This oatmeal cookie recipe is easy to throw together, but results in the perfect cookie. These delicious oatmeal cookies are crisp on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside.
We love a delicious oatmeal raisin cookie in our house (well, some prefer the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie), but a plain oatmeal cookie is amazingly delicious. These are fantastic with a glazed top or just enjoy them plain!
How to Make Oatmeal Cookies
Here is a brief overview of how these easy oatmeal cookies come together. For the full recipe including all measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1: Whisk the Dry Ingredients
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until completely mixed.
Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugar
Beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will take between three and six minutes.
Step 3: Add Eggs and Vanilla
Add the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl down so everything mixes well.
Step 4: Add the Flour
Add all of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat on the mixer’s lowest setting until it just begins to combine. Then turn the mixer up and mix it until it is just combined. It is crucial to measure the flour correctly. Your best bet is to use a scale, but if you don’t have one, see this post: How to Measure Flour.
Step 5: Mix in the Oats
Mix until just combined. The difference between rolled oats or old fashioned and quick cooking oats is the size of the oat piece. Old fashioned oats are whole, while quick cooking have been broken down so are smaller. I prefer the chewy texture that old fashioned oats add to this recipe, but your cookies will still be delicious with quick cooking oats.
Step 6: Roll the Cookies
Use a cookie scoop to scoop the cookies and roll them into balls. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown.
Step 7: Glaze the Cookies (optional)
If you want to make iced oatmeal cookies, whisk together the milk and the powdered sugar while the cookies are cooling. Lightly dip the top of the cookie into the glaze. Transfer to a wire rack to allow the glaze to set.
Oatmeal Cookie Glaze
These cookies are absolutely delicious without gaze, but my kids love frosted oatmeal cookies. Made with powdered sugar and milk, it is the perfect sweet addition to these chewy oatmeal cookies. If the glaze is too thick, you can add an extra 1/2 tablespoon of milk to thin it.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure your baking soda is fresh. If your baking soda is more than six months old, it won’t react like it should. To test your baking soda to see if it needs to be replaced, mix a little bit with some vinegar. It should bubble up right away. If it doesn’t, it is time to toss it and get new baking soda.
- Use room-temperature butter. Please do not soften your butter in the microwave. Instead, cut it into one-inch pieces and let it sit on the counter to soften. It should be soft enough to dent with your finger, but not push all the way through.
- Thoroughly cream the sugars and butter. This is a really important step in making cookies, so be sure not to rush it. By adding air to the butter, not only will the cookies puff up in the oven, but it will actually give you more cookies out of your batch of dough than if you just mixed them together. You need to beat the sugar and butter together until it is light and fluffy, which will take about five minutes. See the photos above to see what it looks like at this step
- Add the flour all at once. Rather than adding a little at a time, add all of the flour mixture and give it a really slow quick mix so it doesn’t fly everywhere, then a quick high-speed mix to integrate it. Doing it this way adds the flour quicker and means less overall mixing, win-win!
- Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop. Not only does this make quick work of scooping cookies, but it also creates uniform-sized cookies that will bake evenly.
Cookie Scoop
Adding Chocolate Chips or Raisins
If you want to add raisins or chocolate chips to your homemade oatmeal cookies, add one cup of chocolate chips or one cup of raisins when you add in the oats. You can check out my recipes for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies or Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Freezing Cookie Dough
If you want to make the oatmeal cookie dough and freeze it to bake the cookies later, follow these steps.
- Follow the recipe through placing the cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can place them closer together, but make sure they aren’t touching.
- Put the baking sheet in the freezer for one hour. This will flash-freeze the dough balls.
- Transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to three months.
- When you are ready to bake, take out as many frozen dough balls as you’d like to bake. Put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Storing and Freezing Oatmeal Cookies
These oatmeal cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to one week, or stored longer in the freezer. To freeze them, transfer the cooled cookies to a freezer-safe bag and store them in the freezer for up to three months.
Other Great Cookie Recipes
If you make this oatmeal cookies recipe or any of my other recipes, I’d love to hear what you think and would be so grateful if you came back and left a comment!
Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookies
- 2 cups all purpose flour see note (240 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (197.8 grams)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (148.5 grams)
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed (159.8 grams)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups old fashioned oats (178 grams)
Glaze (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (340.5 grams)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Oatmeal Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until completely mixed.2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, with a hand mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will take between 3 and 6 minutes.14 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time. Then add in the vanilla. Be sure to scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula before each addition.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add in the flour mixture. With the mixer on its lowest setting, beat the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until it just begins to combine. Then turn the mixture up and finish combining it until it is just combined. Be careful not to continue mixing after the flour is combined in.
- Mix in the oats.2 cups old fashioned oats
- Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookies and roll them into balls. Place 2 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. For best results, rotate the pan halfway through. Remove from the oven, let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Glaze (optional)
- To glaze the cookies, whisk together the milk and the powdered sugar. If the glaze is too thick, you can add an extra 1/2 tablespoon of milk to thin it.1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
- Lightly dip the top of the cookie into the glaze. Transfer to a wire rack to allow the glaze to set.
Notes
Jenny G says
These sound delicious. I’m going to make these for my kids school lunch boxes.
Just for your information (and anyone else who was going to increase the quantitiea before printing), I increased the quantity for printing purposes. It alters the cup amounts etc, but the weight in grams remains the same as for a single batch (ie, the oats doubles to 4 cups, but remains at 178g).
You are correct. The function that increases the amounts does not impact what is written after the ingredients such as the gram weight listed there or things like, “shredded” or “diced.”
Ada says
I made these cookies for a party I had and there were a hit! The recipe make around 22 cookies, and I was left with a little extra glaze, but that doesn’t matter much. They were delicious! I am making them again this week because of how much comments they got from my guests.
Great recipe, and keep up the good work!
I’m so glad these were such a hit!