Favorite Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are the cookie that ends arguments. Half the family wants chocolate chip, the other half wants oatmeal, and this recipe quietly hands you both in one batch. Quick-cooking oats bring chewy heartiness, semi-sweet chocolate chips provide molten pockets, and butter-flavored shortening keeps the cookies thick and soft instead of letting them spread flat.

The brown-sugar-and-white-sugar combination is intentional. Brown sugar’s molasses brings moisture for chewy centers, while granulated sugar helps the edges crisp up clean. Together they hit the textural sweet spot.

A quick splash of hot water in the dough is the unusual move here. It softens the oats slightly and helps them blend into the batter for a tender bite, instead of the dry, almost crunchy oatmeal cookie you sometimes get.

Pro Tips

• Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. Stir just until combined. Overmixing develops gluten and turns these cookies tough.
• Use quick oats, not old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats absorb moisture faster and integrate into the dough, while rolled oats stay distinctly oat-shaped, which is fine but a different cookie.
• Pull the cookies when the edges are set and the centers still look slightly underdone. They firm up on the pan as they cool, which is what gives the chewy middle.
• Leave space (about 2 inches) between cookies on the sheet. They spread, and crowded cookies merge.

Variations

• Add a half cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for nutty crunch.
• Swap chocolate chips for butterscotch chips, white chocolate, or chopped candy bars for different flavor profiles.
• Stir in a teaspoon of cinnamon and a half cup of raisins along with the chocolate chips for an oatmeal-raisin-chocolate hybrid.