Loaded Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
If you find standard oatmeal raisin cookies a little boring, these giant Loaded Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies will definitely change your mind. Unlike most large cookies that spread out thin and flat in the oven, these beauties hold their shape and bake up deliciously thick and chewy. All it takes is one simple swap to get that tall, bakery-style cookie that everyone craves.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Loaded Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Serves: 24 Jumbo Cookies
- Main Ingredients: Wet Ingredients, unsalted butter, vegetable oil, 1½ cups packed light brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, Dry Ingredients
- Why You'll Love It: Packed with semi-sweet chocolate, toasted coconut, and tart cranberries, these giant chocolate chip oatmeal cookies stay soft for days thanks to a rich butter-and-oil hybrid dough!
The Fat Swap You Need to Try
Most homemade oatmeal cookies either turn into flat, crispy pancakes or end up dense as a hockey puck. The secret to getting that thick, pillowy bakery texture comes down to a fat swap I swear by: combining butter with vegetable oil. Butter gives you that undeniable, rich flavor we all crave, but oil is pure fat that stays liquid at room temperature. That tiny addition of oil locks in moisture so these centers stay melt-in-your-mouth soft for days!
Using quick oats instead of thick rolled oats keeps the dough cohesive without feeling heavy. Then come the mix-ins, and I don’t hold back here! Those deep semi-sweet chocolate, toasted coconut, and tart dried cranberries hit every single taste bud at once. It’s sweet, buttery, chewy, and slightly tangy; you just have to experience it for yourself! I always like to have a little variety when it comes to my cookies, so I recommend checking out these simple old-fashioned butter cookies to balance out your flavors.
Ingredients For Loaded Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Unsalted butter
- Vegetable oil
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Large eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Quick oats
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Sweetened shredded coconut
- Dried cranberries
Expert Tips from My Kitchen
- Forget rolling your dough into smooth, neat spheres. When you scoop out your 1/4-cup portions, gently squeeze the dough into a tall, jagged cylinder, almost like a little rustic tower. Leaving the top craggy gives you those gorgeous, golden bakery ridges as it expands in the oven instead of a plain, smooth mound.
- Before you add your mix-ins, let the wet dough sit on the counter for 5 minutes after folding in the quick oats. Oats are thirsty little sponge blocks; giving them just a few minutes to drink up the liquid ingredients prevents the cookies from spreading too fast or leaking oil on the baking sheet.
- Want that bakery look where every mix-in pops? Don’t bake them all inside the dough! Keep a small handful of chocolate chips, cranberries, and coconut strands on the side (and save some for coconut-coated Oreo balls). The second you pull the hot tray out of the oven, press those extras gently into the soft tops while the dough is still warm and malleable.
How to Make Loaded Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
1. Prep the Oven and Sheets
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper so the cookie bottoms brown evenly without sticking.
2. Cream the Wet Base
In a very large mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter, vegetable oil, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs until the mixture is completely smooth, pale, and creamy.
3. Whisk Dry Ingredients
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Bring the Dough Together
Gradually stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in the quick oats, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and dried cranberries until evenly distributed. The dough will be thick!
5. Scoop and Shape
Use a 1/4-cup measuring cup or large ice cream scoop to portion the dough. Gently squeeze each scoop together with your hands, leaving the mound tall rather than flattening it. Space six cookies per baking sheet to leave plenty of room for spreading. Press a few reserved chocolate chips and cranberries on top if desired.
6. Bake and Cool
Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden brown but the centers still look soft. Let the cookies rest on the hot baking sheet for 10 minutes to finish setting before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
Enjoy!
Loaded Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies FAQs
Yes, but it will change the texture slightly. Quick oats are finer and absorb moisture faster, creating a cohesive, tender dough. Rolled oats will make the cookies extra hearty and craggy, but you may want to let the dough rest for 10 minutes before scooping so the oats soften up a bit.
Over-spreading usually happens if the butter was melted instead of softened, or if the dough mounds were flattened before baking. Make sure your butter is soft to the touch (not greasy or liquid) and leave your 1/4-cup scoops tall when placing them on the pan!
Absolutely! Scoop and shape the tall dough balls, place them on a parchment-lined sheet, and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. You can bake them straight from frozen at 375°F; just add 1 to 2 extra minutes to the baking time. You can even use the leftovers to make oatmeal cream pies.
Store the completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Tucking a single slice of plain white sandwich bread into the container lets the cookies absorb the moisture from the bread, keeping them soft for up to a week!
Similar Recipes
If you are as obsessed as I am with sweet and chewy treats, you should definitely check out my Éclair Icebox Cake or a pan of my Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies next!
Get baking and let me know how your loaded chocolate chip oatmeal cookies turned out in the comments!
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
Dry Ingredients
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups quick oats
Mix-Ins
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1½ cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a very large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and eggs until smooth and creamy.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Fold in the quick oats, chocolate chips, coconut, and dried cranberries. The dough will be thick.
- Scoop the dough using a ¼-cup measure. Gently squeeze each scoop together and leave it slightly tall rather than flattening it.
- Place six cookies per baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between them.
- Press a few extra chocolate chips, cranberries, and strands of coconut onto the tops for a bakery-style finish. (optional)
- Bake for 11–13 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden, but the centers still appear soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.