These are the best oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies! This recipe makes thick, chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with gooey chocolate and frosted with creamy brown sugar buttercream.
I’m always finding new ways to put a fresh spin on classic oatmeal cookies, from butterscotch oatmeal cookies to peanut butter oatmeal cookies. These frosted chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies are a fast favorite!
Today’s chewy oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies were inspired by Ben & Jerry’s popular Oat of This Swirled™ ice cream. It’s one of my all-time favorites, with brown sugar ice cream, cinnamon, chocolate chunks, and oatmeal cookie swirls. I had so much fun turning it into a cookie! These oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies are thick and soft with crisp, buttery edges and heaps of melty chocolate, frosted with creamy brown sugar cinnamon frosting.
- No chilling. You only need one bowl to mix the cookie dough, and there’s no chilling required.
- Rich, caramelized flavor. If you’ve made my oatmeal raisin cookies before, you’ll know I use only brown sugar in my oatmeal cookies. It produces extra soft and moist cookies with a deeper flavor.
- Made with quick oats. I use quick oats instead of rolled oats for a more uniform texture in the cookie dough. This recipe will work with rolled, old-fashioned oats, too, if you like a chunkier cookie.
- Frost them, or don’t. In a pinch, you can leave these cookies unfrosted (but why?!). I love the brown sugar frosting in this recipe, as it ties in with the ice cream that inspired the cookies. But if you’re pressed for time, skip the frosting and enjoy ooey-gooey chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies as they are! Even better, top them with a scoop of ice cream.
What You’ll Need
I’ve taken my classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and tweaked them slightly for this recipe. You’ll find notes on the important ingredients below. Scroll down to the printable recipe card after the post for the full list with recipe amounts.
- Butter – I always bake with salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you’d like. Soften the butter to room temperature before you start.
- Brown Sugar – Dark brown sugar or light brown sugar both work well. I prefer dark for a deeper flavor.
- Eggs and Vanilla – Bring the eggs to room temperature, too. You can substitute vanilla extract with an equal amount of vanilla paste if needed.
- Dry Ingredients – All-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Check the best-before date on your baking soda package to make sure it’s not expired.
- Quick Oats – You can certainly substitute old-fashioned, rolled oats if that’s what you have in the pantry. It won’t hurt. Your cookies will just have a chunkier, “oaty” appearance.
- Chocolate Chunks – These can be semisweet, dark, or milk chocolate chunks or chocolate chips, whichever you prefer. You can even mix things up with white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips.
- Frosting – I include the recipe for my brown sugar frosting with the addition of cinnamon. I like Saigon cinnamon, also called Ceylon cinnamon, as it has a bolder flavor.
Quick Oats vs. Rolled Oats
You’ll find a lot of recipes that recommend rolled oats (old-fashioned oats) as the best oats for baking. And while that’s true in some cases, I find that quick oats work best in these cookies. The only difference between quick oats and rolled oats is that quick oats are cut into smaller pieces before they’re rolled, so they soften, well, quicker. They give these oatmeal cookies a less chunky, even texture, but it’s totally a matter of preference.
This is a quick cookie recipe. The cookie dough goes straight from the bowl to the baking sheet without chilling. Follow the steps below, and scroll down to the recipe card for the printable recipe instructions.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Start by creaming the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla until that’s smooth and fluffy.
- Add the dry ingredients. Next, slowly add the flour, salt, and baking soda to the wet ingredients. Fold in the oats and chocolate chunks last.
- Scoop the cookie dough. Portion the cookie dough into balls about 1½ tablespoons in size, and place them onto a baking sheet. Leave a couple of inches in between to account for spreading.
- Bake. These oatmeal cookies need only 8-9 minutes in the oven at 350ºF, just enough to get them golden around the edges. Do your best not to overbake! After the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, move them to a wire rack.
- Make the frosting. When the cookies have cooled completely, combine the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat for 2 minutes, then turn the mixer to low and add the cinnamon and powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and milk (or cream), a little at a time, until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Frost the cookies. Finally, spread the frosting over each cookie and let it set before serving.
Tips and Variations
- Use a cookie scoop. If you have one, a cookie scoop makes it easy to portion cookies that are the same size, so that they bake more evenly.
- Check the oven temperature. Overspreading can be the result of an oven that’s too hot. If your oatmeal cookies spread too much for your liking, you may need to adjust your oven temperature slightly lower so the cookies have enough time to set before the butter in the dough melts.
- Don’t overbake. For perfectly chewy, soft-baked oatmeal cookies, let the cookies bake just until they are golden around the edges. Don’t overbake, or they’ll become dry and crumbly. They’ll continue to set up on the baking sheet afterward.
- Different frosting. Just about any frosting or icing would go great slathered over these cookies. Try my classic buttercream, creamy chocolate frosting, or heritage frosting for something different.
- Spice them up. Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the oatmeal cookie dough for a touch of warm spice. You could also add pumpkin pie spice or chai spice (I love it in these chai sugar cookies, too).
- Make cookie bars. I think this recipe would make fantastic oatmeal cookie bars! That brown sugar frosting? Slathered over an oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie slab? Drool.
- At room temperature. Keep the frosted oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days.
- Freeze. You can freeze the unfrosted cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw the cookies at room temperature before frosting and/or serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 9 minutes
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 36 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
This easy recipe makes the best thick, chewy oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies loaded with gooey chocolate and frosted with creamy brown sugar buttercream.
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 cups quick oats
- 2 cups chocolate chunks
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark…I used dark)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 lb powdered sugar (4–5 cups)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3–4 Tbsp milk or cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and brown sugar together until combined, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes until light in color.
- Slowly add in flour, salt, and baking soda and mix until just combined. Slowly pour in oats and mix.
- Fold in chocolate chunks.
- Form about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough into balls and place on a baking sheet 2″ apart. Bake 8-9 minutes until golden around edges.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar together for 2 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add in cinnamon and powdered sugar.
- Finally add in milk and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Spread approximately 1 tablespoon of frosting on each cookie.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie without frosting
- Calories: 185
- Sugar: 13.1 g
- Sodium: 106.2 mg
- Fat: 9.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.8 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
- Cholesterol: 23.9 mg
My cookies didn’t flatten out like your picture…? I used my small cookie scoop. I forgot to use my dark brown sugar but will next time, along with my bigger cookie scoop. Will the frosting lose the crunch crunch from the brown sugar if I cream it longer?
a little bit, yes
Is there no baking powder or baking soda in the recipe? I didn’t see it in the ingredient list. Thank you for the recipe!
There’s baking soda in the cookies 🙂 it’s listed in the ingredients…the seventh ingredient listed!
The cookies are the BEST!!! My husband says they are the best he has ever had. Thank you for the recipe! I need to make a ton of these for a function (dozens and dozens). Would you recommend freezing them with the frosting ON them? Or frost them after defrosting?
Hi Shelly
How would stack or store these cookies to keep the frosting on them, if you want to give these as gifts.
I would let them sit out for a few hours for the frosting to set up. It’s a fluffier frosting so it will never set up completely. But I night recommend laying them sideways in a box and using parchment paper to separate them.
Made these a couple days ago and my family and I love them. They’re super moist and the cinnamon buttercream frosting adds the perfect touch!
Has anyone used reg oats rather than quick oats? does it make a difference??
These look amazing, Shelly…what a great combination of some of my favorite flavors. Pinned!