These classic old-fashioned Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are a family recipe that has been passed down for generations. Made with just a few pantry staples, you can whip up a batch of the easy, homemade treats whenever a craving strikes — and then share them with your loved ones!
This recipe is near and dear to my heart, since these are the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies that my dad grew up on.
His grandmother made them for her grandchildren, and her grandchildren then shared the cookies with their friends and families.
My dad recently shared the recipe with me, and told me about the history of the cookies as well.
When my dad went away to college, his grandparents used to send him care packages of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies every month. My great grandmother and my great grandfather would sit down together and individually wrap each cookie in tissue. The wrapped cookies were then placed in old Maxwell House tin coffee cans and shipped to my dad in a cardboard box.
Soon enough, my dad’s friends caught on. Whenever Dad was seen carting a cardboard box back to his dorm from the mailroom, he suddenly had a trail of young men following along beside him.
My great grandmother’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies would practically disappear before they even made it inside! My dad was never more popular than when a box of cookies arrived on campus!
My dad’s childhood friends have passed this cookie recipe down to their children and grandchildren; the cookies have been presented as school projects; and they continue to be enjoyed by my cousins and other relatives.
These humble, buttery, chocolate-filled treats have garnered a cult-like following over the years…and you’re about to see why!
What ingredients do I need to prepare Old Fashioned Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies?
This is good news, my friends. Dangerous, perhaps?!
You probably already have everything that you need right there in your kitchen!
That’s what makes these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies so great — you can enjoy them whenever you get a hankering for a sweet treat! They’re easy, they’re quick to mix together, and they only require a few pantry staples (that’s right — no eggs!):
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Oats
- Chocolate chips
- Flour
- Baking soda
Before you scurry off to your kitchen to bake yourself a batch, I should note that these are NOT your average Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
They’re not chewy, but instead are thick with a crisp exterior and a rich, buttery inside. They’re like a perfect cross between a shortbread cookie, a chocolate chip cookie, and an old-fashioned oatmeal cookie. The best of all worlds, I suppose!
Looking for more easy homemade cookie recipes? Try these:
- 3-Ingredient Classic Scottish Shortbread Cookies
- Old-Fashioned Williamsburg Gingerbread Cookies
- Amish No-Bake Cookies
- Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Cookies
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Old Fashioned Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened at room temperature but still cool to the touch
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (80 grams) old fashioned rolled oats
- Âľ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus extra for garnish if desired
- 1 Âľ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and powdered sugar, about 2 minutes.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and oats, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically.
- Gradually add the flour and baking soda, mixing until a very thick dough comes together and you don't see any dry pockets of flour.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie dough scoop, drop the dough about 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Press a few extra chocolate chips into the top of each dough ball, if desired.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers are still a little bit soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before storing.
These look so fluffy and delicious! Chocolate chip cookies can do no wrongs ????
Totally agree, Kristy! You can never go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie!
Oh goodness, I made these today. They are heavenly. You gave a perfect description of them. Love the texture and taste and the fact that it is such an old-fashioned family recipe–thank you!!!
Wonderful, Teresa! I’m so glad that you enjoyed them! Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
I haven’t made the cookies yet but your story was so great! I love recipes that have a history
Thanks so much, Joey! 🙂
When you say powdered sugar, do you mean like icing sugar or regular granulated sugar?
Hi, Tobs! Powdered sugar is also known as “confectioners sugar” and has a very fine, smooth consistency. Here’s a link: https://www.dominosugar.com/products/confectioners-sugar
Oops I used icing sugar and they still tasted great
More like a shortbread oatmeal chocolate chip cookie
I’m so glad that they worked well regardless! 🙂
Assuming it matters, what kind of oats? Whole oats? Rolled oats? Steel cut oats? Quick oats? Instant oats? Please advise. Thanks. Michael
Hi, Michael! The recipe from my dad’s grandmother actually didn’t specify, so I’ve just always used Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (which work well). Hope you get to try them! 🙂
Hello,
I would love to make these and I have a question – do you really bake them for 25 minutes? I haven’t seen a cookie recipe where it has that long of a bake time.
Please advise and thank you!
Michelle
Yep, that’s what the recipe calls for. You’re right — most of the cookies that I bake only need about 10-12 minutes in the oven. These cookies are very thick and they have a crunchy texture (thanks to the longer baking time). If you want a softer, chewier oatmeal cookie, these are perfect (and have a shorter baking time to keep them soft): https://www.theseasonedmom.com/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-recipe/
Hope that helps clarify! Enjoy. 🙂
This is the recipe I have been looking for everywhere! My mother made these for years and it was an old passed down family recipe I never wrote it down as I always asked her before I would make them and she knew it by heart! Well she got dementia and misplaced all her cookbooks and is now very sick and can’t remember anything! So I have been panicking this season because we have to have them! So I have searched and yeah you saved the day, only difference is we put almond bark on top and add a few pecans to half the batch!! ThĂ nk you so much for sharing!!
That’s such an amazing story, Betty! Thank you for taking the time to leave me a note. It’s wonderful to think about how many memories and positive associations we have with food. You definitely don’t want to miss out on your mom’s cookies this season! 🙂
do you really have no eggs in this receipe Deb Holtz dholtz_52@Hotmail.com
Hi, Deb! That’s correct — this particular recipe does not include eggs. 🙂
Absolutely delicious, and so easy!
Thank you, Mary!
My husband’s mother made these cookies for years. The recipe was always “her secret” and she wouldn’t share because then they weren’t “her” cookies. Needless to say, she doesn’t remember how to make them anymore so this was the recipe I’ve wanted for years. They taste exactly the same and my husband and his siblings were so happy when I took them to a family party recently. Thank you so much!
We’re so glad you found them, Dawn! Thank you for sharing.
Yay!!! I have been looking for this recipe for ever. Our great aunt called them chocolate chip Yum Yum’s. I think she worked for General Motors as a cook in the cafeteria after World War ll in Illinois. She was a great baker who grew up in MN. I’ve always wondered if we had the recipe right. Yours is exactly, exactly what was passed down in our family. They are our family Christmas cookie. Our kids tradition is now just making the dough on days off of school to eat raw! it is their favorite memory eating the dough before baking. It is so good. We were so excited to see this recipe in print on the Internet after all these years and see that it was a real recipe other families made. We bake them for less minutes with our ovens that run hot.
No way!! That’s an amazing story. I would love to know where my great grandmother originally got the recipe. My dad grew up outside of Chicago, so maybe it’s a midwestern/IL thing? It’s so fun to hear from others who love them as well!
Oh my, These are delectable! I kept thinking “what about the egg? There’s no egg in this recipe…” then I read the notes. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe and it’s history. Describing them in all their buttery goodness as a perfect cross between a shortbread cookie, a chocolate chip cookie, and an old-fashioned oatmeal cookie is brilliant.
Thank you, Barbara! We’re so glad you enjoyed them and trusted us in the lack of egg.