difference. I’ll do these again.
Yes, the original recipe as printed in the Toronto Star back in the early 80’s uses old fashion oats. It is what I use to make these cookies.
~Ann
Just wonder if you sifted the flour a few times before measuring it? Sounds like you may have added too much flour. Just an idea.
These are delicious. Made them according to your recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Wow, I used this recipe today and only added alittle ginger and clove. (Only because I add them to just about everything we eat.) Oh and about a cup of chocolate chips. And wow! Is all I can say.Great job! You have made the Porter Family Favorites :)
Thank you.
So super yummy. My whole family loved these cookies. So glad we found them.
These are good! I used vegetable oil instead of butter, flattened 2.5 tbsp to the size of my palm, and they spread quite thin, but were nice and chewy and had lacy brown edges. Next time I’ll flatten them less.
I added coconut and pecans and they were delish. Not sure why the flattening and sugar on top is needed? I just used a cookie scoop and baked.
I have made these twice now and they have been perfect both times. I veganize the recipe, using vegan butter, powdered egg replacer and I added a few raisins to the tops of each cookie. Nice flavour, soft and chewy. Thanks!
wow my husband said he would never eat an oatmeal cookie. well surprize. i hardly got any lol
thanks for this recipe it is hit here now.
Should I add extra baking time if I add a cup of chocolate chips and walnuts?
Perhaps add 1-2 more minutes. I have only ever made this recipe as written.
My name is also Georgia and my entire household loves these cookies! Great recipe and name, haha!
What do you mean “flatten with the bottom of a measuring cup dipped in sugar”? Do you roll the cookie balls in sugar and flatten
with a measuring cup? I apologize for even asking, obviously I’m not a baker.
Hi Anna! Press the bottom of a measuring cup (or a flat bottomed glass or can) into sugar. Then flatten the cookies with the flat bottom. Hope that helps.
I offered to do a “cookie bar” as a gift for my friends wedding… This is my go-to recipe but I can’t find anything about how many cookies this recipe will make?? I need to bake about 100 of these cookies if you can help I would really appreciate it!
Thank you for catching that! This recipe makes about 20 cookies, sometimes more. I hope everyone loves them for your event, good luck!
Exactly the texture I love in oat cookies! I like to add things to the dough (nuts, marshmallows, chocolate…) but on it’s own it’s already a delight
My husband wanted oatmeal cookies like his mom made. I’ve used every “original oatmeal cookie” recipe without success. I made these and he loves them. Perfect texture, just wonderful.
I made 4 different batches of these. One just as the recipe call for.
One with maple syrup/confectioner sugar icing.
One with milk/confectioner sugar icing.
And one that I added a little extra flour and baking soda and added 1 1/2 tablespoons Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.
All were delicious.
But the Fireball batch went first.
Imagine that.
Just made a batch. Sooo very good. 10 minutes to perfection! A little crunch and a little chewy.
Would like to try making these using old fashion oats and Demerara Sugar (dark brown sugar.) . Do you think that would work?
Dark brown sugar should work fine. I don’t know of the results using old fashioned oats, so can’t recommend them.
Do you have to flatten them or can you just scoop them onto baking sheet and bake
You should flatten them slightly to get the right thin + chewy texture. Enjoy!
I make these cookies for all new attendees at my church. People really love them and are most happy to receive their Baker’s Dozen the following week after attending our church
Yum! Used old fashion rolled oats and added unsweetened shredded coconut. Didn’t use the sugar flattening method since there’s already a lot of sugar. Might half the sugar next time and see how it tastes.
Maybe it’s because I reduced the amount sugar, but texture was too doughy for my taste. I added about an extra cup of oatmeal to next batch and tasted much better ! Still in the search of recipe to replicate those big thin crispy/chewy oatmeal cookie !
If you reduced the sugar, yes, the texture of these cookies will be entirely unlike they appear and taste. With the ingredients and instructions followed, these turn out perfectly every time.
Can you use regular salted butter? I can’t get the store now.
I made these last night and they came out delicious. However, the amount of cinnamon and definitely the total amount of sugar could be reduced next time as they were a bit too sweet for traditional oatmeal cookies. Anyway, will try again, thanks for the recipe!
Loved these cookies. I made them for my son’s rehearsal dinner. They were a big hit.
Thanks for the recipe !
Hello! I think I might have read wrong so I wanted to make sure before trying agin… is that 1 AND 2/3 cup flour, or 1 TO 2/3 cup flour?
That is 1 AND 2/3 cup flour, Liz! Happy baking.
Best ever added raisins and dark chocolate chips so good .
I’m not a fan of oatmeal cookies but I made them for my husband who loves them. I tried one and it was wonderful. The best I’ve ever had. I’ll be making them now that I know how good they ar
Can you make the cookie batter a day before and refrigerate?
These are best oatmeal cookies I ever eaten
So buttery and chewy. I even reheated them to for 30 sec and they are absolutely delicious