Today is all about my favorite and the best chewy oatmeal cookie recipe. Calling it “the best” is a bold statement, I understand that. But, if you make this recipe, you will take a bite and quickly understand why!!! I am serious. I think if I were to pick my top three favorite cookies, this would be there. My top three cookies would be my chocolate chunk cookie, my monster cookies and then this oatmeal cookie recipe that I am sharing in this blog post!

This recipe has been around since I was little. Probably even before I was born. It is originally from my “Aunt Donna” and she makes them at all of our family gatherings. Every holiday she would bring these cookies, and still does. We all love them.

This chewy oatmeal cookie recipe has some of the basic cookie ingredients that I always keep in my kitchen. These ingredients will make a lot of different cookie recipes that I share on my blog! I always try to have them on hand.

• unsalted butter

• dark brown sugar - I prefer baking with dark brown sugar over light brown sugar! I love the rich flavor, as dark brown sugar is heavier on the molasses in it. It yields to better cookies in my opinion. It’s my secret touch! And an easy upgrade on your cookies.

• white sugar

• eggs

• pure vanilla extract

• salt

• All-Purpose flour

• Quick-cooking oats

• chocolate chips and/or raisins - The kind of chocolate is up to you! I use semi-sweet the most, but you can switch it up and use dark chocolate or milk chocolate. And I also love mixing it with raisins and doing both chocolate chips and raisins!

The secret to making these chewy oatmeal cookies is not over-baking them. Overbaking the cookies leaves them too hard and they will lose that irresistible chewiness in the middle that these cookies should have. To create a crispy outside and a chewy middle, I take out just as the edges are turning golden brown and the middle is juuuust done. Then, I let them cool on the baking sheets for at least 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

I have shared the recipe on St. Louis Magazine. and it’s also in my cookie cookbook where I share my top ten favorite cookie recipes. I hope you enjoy as much as my family does!

The Best Chewy Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup)

• 1 cup dark brown sugar

• 1 cup white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups oats (Quick cooking oats work best for this recipe, but rolled oats will work as well if you don’t have quick-cooking on hand)

• 2 heaping cups of raisins and/or chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a mixer, cream the butter and the sugars until creamy. Add in the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt to combine. Slowly add in the flour and then the oats, mixing until just combined.

2. Add in the chocolate chips and/or raisins.

3. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 9-10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking. At nine minutes, check to see if cookies are lightly golden on the edges and almost done in the middle. If the middle seems too undone, bake for one to two minutes more. Remove from oven, and let cool on sheets for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Store at room temperature.

My favorite way to make these cookies is with my kids and package them up and gift to neighbors. I find the recipe easy because you just put all of the ingredients in the mixer and it’s pretty forgiving and hard to mess up! I love that about oatmeal cookies. They already have a rustic look, so you don’t have to worry so nuch about whether the cookies look '“perfect”. And if you know me at all, you know that not being perfect is actually the best. Imperfect cookies made with love are the best kind of cookies!

If you make these, don’t forget to share with me and you can tag me at @urban.apron so I can see it and we can connect and share the moment together!