These oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies are pure perfection! Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Plus, they're super easy and quick to make! Just mix and bake, that's it!
These oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies are so, so good and so easy! They're the perfect mix of oats, chocolate, and nuts. They have the traditional chocolate chip cookie taste and flavor with the delicious texture of old-fashioned oats and the slight crunch of the walnuts.
They're seriously a perfect cookie - especially considering how quick they are to make. Unlike these brown butter chocolate chip cookies which chill for two days in the fridge, this recipe is similar to this crispy chocolate chip cookie recipe, in that there is no need to chill this cookie dough before baking so you can eat a warm oatmeal chocolate chip cookie in 30 minutes flat!
They also make great ice cream sandwiches and are a wonderful cookie for holiday cookie exchanges or gifts!
Ingredients
- Chocolate: You can use any type of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks – dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, M&Ms, whatever you like!
- Old-Fashioned Oats: I recommend using old-fashioned oats as they give the cookie a great chewy texture. But, you can definitely use quick oats if that is what you have and/or prefer.
- Butter: This recipe uses unsalted butter. You can use salted, just decrease the salt in the recipe by ¼ tsp.
- Granulated Sugar and Molasses: This recipe calls for all granulated sugar and molasses, essentially making our own brown sugar (as brown sugar is just granulated sugar and molasses).
How to Make
Step 1: Make Cookie Dough
Whisk Dry Ingredients: Mix together the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Cream Butter: Cream the butter for 2-3 minutes, until it is very light and creamy.
Add Sugar and Molasses: Mix in the sugar and molasses. Notice when you add the molasses to the creamed butter and sugar, it looks just like you've added brown sugar (which is just a mix of granulated sugar and molasses anyway)! Mix another 2-3 minutes until fully combined, light, and fluffy.
Add Egg, Vanilla, and Milk Mix in the egg, milk, and vanilla. It's fine if it looks a bit curdled, it come together when we add the dry ingredients.
Mix in Dry Ingredients: Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix the cookie dough, you want it just combined.
Fold in Chocolate and Nuts: Gently fold in the chocolate and nuts.
Step 2: Scoop, Press, and Bake
Scoop Cookies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Drop 2 tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, keeping them 2-3 inches apart. An ice cream scoop is great for getting even-sized cookies.
Press: Once you've got the dough on the baking sheet, flatten the dough using the bottom of a cup. I recommend placing a piece or parchment or wax paper on top the dough and under the cookie to keep the dough from sticking to the cup.
Bake: Bake one cookie sheet at a time in a 350 ℉ preheated oven, in the middle rack for 10-12 minutes until the cookies start to brown around the edges. Once done, remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet 10 minutes, then move a cool rack to finish cooling. Once cool, enjoy!!
Tips and tricks
- Measure out the flour and oats using the spoon and swipe method of fluffing up the ingredients and then spooning into the measure cups and swiping the excess off the top with a knife. If you dip the measuring cup directly into the flour or oats it can pack down and you will add too much flour to the recipe.
- You can make the cookies bigger like a bakery-style cookie, or make smaller mini cookies, just know it will change the baking time.
- An ice cream scoop works great for getting even sized cookies.
- Want round picture perfect cookies? Use the cookie cutter hack of turning cookies to perfect circles. You can also use a heat safe bowl or large cup.
- If you forget to press the cookies before baking, you can firmly tap baking sheet on a heat proof surface counter top when it gets out of the oven. This will flatten them a bit. They'll also flatten a bit when they cool.
Fun Variations
These cookies are super customizable! You can use any type of nuts in place of the walnuts, such as almonds, peanuts, or pecans.
You can also replace the nuts with raisins for oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies or use M&Ms like in these spring themed Oatmeal cookies:
Making Ahead and Storing
These cookies will last a week or two in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze the oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies (either baked or unbaked) for up to a month. Just bake a few minutes longer if the dough is frozen.
Looking for More Cookie Recipes? Check These Out!
- Double Chocolate Chip
- Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies
- Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Hand Held or Standing Mixer
- Bowl
- Baking pan
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 285 g spooned and leveled
- 2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats, 200 g spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened, see notes for using salted
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tsp molasses
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
- 1.5 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In mixing bowl, stir flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a standing mixer or a hand-held mixer with a large bowl, beat the butter on medium to medium high, about 2-3 minutes. You want it to be a pale yellow and very creamy.
- Add sugar and beat another 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Add the molasses and mix until fully incorporated, again scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add eggs, one at a time, allowing each egg to incorporate before adding the next.
- Slowly add the vanilla extract and milk and mix until incorporated. At this point the dough might look a bit watery and curded. That's totally fine it will firm up once you add the flour mixture.
- Add the flour/oat mixture and mix on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure the dough is fully mixed and all the flour and oats have been incorporated.
- Turn off the mixer a gently fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts using a spatula.
- Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, add balls of 2-3 tablespoons of dough to prepared baking sheet, leaving around 2 inches between each cookie.
- Use the bottom of cup to flatten each ball of dough to about a 2 ½ to 3 inch circle. Putting a piece of parchment or wax paper between the dough and the cup will prevent the dough sticking to the cup.
- Place the baking tray in the oven and bake 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- When the cookies are done, remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy!
Notes
- Measure out the flour and oats using the spoon and swipe method of fluffing up the ingredients and then spooning into the measure cups and swiping the excess off the top with a knife.
- This recipe calls for old-fashioned oats, but you can use quick oats if desired.
- If using salted butter, decrease added salt by ¼ tsp.
- A cookie scoop works great for getting even sized cookies.
- The baked cookies or unbaked cookie dough can be frozen (see post section on making ahead for details).
- This recipe makes about 2 dozen 3-inch cookies.
- These cookies will last about a week in an airtight container at room temperature.
Elisa says
Is it necessary to use molasses in this cookie recipe? Can I use something else?
Sophia Assunta says
While I haven’t personally tried it, one of my readers used brown sugar instead of sugar and molasses. She did one cup of granulated sugar and one cup brown sugar and said it turned out great (you should see her comment if you scroll down). Let me know if you try it and it works out!
Liz Huggins Davis says
Husband and neighbors loved them! Used toasted pecans in them.
Sophia says
so glad you liked them!!
Sharon says
Great cookie! Just as you said; crispie outside & soft in the center. Will make these again. Thank you!
Lauren says
These cookies are great! Decided I wanted to leave the molasses out, and I did 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar and they were SO GOOD! My son and husband absolutely loved them.
Sophia says
so glad you liked them!!
Mogey says
Delicious flavor. BUT they just spread out flat, like lace cookies.. No STRUCTURE. Had to eat in crumbles and pieces.
Too much butter?
I did 2 cookie sheets the first time. 9 on each. They just puddles out.. While waiting i put dough in fridge for about 30 min. O
I the used a 1.5 Tbl spoon scoop, did not press down. Came out better but still they did not hold together very well.
I’ll look for another recipe. Holding in fridge for an hour or so will help.
Sophia says
Hi, sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you! It definitely sounds like something was off in your measurements. I’ve made these cookies many times and they don’t spread a lot, which is why you can bake them without chilling if you wish. Hopefully you find a recipe that works for you!
Tammy says
My 1st batch did the same, completely flat and I know that I had all measurements correct. Left the butter out overnight, maybe too soft? I have the rest in the fridge and will also try smaller portion and not flatten out. Hopefully they’ll taste good!
Tara says
You had me at just mix and bake! These cookies look absolutely fantastic and I love that texture.
Andrea says
We love oatmeal cookies! This walnut and chocolate chip one sounds fantastic. Will be baking a batch of these this weekend!
Anita says
I love the addition of walnuts in these cookies. The classic just got an upgrade!
Mirlene says
Any cookie will have my hearts desire. Oatmeal cookies are my favorite especially when chocolate chips are involved!
Kerri says
I love a good quick and easy recipe! These very much remind me of my grandmother’s oatmeal cookies but better! I especially love that quick oats can be used!