Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies are the big, soft, chewy kind: butter creamed with brown and white sugar, a little cinnamon, and 3 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats. A short chill keeps them from spreading, and pulling them from the oven while the centers still look a little underdone keeps them soft for days. The recipe makes 24 cookies, plain or with raisins, chocolate chips or nuts stirred in.
How to make them: Cream softened butter with brown and granulated sugar until fluffy, beat in the eggs and vanilla, then mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the oats and any add-ins, and chill the dough at least 30 minutes. Scoop 2-tablespoon balls onto a lined sheet and bake at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Let them cool on the pan.
Why You’ll Love Them
- Soft and chewy: brown sugar, a spoonful of cornstarch and a light underbake keep them tender.
- Hearty oats: old-fashioned rolled oats give the cookies real texture.
- Make-ahead dough: it keeps in the fridge up to 3 days or in the freezer for months.
- Your choice of add-ins: raisins, chocolate chips or nuts, or none at all.
Ingredient Notes
Butter: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened but still a little cool. If you use salted butter, leave out the extra salt.
Sugars: 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Brown sugar adds moisture and flavor and makes the cookies soft; dark brown sugar makes them even softer and chewier. More granulated sugar gives crisper edges.
Eggs and vanilla: 2 large eggs, at room temperature if you can, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
Flour: 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, bleached or unbleached, not self-rising. Spoon it into the cup and level it off; scooping the cup through the bag packs in too much and makes the cookies dense.
Cornstarch: 2 teaspoons keeps the cookies soft and chewy without making them cakey. Arrowroot starch works in its place.
Leavening and spice: 1 teaspoon baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon table salt and 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon. You can leave the cinnamon out, but it adds a lot of flavor.
Oats: 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats. See below for what changes with quick oats.
Add-ins: up to 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, chopped nuts or raisins, if you like.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature preferred
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or raisins (optional)
How to Make Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies
1. Cream the butter and sugars. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or with an electric beater) for about 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, pausing to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Mix the dough. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until completely combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl so everything is well mixed.
5. Stir in the oats. Gradually stir in the oats until completely combined. If using raisins or chocolate chips, stir them in at this point.
6. Chill the dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
7. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 375°F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
8. Scoop the dough. Drop rounded 2-tablespoon balls of dough onto the parchment, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. For rounder, more even cookies, roll each ball between your palms first.
9. Bake until the edges color. Bake at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are slightly browned. The centers may still look slightly underbaked but should not be raw; the cookies finish baking as they cool.
10. Cool on the sheet. Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet before serving.
Old-Fashioned Oats or Quick Oats?
Yes, you can use old-fashioned oats in oatmeal cookies; they’re the ones this recipe is built on. Old-fashioned rolled oats are less processed than quick oats, so they give a heartier, chewier cookie with more texture.
Quick oats taste the same but soak up liquid faster. They’ll work in an equal amount, but the cookies come out less chewy, less hearty and a little drier. If you only have old-fashioned oats and want a finer texture, pulse them a few times in a food processor, stopping well before they turn to powder.
The Secret to Soft, Moist Oatmeal Cookies
- Cream until fluffy. Beat the butter and sugars until light, not just until combined. It works air into the dough.
- Chill the dough. At least 30 minutes in the fridge keeps the cookies from spreading too much, and a longer rest deepens the flavor.
- Pull them early. Take them out when the edges are set and lightly browned and the centers still look a little underdone. They finish cooking on the warm pan and stay soft for days.
- Trust brown sugar and cornstarch. Both help keep the cookies moist and chewy.
- Keep them covered. Store them airtight as soon as they’re cool.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Overbaking: waiting until the centers look done gives dry cookies.
- Scooping the flour: too much flour makes dense, dry cookies. Spoon and level instead.
- Skipping the chill: warm dough spreads into flat cookies.
- Under-creaming: butter and sugar that are only just mixed give a heavier texture.
- Trusting the dial: ovens run hot or cool. An oven thermometer on the center rack tells you the real temperature.
- Storing them warm: cookies packed away before they cool can turn soggy.
Variations
- Classic add-ins: raisins, chocolate chips or chopped nuts, about 1 1/2 cups, with no other change.
- More mix-ins: dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or chopped pecans.
- Softer and chewier: use dark brown sugar in place of light, or add an extra egg yolk.
- Toasted oats: toast the oats in a dry pan for about 5 minutes before mixing for a nutty flavor.
- Brown butter: brown the butter, let it cool slightly, then use it for a deeper, caramel-like taste.
- Warm spice: add a pinch of nutmeg or ground ginger with the cinnamon.
Storage
Room temperature: Once the cookies are completely cool, keep them in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Layer them with parchment or wax paper if you stack them, and skip the refrigerator. If they start to dry out, tuck a slice of bread into a corner of the container, not on the cookies.
Freezing baked cookies: Pack them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or warm them in the oven for a few minutes.
Freezing the dough: Scoop balls onto a parchment-lined sheet and freeze a couple of hours until firm, then move them to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake them straight from the freezer, without thawing, adding a minute or two to the bake time.
What to Serve With Them
Serve them with a glass of cold milk or a cup of coffee. For a cookie plate, add maple cookies with maple icing and Baileys Irish cream chocolate chip cookies.
More oat treats: oatmeal raisin cookie bars baked in a pan, no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies made on the stove, pumpkin oat cookies and banana blueberry oatmeal breakfast cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use old-fashioned oats in oatmeal cookies?
Yes. Old-fashioned rolled oats give heartier, chewier cookies than quick oats, and they’re what this recipe uses.
What is the secret to making moist oatmeal cookies?
Brown sugar, a little cornstarch, a chilled dough, and taking them out of the oven while the centers still look slightly underbaked. Store them airtight once cool.
Should I chill oatmeal cookie dough?
Yes, for at least 30 minutes. It keeps the cookies from spreading too much. The dough can wait in the fridge up to 3 days.
How long do oatmeal cookies keep?
Up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes. Freeze scooped balls until firm, bag them, and bake from frozen, adding a minute or two.
Final Notes
Cream the butter well, chill the dough and pull the cookies a little early, and you’ll have a batch that stays soft and chewy all week. If you make them with dried cranberries and white chocolate, tell me in the comments how they turned out.
Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour spoon it into the cup and level it; do not scoop the cup through the flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or raisins optional; stir in after the oats
Instructions
- Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or with an electric beater) for about 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, pausing to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until completely combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl so everything is well mixed.
- Gradually stir in the oats until completely combined. If using raisins or chocolate chips, stir them in at this point.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
- Heat the oven to 375°F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Drop rounded 2-tablespoon balls of dough onto the parchment, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. For rounder, more even cookies, roll each ball between your palms first.
- Bake at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are slightly browned. The centers may still look slightly underbaked but should not be raw; the cookies finish baking as they cool.
- Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet before serving.
