These truly are the best Classic Chewy Oatmeal Cookies you will ever bake! To make these dense and chewy cookies, a ratio of vegetable oil and browned butter are the key ingredients. There’s just a whisper of cinnamon. These are beyond delicious!
Are you Team Chocolate Chip Cookie or Team Oatmeal Cookie? I’m TEAM BOTH! There’s nothing worse, in my opinion, than a cookie that is hard as a rock. A cookie that is chewy, a little crispy on the edges with a buttery taste is a winning recipe! Trust me, this recipe fits that bill.
You don’t need an electric or stand mixer, either. You will need a skillet, to brown the butter.
Don’t skip this step! Browned butter adds so much flavor to the cookie dough. A stainless steel or light colored skillet makes it easier to watch the butter as it’s browning. The middle photo shows that the butter is almost at the “browned” stage. Remove from heat, add the cinnamon and pour into a heat-proof bowl.
To the browned butter, add vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Give that a whisk. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking soda together. Add the old-fashioned oats and raisins (if using). The batter will be thick, so a little elbow grease, and a spatula or wooden spoon, will give the dough a good mix. You can add chocolate chips and/or walnuts or pecans to make the cookies extra special, if you wish.
Let’s talk about cookie scoops, shall we? I have owned this set for many, many years. They are my favorite tool for shaping perfect and uniform cookies. These are great for shaping meatballs, too!
If you don’t have a cookie scoop, be sure your hands are wet to make shaping the dough easier. Otherwise the dough will be sticky.
With wet hands, flatten each cookie dough ball with a wet palm. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the sheet pan halfway through. Don’t over bake the cookies!
Here’s a little trick I’ve started with baked cookies, so that they look perfectly round in shape. I take a round form (this is a muffin form for making English Muffins) and surround a hot cookie (right out of the oven) while they are still pliable. Swirl the form around until the cookies are rounded. This is totally optional!
The cookies are very soft, so it’s really important to let the completely cool, before transferring to a cooling rack.
TASTING NOTES: It was hard to wait for at least 15 minutes before biting into one cookie. Swoon! Buttery and chewy with a subtle note of cinnamon. These are truly the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever baked or eaten. I want to make a version adding pecans and chocolate chips, along with raisins. I think they’d be excellent.
The Best Classic Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- 1 #24 Cookies Scoop (3 Tablespoons)
- cookie sheets and parchment paper
- large heat proof bowl
- spatula
- whisk
- 8" skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 5 ounces/142 grams; recommended King Arthur Flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar 5 1/4 ounces/149 grams: I used light brown sugar and that worked fine
- ½ cup granulated sugar 3 1/2 ounces/99 grams
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- 1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 9 ounces/255 grams ; quick oats not recommended
- ½ cup raisins optional
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
- Melt butter in 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat, swirling pan occasionally, until foaming subsides. NOTE: A stainless steel or light bottomed skillet makes it easier to watch the butter as it browns.Continue to cook, stirring and scraping bottom of pan with heat-resistant spatula, until milk solids are dark golden brown and butter has nutty aroma, 1 to 2 minutes. Immediately transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl, scraping skillet with spatula. Stir in cinnamon.
- Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and oil to bowl with butter and whisk until combined. Add egg and yolk and vanilla and whisk until mixture is smooth. Using wooden spoon or spatula, stir in flour mixture until fully combined, about 1 minute. Add oats and raisins, if using, and stir until evenly distributed (mixture will be stiff).
- Divide dough into 18-20 portions, each about 3 tablespoons. NOTE: A #24 cookie scoop makes this so much easier. Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared sheets, 8-10 dough balls per sheet. Using your damp hand, press each ball into 2 1/2-inch disk.
- Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookie edges are set and lightly browned and centers are still soft but not wet, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. DO NOT OVER-BAKE THE COOKIES! The cookies should feel firm along the edges, while the centers will be light in color. Let cookies cool on sheet on wire rack for 15 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely.
- Store in a container with a tight fitting lid. The cookies will stay soft and chewy the following day.
Notes
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