During my search for my favourite oatmeal raisin cookies (recipe here), I came up with a buttery, chewy, oatmeal cookie base.  So I adapted that recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in 2 ways – a standard cookie that’s thick and healthier and another one that’s thin and not so healthy.  Both recipes make chewy cookies but the second recipe makes great crunchy cookies too.

The first recipe below makes cookies that are on the thin side (the way I like them).  They’re buttery and chewy in the middle with beautifully crisp edges.  The second recipe makes cookies that are healthier, heartier (ie. “oatier”), and thicker.  They can be made chewy or crunchy to suit your preference.  Both recipes have received great reviews but I personally like the first recipe (the less healthy one) a lot more [of course].  🙂

Check out my tips for baking cookies.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe #1

This recipe makes about 3 dozen thin and buttery cookies that are chewy in the middle and crispy on the outside; adapted from Cuisine Magazine (originally posted here).

1 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups oats, not instant

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips or coarsely chopped dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  In the stand mixer bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until fluffy and lighter in colour.  Beat in the eggs one at a time and then beat in the vanilla extract.  Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Then gently mix in the oats and chocolate chips until just mixed together.  Using a #40 cookie dough scoop, drop balls of cookie dough onto a  silpat (silicone) mat lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.  (Or roll the dough into golf ball sized balls, using approximately 2 tbsp of dough.)  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until the edges are golden.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Enjoy warm or at room temperature.  These freeze beautifully.  Simply defrost at room temperature before serving.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe #2

This recipe makes about 3 dozen thick and chewy (or crunchy) cookies; adapted from Cuisine Magazine (originally posted here).

1 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature

2 cups all purpose flour

3 cups oats, not instant

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups semi sweet milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  In the stand mixer bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until fluffy and lighter in colour.  Beat in the eggs one at a time and then beat in the vanilla extract.  Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Then gently mix in the oats and chocolate chips until just mixed together.  Using a #40 cookie dough scoop, drop balls of cookie dough onto a  silpat (silicone) mat lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.  (Or roll the dough into golf ball sized balls, using approximately 2 tbsp of dough.)  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until the edges are golden.  Bake for 1 to 2 minutes longer if you prefer crunchy cookies.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Enjoy warm or at room temperature.  These freeze beautifully.  Simply defrost at room temperature before serving.