When I want chocolate chip cookies, I make chocolate oatmeal cookies. And, when I want super easy and simple cookies, I make one bowl chocolate oatmeal cookies. The nutty, chewiness of old fashioned oats, the deep, rich chocolate flavor of bittersweet chocolate chips, and the zing of dried cherries combine to make a cookie recipe that is one of my favorite comfort foods.
There are all sorts of chocolate chip cookies in the world, from thin and buttery to thick and chewy, from crispy all flour cookies to soft oatmeal cookies, and all sorts in between. Growing up, we were generally a basic Toll House recipe household when we wanted to make cookies, and, when we didn’t want to make cookies, we would get a box of soft, chocolate chip cookies from the store.
However, for decades now, I’ve been more of a oatmeal cookie fan.
Always cherries or cranberries, never raisins. (Full disclosure: Not much for raisins.) Always chocolate chip, moving from milk chocolate to semisweet to bittersweet as my tastes have changed. And light on the spice. I don’t like my basic oatmeal cookies to taste too much like a spice rack. š Though I do have other, spicier cookie recipes I enjoy!
Want to know the best part?
This particular recipe is my easiest oatmeal cookie recipe.
No mixer! No creaming the butter! Just a whisk and a bowl or two. I use one bowl, but you could mix together the dry ingredients in another bowl before adding them. The hardest part is waiting for 30 minutes while the cookies hydrate and get to their highest potential for yumminess. Clean up the kitchen, preheat the oven, check your email, play a quick game with the kids, and before you know it, it’ll be time to pop the cookies in the oven. And then it’ll be time to eat them! Yum!
If you try my recipe for One Bowl Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 oz (2 sticks, 16 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (5 oz) dried cherries, or cranberries or cranberries
- 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Melt the Butter: Melt the butter over low heat until it's almost all melted. Take it off the heat and let it the residual heat finish melting it. Check the temperature. The butter needs to be between 100-110F for it to combine with the rest of the ingredients properly.
- Make the Cookie Dough: Once the butter is at the right temperature, transfer it to a bowl and add the vanilla, egg, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, and baking soda. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
- Then add the oats, flour, cherries, and chocolate chips directly into the bowl. Use a large spoon or silicone spatula to mix the dry ingredients into the batter.
- Rest the Dough: Let the cookie dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Bake the Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Scoop out the dough in 2 tbsp portions onto a baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- When done, allow them to cool for 1-2 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Cookies will keep for 3-4 days in a sealed container.
Notes
- Resting the Cookie Dough: Allowing the cookie dough to rest hydrates the oats and makes softer, more even cookies. Warning: While you do have a little wiggle room on the timing, don't let them rest for much more than an hour! The baking soda will lose its oomph over time.
- Scooping the Cookies: I use a Zeroll #30 2-tbsp disher to make the cookies. The disher is just the right size and has a quick release which makes scooping out the cookies very quick.
- Chocolate: The chocolate chips I like are the Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, though any bittersweet chip will be fine.
Jenn says
Really easy to make and love the resting idea. I followed the recipe to a T, but also added a dash of cinnamon and some chopped nuts. Came out great!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Love the cinnamon idea! And I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Vanessa says
Hi! Just made these with my daughter and left out the dried cherries/cranberries. I only baked them for 10 mins and they came so flat, really brown around the edges but still gooey in the middle. Any suggestions as to where I went wrong?
justalittlebitofbacon says
When it come to making these cookies, the butter temperature when you add it to the dough is very important. If it is above 110F, you will get thin cookies that brown easily on the edges. 105F is the perfect temp which I always shoot for. Could that have been the issue?
Vanessa Liguori says
Yes that could have been why! I didn’t have a thermometer to check the temp of the butter. They still taste delicious so I will definitely make them again. Just need to invest in a thermometer! Thank you! š
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m glad I could help, Vanessa! A basic instant read thermometer is a useful tool so it’s not a bad idea to have one in general.
Sara from Independence MO says
I had the same result as Vanessa in her comment of June 28, 2018 and I closely watched the thermometer and added the butter at 108 degrees. They were very flat and very crispy on the edges. It was as if the dough “melted” as it baked. For the second batch which was about the remaining half of the dough, I added a scant 1/4 cup of flour. The result was an improvement with a thicker cookie that was chewy. They were still nothing like your photo, though. If I made these again, I might try to add 1/3 to 1/4 more cup of flour. What do you think?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Hmmm. With two people, I’m wondering if this is a measuring issue. This an older recipe where I didn’t include the flour weight/measuring instructions. This recipe uses 5 oz cups of flour by weight (without a scale it’s the dip and sweep method – dip the cup into your flour and then sweep off the excess) so you need 7 1/2 oz flour. If you are spooning into the cup you will have much less (probably something like 6 – 6 1/2 oz) which would give you a thin cookie.
Another difference could be the pan. Insulated pans make for thinner cookies. I use a basic, thin baking sheet. The kind you can buy at the supermarket.
jacquee | i sugar coat it says
This look so YUMMMMMILICIOUS! All that melty chocolate….Ohhh!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! š
Farida says
love easy cookie recipe and they look extremely delicious! But with 1 cup of brown sugar, are these cookies rather soft?
justalittlebitofbacon says
The cookies are quite soft and tender and a little chewy, and stay soft for a few day if they are kept in a sealed container
Mackenzie says
This recipe has all of my favorites : bittersweet chocolate, cherries, and oatmeal cookies! I’m with you on not liking my oatmeal cookies to taste much like a spice rack! Thanks for sharing!
justalittlebitofbacon says
My favorites too. š Thanks!
Jagruti says
OMG..theese cookies looks so tempting..I just need cuppa !
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! A cup of coffee or tea and one of these cookies sounds good to me. š
Nayna says
I love the look of these cookies they look delectable .The picture is so mouthwatering.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! Those gooey chocolate shots are rather tempting.
Fareeha says
These are delicious. I totally am in love with them. I had all the ingredients necessary so I gonna tried it. Yum!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed. š
Cathy | whatshouldimakefor.com says
I am seriously drooling over these cookies! Love the chewiness from the oatmeal. I’m take it or leave it in the raisin camp too, so this is so up my alley!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Yeah, the chewiness is good! And thanks. I took those photos fast to get all that gooey chocolate. š