Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

Name: Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled slightly ((4 ounces/ 113 grams)); 1 large egg ((about 2 ounces/ 57 grams, out of shell)); ¾ cups firmly packed brown sugar ((6 ounces/ 170 grams)); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup all-purpose flour ((4 ¾ ounces/ 135 grams)); 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 ½ cups quick or old fashioned oats, uncooked (5 ¼ ounces/ 148 grams)); 1 cup chocolate chips ((6 ounces/ 170))

Nov 6, 2019 · 29 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Easy Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookie with chocolate chips. Soft and Chewy. One Bowl. No Raisins. (Unless you want them!)

Today we’re talking about oatmeal cookies. Specifically, oatmeal cookies made with brown sugar. I have some strong opinions about oatmeal cookies. I want them to be made with brown sugar and chocolate chips—no granulated sugar or raisins for me, thank you. They also need to be easy. Too many recipes are a bit finicky for such a simple cookie. They call for a combination of sugars and ask you to rest the batter for up to an hour before baking.

Who’s got time for that?

I believe, down to my toes, that oatmeal cookies should be easy. This is a weeknight cookie—something you should be able to make in minutes.

And my last requirement? The batch can’t make dozens and dozens of cookies. Grandma might have wanted a recipe that churned out five dozen cookies but I don’t.

What These Taste Like

Classic oatmeal cookies. The type you want someone to bake for you when you’ve had a rough day. They’re soft and chewy and filled with oats with just a hint of cinnamon and a generous amount of chocolate chips*. You won’t find any coarse sea salt sprinkled on these cookies, nor does the recipe require you to brown butter. And when they’re baking, oh my goodness, friend, the house smells amazing. (Confession: if a hug had a scent, I think it would smell like a tray of warm oatmeal cookies.)

(*Raisin lovers, there’s a place for you too. Simply replace the chocolate chips with an equal amount of raisins.)

What You’ll Love

Besides the flavor and texture, two things stand out about these brown sugar oatmeal cookies.

How easy they are to mix. You don’t need an electric mixer to make these cookies. Can you use one? Of course! But you don’t need to. The dough is stirred together in under two minutes and doesn’t require chilling.
The size of the batch. Traditional oatmeal cookie recipes make four dozen (or more!) cookies. This recipe makes two dozen cookies.

Why Brown Sugar in Oatmeal Cookies?

It perplexes me why so many oatmeal cookies use granulated sugar. Don’t get me wrong, granulated sugar has its place in cookies, but oatmeal cookies? They practically beg for the molasses-sweetness of brown sugar.

Use either light brown or dark brown sugar in this recipe. Both make for tasty oatmeal cookies. (I prefer dark brown sugar because it’s flavor is more pronounced. But that’s just my flavor preference, not a must-use.)

Instant Oats or Old Fashioned?

It’s up to you! When made with old fashioned oats, the cookies are a bit chewier. Instant oats make for (slightly) softer cookies.

Use whatever you have on hand. (Just don’t use steel-cut oats. Those won’t work.)

How to Make Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

Melt the butter. You can do this in either the microwave on low power or in a small saucepan over low heat.
Whisk the butter and egg together until it looks like lemon curd. This step is a bit unusual. You whisk the melted butter and egg together until it’s creamy and smooth. It’ll look like a cross between lemon curd and mayonnaise.
Add the brown sugar and vanilla. The sugar dissolves a lot in the egg-butter mixture and at this point, everything looks like a thick caramel sauce.
Add the dry ingredients, minus the oatmeal. Now’s the time to switch from a whisk to a wooden spoon. Stir the flour into a mixture until you don’t see any streaks of flour. The dough will look very soft at this point.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips. Add the oats and chocolate chips and stir until combined. The dough stiffens almost immediately.
Scoop and bake. Grab a cookie scoop and drop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the cookies are set and golden brown on the edges.

FAQ: Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

Can I keep the dough overnight?

No. This dough is best made within an hour and a half of being mixed. Since the butter isn’t creamed together with the sugar, the only lift comes from the baking soda. After an hour or so, it loses its oomph.

Can I replace the chocolate chips with raisins?

Of course! Replace the chocolate chips with an equal amount of raisins. Or do half chocolate chips and half raisins.

Can I add nuts?

Yes. Add up to one cup of chopped nuts to the dough.

How do you freeze oatmeal cookies?

Allow the cookies to cool completely. Place them in a freezer container and separate layers with wax or parchment paper. Freeze the cookies well up to three months.

Other Cookie Recipes You’ll Love

Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Cookies.
So easy. Just three ingredients.

Cookies and Cream Crispy Treats.
Everything you love about crispy treats plus sandwich cookies.

Coconut Macaroons.
4 Ingredients. Soft and chewy coconut goodness.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Marshmallows.
Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Toasted Marshmallows. (Think of these as a chocolate chip cookie bar with a s’more twist.)

4.95 from 18 votes