Because I am happiest when I let cakes be cakes, and cookies be cookies in all of their real-butter-and-refined sugar bliss, I rarely swap whole wheat or other ingredients in desserts in an effort to put a health halo on them, with two exceptions. The first is morning baked goods, usually muffins like these I’d make for the kids on a weekday, which just feel more breakfast when they least resemble, say, a birthday cake, not that there aren’t days that require that, too. The second is when I think the baked good is improved by the ingredient swap — more crisp/craggy, dynamic or flavorful. I just never expected it to happen to what we call our House Cookie — a one-bowl oatmeal cookie I’ve probably made many times a year for well over a decade, always putting extra scoops in the freezer, so we can have freshly baked cookies when life demands them.
But when, like most of us, I ran low on white flour in April, I used whole wheat instead and discovered that the recipe wasn’t just as good as it was with white flour, but better. Crunchier, more flavorful, and even nuanced. From there, I swapped in a little raw sugar. I bumped up the salt a little. I added a little extra cragginess, sometimes with wheat germ or bran, and at other times with finely-chopped walnuts. A little baking powder gives them an almost Levain-like height at larger sizes, if you rest the dough a bit. Don’t worry, they’re still a treat — butter, lots of dark chocolate chunks or chips, and we like them on the big side, in 3-tablespoon scoops, for the most varied and interesting texture. And even though regular flour is back at regular prices on all of the shelves, they’re so much better like this, I haven’t gone back to making them the old way and I bet you won’t either.
* Did anyone else read this Atlantic article about flour shortages this spring? I was so surprised to learn that wheat supplies weren’t the issue (as more flour went into homes, less went to restaurants) but the paper bags grocery-sized flour is packed in.
Previously
6 months ago: Ultimate Banana Bread
1 year ago: Cinnamon Sugar Scones
2 years ago: Breakfast Burritos
3 years ago: Marbled Banana Bread
4 years ago: Piri Piri Chicken and Chocolate Pavlova
5 years ago: Oat and Wheat Sandwich Bread
6 years ago: Cauliflower Slaw, Cucumber Lemonade, and Sunken Apple and Honey Cake
7 years ago: Fudgy Chocolate Sheet Cake and Frico Grilled Cheese Sandwich
8 years ago: Roasted Apple Spice Sheet Cake and Homemade Wheat Thins
9 years ago: Roasted Tomato Soup with Broiled Cheddar and Apple and Honey Challah
10 years ago: Monkey Cake and Beef Chili + Sour Cream and Cheddar Biscuits
11 years ago: Grilled Lamb Kebabs + Tzatziki and Snickerdoodles
12 years ago: Spinach Quiche, Bread Without A Timetable and Black-and-White Cookies
13 years ago: Tortilla de Patatas and Chocolate Babka
14 years ago: Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake
Whole Wheat Oat Chocolate Cookies
This makes just a small batch, perfect for our weekday needs. I promise you will not regret it if you make double. I like these cookies best with old-fashioned rolled oats, the heartier, the better texture. [I’m using Bob’s Red Mill here.] I’ve made these before with medium rye flour, instead of whole wheat, and they were delicious. I make these with a leveled 3-tablespoon scoop, this one. Baked right after you mix it, the cookies can can spread to about 3.25 to 3.5″; after chilling in the fridge, even just a couple hours, they stay more heaped when they bake, spreading only to 3″. If you don’t have raw sugar, just use more brown sugar.
- 4 tablespoons (50 grams) raw or turbinado sugar
- 1/2 cup dark (95 grams) light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature for a hand-mixer; cold is fine for a stand-mixer
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup (95 grams) whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) wheat germ, wheat bran, oat bran, or a finely chopped nut of your choice (I like walnuts)
- 1 1/2 cups (120 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips, or semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks
- Flaky sea salt, if you wish
In a large bowl, beat sugars, butter (if cold, in chunks), and salt together until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until mixed. Sprinkle baking powder and baking soda over batter and beat until very well-combined, then a few more times around the bowl. Scrape bowl down. Add flour, wheat germ, oats, and chocolate and mix just until the flour disappears.
Arrange 3-tablespoon mounds of cookies 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle each with a couple flakes of sea salt. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Cookies will be golden brown all over. Remove from oven and let set up on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Extra dough will keep in fridge for 3 days, and longer in the freezer. I like to scoop then freeze it on a tray; once solid, I’ll pack them tightly in a freezer bag. You can bake them directly from the freezer; it usually only takes 1 to 2 minutes longer. Cookies baked from cold will spread less.
Your oatmeal raisin cookies are a staple here, too! Anxious to try these.
Wow, the first comment! Do you think I could use extra flour in place of the germ/bran?
The crispy crunchy with melty chocolate pillows is divine. Thank you!
I’ve been craving both oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies. As usual, your recipes are exactly what I need! Can’t wait to try this!
I have been searching for decades for the perfect chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and this recipe is the secret. I used the walnuts rather than wheat germ and otherwise made as directed. The crunch of the turbinado sugar was noticeable and texturally wonderful. Chilling the dough and using a 2 TB scoop made 22 perfectly sized delightfully craggy cookies. I shared with two sets of neighbors who loved them too.
Totally agree, whole wheat flour makes chocolate chip cookies way better!
I have successfully used some quick oats inplace of the bran.
These look awesome! I just made chewy chocolate chip cookies from Sarah Kieffer’s 100 cookies book and they were great.
I think you meant a recipe link to this phrase – “usually muffins like these”?
Yes, thanks.
I have made the original of these dozens of times for a week day treat and obviously adored them. I’m intrigued to try this new take and delighted that you recommend making them big. In the original you said you made loads from batch, but I never could make them as small as you recommended and always felt slightly piggy. I think there’s so much more interesting texture in a larger cookie. Thank you for everything you do!
I was looking at that yield and it’s true, I always liked 1-1.5T cookies and now I don’t want anyone to ask me for a second cookie or feel that they’ve been insufficiently allotted so I’ve caved to the medium-large cookie. Texturally, it’s more interesting too.
If one were to substitute regular granulated sugar for the turbinado, should that be done by the weight or by the volume?
You can or you can use more brown sugar.
Just made these for my learning-from-home teens. Delicious! They didn’t mind that they are relatively health. Only issue was they took much longer to cook to get brown – close to 20 minutes. Oven temp was right. I used ground almonds for the bran since it was all I had but otherwise made recipe as written. Any thoughts on why it took so long?
Oops, meant to be a new message thread. Sorry!
I had similar feelings about cooking times. I did a couple of batches, and the ones I took out at the 14 min mark didn’t look done. However, they were the winners for taste once cooled as compared to the ones I kept in longer, waiting for browned edges.
These were SO good and the perfect size batch!!
These are SO good! My family is eating them warm from the oven as I write this. I asked my 6yo “are these delicious or extremely delicious” and he enthusiastically voted extremely delicious! I made them as written with wheat germ and baked from cold at 325 with convection. Wish I had doubled the recipe, but now I’ll make again ASAP with pecans. And hide them away!
I love that the “5 years ago” recipe gives me another use for the whole wheat flour and oats I will surely buy this weekend to make these cookies! Cool how that worked out. These cookies look amazing.
Have you tried these with quick oats?? It’s all I have at the moment and I JUST went to the store 🤦🏻♀️
Yes, but they don’t have the texture. It’s more smooth, less variety.
Can you use wheat germ AND nuts?
I would do half-half, not add more or it can end up too thick/dry.
I did and they were good!
I made them with quick oats and thought they were delicious, but I haven’t compared them to regular oats.
Thank you for this delicious recipe! They were a huge hit and will make again. I added cinnamon and will maybe add raising next time too.
Looks like salt isn’t listed in the instructions and I almost left it out of the batter. Oops!
Deb, you goddess, I have Bob’s Red Mill Extra Thick Rolled Oats in the pantry and have been wondering if I could bake with it successfully. Thank you!
Hi Deb! I have wheat berries at home. Could you pulse those in a food processor in place of wheat bran/germ?
I think so, especially if you can get it pretty finely chopped.
Made these with hazelnut flour instead of chopped nuts: delicious. Next made it with oat bran instead of chopped nuts, also delicious. Not a chocolate lover (I know, but otherwise I’m “normal”), used butterscotch chips in one and raisins in the other. Plan to try dried cranberries next.
So nice to see oatmeal cookies on yor site today! I make a version of these cookies for high stress times. We live in Santa Rosa, CA and these cookies, with a big mug of ginger tea, are the perfect de-stresser during fire season.
Hope you are safe. (in western Sonoma County)
Can’t wait to try these! They remind me a bit of the big, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies from Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain which are also just better with whole wheat flour– nuttier, more interesting. Can’t believe I didn’t think to swap whole wheat flour elsewhere!
Would white whole wheat flour work? Or not hearty enough?
It will be fine.
A stick of butter is a lot for a dozen cookies.
Then choose a different recipe? I’m curious what you were looking for when you made that comment.
These look delicious to me! Thanks, for sharing them with us, Deb! In fact, they so include everything I love most in a baked good (hearty texture and density, plenty of butter, whole grains, something a little crunchy and nutty, chocolate) that I may make them for my birthday.
I cannot wait to make these as written. They look perfect. I have a bag of spelt flour….any chance that would work? Have you used spelt flour in anything? Just curious as it’s an usual ingredient I have just waiting to be purposed.
Hi Claire,
Spelt flour is a pretty low-stakes substitute for wheat flour, I’d encourage you to start trying swapping out part of the flour in your baking with it! I’m sure it will work here too. Have fun.
Thank you!
I have used spelt flour but not in cookies. I think…. it should work here? Wow, not very confident. But this cookie is mostly oats with some flour as binder vs. most oat cookies which are a lot more flour with a smaller amount of oats. If anything, it should be more forgiving.
Thanks. These look like cookie perfection.
I made these with whole grain spelt flour and they were spectacular.
FWIW, a NY times article on flours indicates that at least in terms of protein content, that whole grain spelt is the closed match for whole wheat flour.
I added in a half cup of raisins and didn’t have large eggs, so I used one medium egg + a yolk. I also added in a tsp of finely ground Vietnamese cinnamon.
My family demolished the batch and proclaimed them their new favorite cookies.
I just mixed a new batch — am going to freeze pre-meted out in cupcake liners so that I can bake one or two whenever the mood hits.
Cupcake liners to hold the unbaked portions–brilliant! Thanks for that.
I can help here! I bake exclusively with white spelt and whole spelt flour in place of AP/whole wheat due to a horrible sensitivity to certain strains of wheat. I make MANY of Deb’s awesome recipes using spelt and I can tell you with total confidence that if you measure BY WEIGHT, you can sub spelt flour in the recipe for any wheat flour called for and your cookies will come out great. This is true for basically anything leavened with baking powder or soda – quick breads, muffins, cakes, crackers, etc. (Yeast-based recipes are also doable but a bit trickier due to the complexities of hydration level.)
These look delicious! Can I substitute raisins for the chocolate chips in this? Would I be able to use cracked wheat?
Could you make these as a skillet cookie in a cast iron pan?
Hi Deb,Thanks for checking! I was on my laptop, accessing through Microsoft Bing, and I used the Print button. I just tried it again and the same thing happened. So I tried to print another recipe and had the same result. This is a first for me on your website, as I’ve always used the print icon that was located below the Related recipes, above comment section. I noticed the icon is now gone.
If you read the recipe you would see it makes very large cookies as written. Makes closer to two dozen with a regular cookie scoop. So they have exactly as much butter as a typical cookie recipe (two sticks, four dozen yield).
What could you use instead of wheat germ or the brans? Flax meal?
Yes, or another nut or seed.
I used ground chia seeds instead of the wheat germ because that’s all I had and they were delicious! Will be making them again (with the chia cause my boyfriend bought a big bag and I never know where to use it haha)
mandie, i have been making this recipe for a couple of years now. i never have wheat germ, so i increase the amount of oats by 15g and increase the amount of flour by 10g to make up for the 25g of wheat germ. they are fantastic. i also think this recipe is made better by adding a tsp of cinnamon powder and a heaping 1/8 tsp of nutmeg. i made them two days ago and forgot them and was sad. they were still good, but not nearly as good with the added spices!
Great recipe. I love cookies bust should stay away. This could moderate the craving. Could chia seeds substitute for wheat germ?
I will let Deb give the final word, but I would think that might mess up the texture because chia seeds absorb so much liquid.
I have wheat pastry flour – may I sub that equally? Can’t wait to make these!
I think it should work fine here.
I used whole wheat pastry flour and they were flatter than the picture, but delicious.
I used whole wheat pastry flour and baked from cold after stashing the dough overnight in the fridge. They came out absolutely delicious but mine hardly spread at all. They were not at all flat, so perhaps refrigerate the dough (or not) depending on your preference.
New favorite cookie! We LOVE them, made as written. Thank you so much!!!
Here, let me casually cite this article in which I am quoted! Hahaha, you’re too much!!
But that info is so interesting – I had thankfully bought my 50 lbs of flour last December. I’m only now getting to the end of it, and very sad to find that it’s gong to be five pound bags for the forseeable future… anyway, thanks for the recipe – these look delicious!
I completely forgot I talked to Amanda Mull for that, which gives you an idea of my mental state in May. 🤦🏻♀️
These look so delicious. I really loved your ice cream sandwich cookies so I’ll definitely try these. I think I’ll add hazelnuts – I like them better than walnuts.
Do you think that these cookies can be used for ice cream sandwich as well?
Hi all the way from Denmark :-)
Any food scientist types who might be able to give a guesstimate as the amount of carbs/sugars per cookie (baking for a diabetic family member)? They seem like they’d be lower than a traditional oatmeal cookie due to whole wheat sub and reduced amount of flour overall, especially if I go with the 1/4 c nut variation. Thanks!
There are a number of free websites that convert recipes to nutrition info. I’d try that!
Instead of butter, could I use coconut oil and instead wheat germ could I add finely shredded unsweetened coconut ? Thanks
I wouldn’t add it, but I’d swap it in for some of the oats or wheat germ by weight. If you just add it, the cookies will get too dry. I didn’t test this with coconut oil. I think it would work; it might spread just a little more.
These sound great! Do you think it would still work switching the chocolate out for raisins?
Also, if you’re a cookie fan, these rosemary miso choc chip cookies are seriously worth trying! (I un-vegan them and they’re just as good) https://sobeautifullyrawdotcom.wordpress.com/2017/03/01/salted-rosemary-chocolate-chip-cookie-bars/
I think you could. I’d just use 3/4 cup here.
These are amazing! Dare I say… the perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookie?
I made them as written but used half dark chocolate covered raisins and half chopped dark chocolate. I tried them without the chocolate covered raisins too but my husband and I both preferred them with. I didn’t chill before cooking and they were totally fine. I’m very happy to have my fridge stocked with this dough!!
Just made these and they are so tasty, but flattened while baking. I didn’t use wheat germ (added some more oats instead) – could that be why?
I made these and I have to say, I’m just not a fan. I found them really gritty with the raw sugar. I’m not sure if I would like them better with just brown sugar but I’m not sure if I feel like making a whole other batch to find out.
These are delicious!
I’ve made them a couple times recently.
I’d been in a baking lull after the holidays and these were perfect!
Fantastic cookies!
AP flour ok?
if you don’t have the titular ingredient, just make the white-flour recipe she adapted this from.
Yes, it will work. Here’s the original recipe, just a few tweaks to get to this one, listed in the intro.
How about ground flax seeds instead of the wheat germ?
I’ve made that substitution in another cookie recipe with no ill effects. I’ll try it with these once I get around to making them.
That’s what I used and they turned out great!
Would flaxseed meal work instead of wheat germ?
I think it could. I’m trying to think of the weight (offhand, because why shouldn’t I keep this info in my head) but if it’s on the heavier side, you could just use 3T instead of 4T.
I used it and it was delish!
You decided to skip the pinch of cinnamon?
I did. But you don’t have to! I wanted to taste the nuttiness and brown sugar.
Saw this recipe this morning and made them about 5 minutes later. I already have a great tasting oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but they really flatten out to nothing, even if I refrigerate the dough to the point that it’s hard to scoop out. So I made this, but added 1 tsp cinnamon and a heaping 1/8 tsp nutmeg to this recipe (which is what I like so much about the other recipe.) So good! Thanks Deb!
I have made these many times and have a batch in the oven now. I used the food processor on pulse and the dough came together nicely. Would live to put walnuts in but my husband is allergic. They make the roof of his mouth itch. I substituted almond flour for the wheat germ. Wish I had thought to put cinnamon in this time as I have done in the past. We have some contractors on site and I am going to give them some cookies after all their hard work
20 minutes after seeing this on Instagram, they’re in my oven right now!
These are right up my street! My husband doesn’t like all the texture and ‘bits’ so more for me😍
these look fantastic!! also I really appreciate the weighted measurements, thanks for including these :)
Saw this recipe come up this afternoon and made it this evening. Absolutely delicious Deb! I used rye flour, flaxseed meal, and all brown sugar. They turned out perfect.
I was JUST searching for a whole wheat oat chocolate chip recipe on the interwebs earlier today. You are a mind reader, Deb!!
I’m one of those weirdos who doesn’t buy all-purpose flour. Pastry flour, 00 “pizza” flour, rye flour, wheat flour, but never all-purpose for most of my decade plus of adult baking. When I do try to use all-purpose for pie crust or bread as a “treat,” I find it flat and dull! So I’m glad to know that my love for making these cookies (and others) with wheat and rye is legit.
What perfect timing! I was looking for a quick baking project for tonight, and here it was. Delicious, crunchy, yet light. Might take a little less chocolate next time, but that is of course by personal preference.
These make a great cookie! I used all brown sugar, walnuts instead of wheat germ/bran, added the flaky salt to the top, and refrigerated for only about 30 minutes before baking. They were a flatter cookie with the shorter refrigeration time (as you said they would be). Time permitting, I’ll refrigerate a bit longer next time. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
I have whole wheat pastry flour. Can I use that?
How did I miss that this was already answered, sorry.
I immediately made these this afternoon; didn’t have wheat germ, so I used ground hazelnuts. Put the dough in the fridge to bake after dinner, and they came out flat as a pancake, basically lace cookies. That’s weird, I thought, they were supposed to spread *less*. It wasn’t until the kid had one at bedtime and said, “These are good, what’s in them?” and I answered “chocolate chips, hazelnuts, and… OH NO” that I realized I had left out the oatmeal. 🤦♀️
(For the record, they make very good lace cookies.)
I routinely put chopped hazelnuts in my choc. chip cookies. I love the taste they give!
Oh man Karen, I do this all the time, so I appreciate your honesty!
There was a bakery/deli in California called Specialty’s that had a cookie almost just like this – it was a pandemic casualty but now I have a way to scratch that itch!
I’m so sad about Specialty’s, mostly because of the cookie. I’ve tried and tried to reverse engineer the recipe, so I’m looking forward to trying Deb’s! One distinction that the Specialty’s cookie had was mini choc chips, not an ingredient I’d usually reach for, but it seemed to ensure widespread chocolatey-ness. And did it have cinnamon? Hmm.
Araminty, I used to help out at Specialty’s and, yes,there was cinnamon!
I loved those Specialty’s cookies too! Did they have shredded coconut in them? I wonder how this might change the texture of Deb’s recipe. Eager to make these this weekend.
Would these cookies turn out if they were made using a standard cookie scoop/one tablespoon of dough?
Yes, but they will bake up quickly!
I love the look of this biscuit and what a great idea to keep some in the freezer, for baking on demand. This is such a clever post, thanks for some great ideas. Take care, Pauline
Just made and tasted, and they are all I want in a chocolate chip cookie – chocolate and chewy and utterly delicious – with the added benefit of some ingredients that make me feel justified in making them far more often. Win-win!
I’ve started using at least half whole wheat flour in my zucchini bread and found that it a more complex taste and better texture. Very interesting about the flour bags. There seems to be a canning lid shortage now. I now more people are canning, but I couldn’t find lids even through my Amish and Mennonite sources. I ended up freezing foods instead of canning.
Deb, I’d love to male these but I’ve de eloped lactose intolerance ): Any idea of whether I could possibly substitute something for butter (coconut oil?). Thanks!
Having made it today with butter, I’d also like to try this cookie with olive oil – I love baking with olive oil in general and think the flavour would work well here.
If it doesn’t work well, I might try this other recipe which is on-purpose made with olive oil, though taking my cue from Deb’s recipe here I’ll swap in whole wheat flour etc:
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2019/09/vegan-olive-oil-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe.html
Lorraine, my daughter in law has lactose intolerance. When she visited this summer we successfully used a plant butter in baking recipes. I found an unused stick of it in the fridge this weekend and used it (along with a stick of dairy butter) when I doubled this recipe. The cookies turned out great.
Yes to oil working! I made these vegan with a flax egg and using 1/2 c canola oil instead of the butter, and they baked up fine and tasty. The dough was a little crumbly and I had to pack the dough balls together with my hands. I worried the cookies would spread or fall apart but nope, they baked up just right, indistinguishable from a non-vegan cookie.
Just based on my own past experience baking with coconut oil I’d stick with an oil that’s liquid at room temp.
Thanks, Mary–I had the same question. Good to know that oil works!
Yesterday, I made these with coconut oil for my dairy-allergic MIL, and they worked perfectly. No weird texture after they were baked although they were a little crumbly when I was forming them.
I know you asked this long ago, but I made this with tahini instead of butter and they were wonderful.
Beth, thanks for this genius tip!
Love, someone who has a lot of tahini to use up
What do you think substituting some almond flour to the wheat flour would affect the cookies? I’ve been trying to increase the protein content of my sweet baked goods as per doctor’s orders to eat some protein with the carbs in my diet. Tried substituting 1/4 cup almond flour on your honey cake recipe and it was a success. The texture was still soft and moist.
I used almond flour as substitution for the wheat germ/walnuts and it was delicious (kept the original amount of flour however)
These look wondrous! Two questions:
1. If one (hypothetically) wanted to make these cookies today without a grocery order and didn’t have bran/nuts/etc., would one sub 1/4 cup additional oats? Or more flour? Skip entirely?
2. Are these roughly similar to (but smaller than) your magical giant oatmeal chocolate chip / raisin cookies in SKED, but with whole wheat? Those have become my household cookie, but I do all chocolate and no raisins.
1. Yes, I suppose you could, but it might be nice if they were chopped a little. Dried coconut, oat bran, even quinoa flakes could work too.
2. Similar but these are a bit taller and more craggy.
These were great, just what you need for an autumn treat. I added finely chopped candied ginger to half the batch which was, IMHO, pretty awesome.
Great timing! I found some amazing chocolate covered raisins and, rather that eating them ALL, decided to use some in oatmeal cookies. I’m going to use this recipe, replacing raisins and chocolate chips with the chocolate covered raisins (I’ll probably add chopped walnuts too). Thank you!
I’ve been using chocolate covered rasins in oatmeal cookies for a few years now. I love them!!
Made these exactly as written (using wheat germ), except the largest cookie scoop I have is a #24, so I got 16 cookies out of the batch. Scooped then chilled in fridge for about 15 minutes just to hydrate the flour a bit. Baked for the full 14 minutes as they looked a tad too light and underdone in the middle at 12 minutes. They are absolutely delicious in every way! Nutty, craggy, chocolatey goodness. These most definitely will be my new go-to oatmeal chocolate chip cookie!
Saw this posted this morning and had to make them before going to work — looked like my dream cookie. They’re amazing, totally worth the rushed bike commute!
I used a mix of rye, WW bread, and AP flour, as that’s what I had on hand. And I used both wheat bran and tossed some chopped wallies and a bit of ground flax in. Also, I just used white sugar (though it is that Whole Foods “natural” white sugar, that’s a bit courser and more caramel colored than the standard granulated stuff). Chilled for 10 mins before baking and didn’t have any trouble with spreading (maybe the higher protein bread flour helped with this?).
Would recommend!! Thanks Deb!
Are the baking powder and soda essential? For the record, I like a flat, crispy cookie rather than a puffy, muffiny one.
Yes, I would use them both. But while this is not a muffiny, puffy cookie, it’s not a flat one either. It’s not the goal of this recipe at all.
Should the walnuts be toasted or raw going into the batter?
I prefer them toasted, but I cut this corner here and it was fine. Toasted will always give you a better flavor and texture, however.
Thanks for the tip!
Yum! A local bakery here in Chicago makes a totally delicious Spelt Chocolate Chip cookie that I imagine is similar to this. Can’t wait to whip these up :)
These look amazing I’m so excited! I have 2 questions: Can you use almond flour instead of finely chopped nuts or is that too fine? Do you think buckwheat flour can work instead of whole wheat ? Thanks in advance!
Plan on making today or tomorrow, would love to try adding unsweetened coconut flakes I have in pantry.
Any idea on amount/proportion to add and would I have to swap out part of another ingredient?
Thanks Deb for all you do!!!
Yum! If I don’t have wheat germ, do you recommend substituting or leaving out?
Do you have wheat bran, a nut, or seed you could use for the volume? Even some dried coconut would work.
I do have walnuts, but will chop them very very small because I am an all chocolate and no-nut cookie girl. Thank you!
Wait. I can cream cold butter in my stand mixer?
I love these! Thanks for another great recipe!
These came out amazing. Handed the recipe to my 11yo and he did it with no supervision. I love how you write recipes so that anyone can do it, and I always feel that confidence with your site.
Have you considered a kids cookbook for your next venture? I can’t tell you how many I own and almost none are worth owning. You could write real recipes, not fancy ways of doctoring up premade, prepackaged foods. Recipes like these cookies would be fantastic!
Great idea!
Hopefully you’ve gotten Melissa Clark’s Kid in the Kitchen-finally a great kid’s cookbook!
I made these this morning — left out the germ/bran/nuts because I didn’t have any, and subbed quick oats for old fashioned because I’m a heathen who only eats instant oatmeal. It didn’t spread as much as expected in the oven (I also made smaller hand-shaped scoops) but turned out delicious even with my generous recipe interpretation.
I can’t wait to try this. I will have to swap the chocolate out for either white chocolate or butterscotch due to allergies (leaning toward butterscotch) Anyone else buying extra flour in case there is another shortage?
These are wonderful cookies! I substituted buckwheat for the wheat germ because I had it. I used a #40 scoop (1 1/2 Tablespoons) which produced 23 cookies. I refrigerated the dough for about 1 1/2 hours and baked the cookies for 14 minutes. The real test will be Sunday when my sons come for dinner!
These are great, thank you so much. Used chopped walnuts instead of wheat bran, and scooped and chilled the cookies overnight before baking them in the morning (was just too tired last night). I’ll make them again for sure! Might play with different flours, adding seeds, etc. Thank you thank you.
Oh, also meant to say: I just mixed the (very soft) butter and sugars by hand, as I didn’t want to use an electrical contraption last night. Started with a wooden spoon but then just mixed everything with my hand, which worked just fine.
These are delicious!!! My 3 year old son and I made them this afternoon. While they were cooling I bribed him and my 6 year old daughter to clean up their toys so they could have a cookie. My daughter walked into the kitchen and burst into tears. “Not oatmeal” she wailed. Now she is licking her plate and begging for more. Thanks for another winner, Deb.
I tried this today. I was in the mood to bake cookies anyway. Whole Wheat Chocolate Oat Cookies are delicious! A new favorite. What I did differently: I didn’t have wheat germ or wheat bran, but I did have red quinoa, which I had previously used in a cracker recipe. It adds an interesting texture, and I recommend it. These cookies are really good! Thanks for the recipe.
As I always do when making “normal” chocolate chip cookies, I cut the sugar exactly in half. We just don’t like the higher sweetness level and the chocolate chips compensate anyway. (Tip: DO NOT try this with snickerdoodles! Does not work, lol.)
These are fantastic, and will probably replace the traditional ones forever for me. Thanks as always for a perfect recipe!
This was absolutely delicious! My husband took a bite and asked if they were the Levain recipe (I think the chopped up walnuts really does the trick). I used quick oats, because that’s all I had on hand, and I really liked the texture. Sometimes oats overwhelm a cookie, but not in this recipe. I also used salted butter (all I had on hand) and the recommended amount of salt, which resulted in a pleasantly salty cookie. Highly recommend!
These are lovely! Quick to make. They don’t at all feel like “ugh, who tried to make my cookie inappropriately healthy with whole wheat”– they just taste rich and delicious. I didn’t have walnuts but did have pecans and am not at all disappointed. My husband who has decidedly less of a sweet tooth than I do ate three of them the evening I baked them, and given that they are quite hearty, I’d say that’s a ringing endorsement.
Some of the best cookies I’ve ever made! I used ground flax instead of wheat germ and it seemed to work! Thank you so much for this recipe, will definitely be making it again!
These were amazing and easy!!
Best thing in my newsfeed tonight. I added hemp seed instead of wheat germ or ground nuts. Yummm. Thank you!!
YES! I’ve been making Molly Wizenberg’s whole wheat chocolate chip cookies for years now! And yes, it’s not just a fine swap it’s BETTER. :) Can’t wait to try this way – I looooove oats in my cookies, but not so much raisins lol. :)
I loved these. My 3yo helped make them. I only had chocolate with 85% cocoa solids so I used that. I do not own a cookie scoop so I used a heaped tablespoon for each cookie and baked them for 9 minutes. They’re ideal, I can’t stand sweet cookies and these are satisfying and complex and will be on regular rotation. Thanks again, Deb.
Since the daughter who won’t touch oats or raisins is now in college, I made your original thick and chewy version last week and they were AMAZING! I used a mix of golden and black raisins and plumped them in hot water first for maximum moisture retention, then sent half the batch to my other daughter and shared the rest with my mom. (Oat and raisin lovers, unite!!) Can’t wait to try these!!
Just made them. Added raisins (1 c) and did not use chocolate. Used chopped walnuts. These did not spread very much. Very yummy. Like others, I will experiment with this recipe. Probably craisins next!
Delicious as usual! I almost always make your recipe exactly as written but I couldn’t figure out any reason this shouldn’t have crunchy PB in it so I added 3Tbs. Took about 3 more min to cook and were fantastic!
These were everything I was looking for! I actually gasped quietly to myself when I logged on to your site and saw this recipe. Thoughts on substituting coconut oil for butter?
Also just a note of thanks for your fortitude in the kitchen to experiment with baking quanties.
How do you get your cookies to stay so domed and thick? Mine spread waaaaaaay out in the oven and are thin. Could I avoid this if I chilled the dough first?
Of course I just looked back at the recipe and it does talk about chilling the dough! I should have read the comment at the beginning of the recipe. Sorry about that!
I missed that comment, too. Left with a terrible mess in the oven. I would suggest adding the time in the fridge into the recipe itself for those of us carefully following the steps.
The cookies shouldn’t spread thin. The photos you see here are a mix of cookies that rested an hour in the fridge and those that were baked right away and none are flat. Did you use old-fashioned oats and wheat germ or the like for the last 1/4 cup? In most cases, a thin spread on cookies is insufficient dry ingredients.
Hi Deb, I used rolled oats and finely chopped walnuts. I really really chopped them so they were almost like walnut sand (but still slightly warm from toasting), and then froze on the tray for about two hours. Unfortunately, they did spread quite a bit! More chunky walnuts next time? Over-creamed butter and sugar?
The best cookie I have made-will throw out all my other recipes!
I don’t have a cookie scoop and was forced to make balls with my hands because the dough is way too dry to drop. Even so, the last few cookies were just piles of crumbs. Baked cookies still warm are very dry, almost sandy to eat. I hope they improve with more cooling. Been over the recipe several more times to see if I left anything out or measured incorrectly or didn’t mix properly, but no. At this point, it’s not a recipe I’d make again. Sorry, Deb. Not my best result.
These are delicious! They have a slightly sandy texture (presumably from the turbinado sugar?), but it is pleasant. I used wheat germ (left over from a foray into making digestive biscuits), and my only tweak was to add 1/4 c. chopped dried cherries, as I only had 3/4 c. of bittersweet chocolate chips – YUM! I refrigerated for 2 hours before baking and they barely spread at all.
Curiosity question open to anyone :) the recipe calls for 4 Tbsp turbinado sugar, which my measurement conversion chart says is the same as 1/4 cup. Is there a reason that Tbsp measurements are preferred rather than equivalent cup measurements?
That’s a very good question and you’re right, it would make more sense as 1/4 cup. I think it’s a holdover because I was nudging the turbinado sugar from 3T to 4T while testing.
It’s as if you’re reading my mind! I guess I’m just one of *those people* who is always adding whole wheat flour to things. But, I honestly think it just makes things taste better. We make your confetti cookies (probably way too often) and I always make them with at least half whole grain flour. It just makes them taste more complex, I use sprouted spelt or sprouted white wheat. One of these days I’m going to get the nerve to make them with 100% ww.
I knew I had to make these because I’m also loving oat bran lately. They were delicious! Chewy but soft and crisp at the edges. Personally, I’ll add less chocolate next time, but I’m the odd person who isn’t crazy about chocolate.
I made these exactly as directed with an overnight rest in the fridge and they are fantastic. The flavor is complex and really satisfying.
Loved these!! Used all brown sugar and wheat bran options; they did not spread very much at all which made me nervous but they are delicious and much more satisfying than the old standard or my other whole wheat chocolate chip go-to.
I’ve been using all whole-wheat or partially whole-wheat flour in my baked goods since the 1970s. Initially it was for the “health” benefits. But, I prefer the richer flavor and texture. I just made cookies for my neighbors a few days ago and the recipe is essentially this.
By the way, I love Smitten Kitchen. I cook and bake so many of your recipes.
Just out of the oven and tried one. Your oatmeal raisin house cookie has been made almost every week at our house. These are just as good but more texture. My husband likes them more. Thank you.
Due to breastfeeding a baby with sensitivities, I had to make a couple substitutions. I used sunflower oil (by volume not weight as it seemed like it’d be too much by weight) instead of butter and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour (by weight) instead of whole wheat flour…and they turned out amazing! Perhaps my favorite cookie ever, especially with the flaky salt, which is saying a lot because I make Deb’s chocolate peanut butter cookies not infrequently. Can’t wait until I can try the version as written too, but meanwhile I’m extremely happy! Another win!
Hi Kate, Could you be more specific about the amount of oil you used? Thanks.
A half cup just matching Deb’s half cup of butter!
Thanks, Kate!
I had seen varying theories on oil/butter switches online (suggesting using less oil than a recipe’s stated butter amount), so good to know an equal switch works.
Made these today, and I CAN NOT get over how good they are. The flavor is so good. I always like hearing people’s substitutions just in case so thought I’d mention that I used white all-purpose flour and pecans since that’s what was on hand. I look forward to making them next time with whole wheat. Thanks for another awesome recipe, Deb!
Hi Mariah – I really appreciated your comment as all I have is all-purpose flour. I was wondering if I should just skip making these until later and was skimming the comments to see if anyone would post their experience. Thank you!
Would these work with oil instead of butter?
I’m also curious about using a fat other than butter. Anyone try them or have an idea if some kind of oil or vegan “butter” would work OK?
Woops, I see a few comments up this has been discussed. Somehow missed that!
I’ve made these using all coconut oil, and they were great. I also made them with half coconut oil and half butter. Also great! These seem to be the most flexible cookie recipe I’ve ever made.
No cinnamon, Deb?!
I didn’t put it in this version; I wanted the butter/oats/wheat/vanilla/salt to come through more. But you could definitely add some for a softer scent.
These have the perfect texture and flavor I look for in an oatmeal cookie. I didn’t have any bran or nuts, and am generally wary of whole wheat cookies, so I used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white flour. I had mini chocolate chips which puts chocolate in every bite!
Unfortunately despite all the sugar and spices these still kinda tasted like I was eating uncooked raw oatmeal. Would recommend toning down the proportion of oats or trying another of the many excellent chocolate chip cookies on the site. On the plus side, they did not taste like whole wheat cookies so you def don’t miss the white flour!
What kind of spices did you add?
I made these with spelt flour and they’re really great! Also used Demerara sugar instead of turbinado (I’m in the UK and haven’t ever seen that here) and went with Deb’s suggestion of finely chopped walnuts. The result was some very, very good cookies – thank you Deb for these and for sharing all your recipes, writing and culinary talents. Your blog is my favourite food writing :)
These are absolutely delicious! Making a 2nd batch today :)
Can you provide nutritional information for these cookies? Thank you.
I made these, with finely chopped walnuts and some additional Thompson raisins. I was impatient, so I microwaved one of the dough balls for 45 seconds in a small glass ramkin when I put the rest to chill. It is delicious. Highly recommend. Not cookie like, but really good.
I really want to make these tonight but I’m flat out of eggs. Is there a replacement you’d recommend for the one egg?
My husband is a cookie junkie, and so I made these today. He loved the texture of these cookies, and asked me to make them a permanent part of the cookie rotation. I didn’t have wheat germ, and so I used 1/4 cup of Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Hot Cereal Mix. Thank you!
Made these with a combination of whole wheat and rye flour. Used walnuts because that’s what I had on hand. Texture is wonderful. Yielded 18, so probably mine were smaller (still took about 15 min to bake). Did not spread a lot, maybe because I refrigerated for a few hours. Definitely making this recipe part of my regular cookie rotation.
Made these last night and just like so many other of your recipes Deb, they’re amazing. Thanks for sharing.
I just made these. No modifications, Just as the recipe is written. 13 minutes cooking time, Sensational. A keeper
I made these last night using all dark brown sugar, white whole wheat flour, and almond flour in lieu of wheat germ, with no refrigeration. The whole family loved them! Just the right combo of crispy exterior and chewy interior.
These look wonderful. I typically make the oat cookies from the Tartine baking book (the second one) and they’re great, but these look like they have quite a bit more texture. Will be trying this weekend.
Your oatmeal cookies are probably my most regularly made cookie, so I was excited to see the difference! I made these with pumpkin and flax seeds, dried cherries, pecans, and a mix of milk and dark chocolate and they are AMAZING. There’s nothing unpleasantly whole-wheat-y about them, but they are delightfully cosy and autumnal. And with the larger size and added height they feel about as trendy as a cookie could be.
I made these and wow. I love the crunch and crispness of the cookie made possible by the amazing amount of oats. The nominal amount of whole wheat flour is just enough to hold the cookie together. I used really good large, dark chocolate chips and they made this cookie even more delicious. My husband, who generally shies away from sweets even raved about them. I recommend these cookies for anyone who eats cookies! Make them! Today! You’ll regret nothing.
I almost always double a cookie recipe so that I can freeze some for later for us or use as a small gift for a friend. I’m certainly glad I doubled this one! It is a lighter than expected oatmeal cookie, yet still substantial. I used minced toasted pecans and the flavor was sublime! Thanks, Deb. This one is a keeper!
I’m a long time fan of all recipes SK and rarely comment, but I hopped on making these this weekend and have to say they are my new favourite cookie!! I replaced the wheat germ with Hemp Hearts and Flax Meal (1/2 and 1/2).
So I made these but omitted the nuts (my husband is allergic, and we didn’t have wheat germ) and they flattened all the way out. What should I sub in next time to prevent this? The butter was cold but the dough wasn’t chilled.
You will want to replace the volume with something else — you could use a seed or perhaps another 1/4 cup oats; slightly ground or quick oats would be fine there.
Made these over the weekend. These were irresistible fresh from the oven and are still delicious a couple of days later. I was low on rolled oats, so I subbed in about half instant ones to pad it out, but otherwise made them basically as written with chopped walnuts and semi-sweet chocolate chips. The flavors and textures are lovely – a nice craggy, robust oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that doesn’t feel overly sweet. I love that the turbinado sugar didn’t totally dissolve and gives them a little crunch. I did end up having to cook them for around 16 minutes to get them browned, (and “browned” was relative since they started out darker with the whole wheat flour and brown sugar). Even then they still looked underdone in a few places (maybe melted sugar spots?), but cooled to perfection – a tiny bit crispy at the edges and still moist and chewy throughout. I also scooped and froze half the batter so I’ll be able to report back at some point on how baking them off from the freezer goes.
Amazing! Just made these after lunch for an afternoon snack. Easy and quick to pull together. I used the wheat germ option. I will definitely make these again!
Yum! Made this with raisins instead of chocolate chips (less than the amount called for), chopped walnuts and about a tablesppon of ground flax instead of wheat germ. Hearty and delicious but they didn’t spread at all, giving a pretty round/blobby cookie. I suspect either the lack of melting chocolate or the extra binding power of the flax is to blame (or both, anyone care to theorize?), but their accidental chunky blob shape meant they didn’t break into pieces after a day hike in a backpack. Will make again with chocolate for sure.
Followed the recipe exactly, used the walnuts…they were amazing!
So very good! I used flax instead of wheat germ and it just blended right in. I refrigerated for 3 hours and they ended up perfect. They are SO easy to make; will definitely become a regular recipe.
I think I have a new favorite cookie recipe. Forever it’s been my Nana’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. In fact they are similar to these…only these are better! I made batch #1 yesterday and batches #2 and 3 this evening!
made these yesterday.. . they are delicious… Thank you for an easy recipe that didn’t require too many “special” ingredients!! Hope to see more like this!
Wow, these are amazing cookies!! I used Anson Mills graham flour, a mix of pecans and walnuts, and three different kinds of chocolate. I also refrigerated the dough for an hour before baking and they still quite spread a lot. So tasty!
This is the best oatmeal cookie recipe ever! I have made these twice now and once I get more oats I will make them again. I live at 5,000 ft. above sea level so I made some small modifications after the first batch came out a little dry (still delicious and not the recipe’s fault). I added a tablespoon of water to the wet mix, did one less tablespoon of sugar, and baked at 400 degrees F . I used finely chopped walnuts instead of bran, omitted the chocolate (I know! I just don’t like chocolate chunks) and added coarsely chopped walnuts. I’m thinking I may add half a banana to the next batch for some extra moisture instead of water.
I’m at around 5,000 feet too and I had really good luck adding a tablespoon of heavy cream after starting to mix in the dry ingredients by hand. LOVED these cookies — they’re a new favorite for sure!
These are excellent, and owing to their extremely healthful ingredients (oats, whole wheat flour, walnuts), I consider them Breakfast Cookies. And in that same vein of health, I made them half the size Deb recommends, which leads to eating two. I got 23 his way and they took about 14 minutes in the oven.
I made these today and they are EXCEPTIONAL – so easy and delicious. I used ground flax instead of wheat germ because that’s what I had in the cabinet and it worked great.
These were mehhh and too salty.
Oh well, I have all the other thousands of recipes I love of SK.
OKAY these cookies are awesome. I followed pretty closely except had no bran/walnuts so I used ground flax seeds and it was delicious and totally worked. Highly highly recommend. Dare I say… better than Levain?
Made these (subbing ground nuts for the wheat germ because I was too lazy to go downstairs to get it) and they were fabulous! Even my oat cookie resistant 14 year old loved them.
I think my college age kids would too, so I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on how well they’d ship, if I should bake longer for a slightly sturdier cookie, or anything else shipping relevant.
Can I ask what you regard as whole wheat? Is it white flour or wholemeal (brown) I am in Australia and whole wheat isn’t a thing
It’s probably your wholemeal (brown) flour.
I went out on a limb and made a triple recipe and pressed it into a half sheet pan. I saved back some chocolate chips to sprinkle on top for curb appeal. I baked at 350 for about 18 minutes. 10/10 would recommend. Way faster than making cookies for a bunch of people!
Absolutely no idea why this review posted in this thread???! 🤷🏼♀️ I selected the “I made this” category..
These were excellent! The only “change” I made was a trick I learned about bran flakes. I soaked the bran and some ground flaxseed meal in a tiny bit of milk to soften before adding it to the butter-sugar mixture. Soaking the bran helps create a more tender texture in the end product, which works great for muffins and pancakes too. I also used a mixture of old fashioned and quick oats because that’s what I had, and the texture was great. This is my new go-to chocolate chip cookie!
These are yummy! The visiting kids all asked for seconds, and one of the dads said he ate about five after dinner!
I used the wheat bran option and salted butter with less salt added later. Other than that, I followed it as written. They seemed to spread a lot despite refrigerating the dough for an hour and a half. Thankfully they were not total puddles/lace, but the cookie part is thinner than the chocolate chips are. Maybe the batter needed more time in the fridge. The butter was almost totally liquid at the temperature my kitchen gets up to with the AC off while I’m at work all day, and the eggs were the only ingredients not similarly warm, so it would make sense.
I made double so there’s still some dough left; I will try freezing the it in balls and baking that directly, or else adding a little more flour. I went by weight for all the non-spoon-sized ingredients, so presumably the proportions were right! Again, very yummy, just a bit thin!
Deb thanks for another superb recipe. These cookies are wonderful. I toasted some hemp hearts, in place of the wheat germ ( I had it on hand) and the cookies are so good even the current news cycle seems a bit less grim.
OMG! I made these over the weekend for a friend who is about to give birth and they were ah-mazing. (It didn’t hurt that the chocolate chips were still warm and melty when we ate them.) Five star! My only issue was that they seemed to bake unevenly (this could be my oven) and I wasn’t 100% sure when they were done. The instructions to wait for them to be golden brown all over weren’t that helpful. But I can’t recommend them highly enough. They are sorta healthy too!
I made these for the contractors removing dry rot from the outside of our house. Decreased the size so that they would be “Bite Size”. They were greatly enjoyed. The contractors loved them. Thank you.
This is the first time I have commented on your recipes, though I have made several over the years. This cookie seemed like the perfect time to change that because it is perfection! (And easily “veganizable”…that is a word,right?!) As you suggested, I doubled the recipe out of the gate knowing my family loves to have a stock of frozen cookie dough on hand whenever the craving strikes. As we are vegan, I easily subbed Earth Balance buttery sticks for the butter and Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer for the eggs. I used white whole wheat flour, chopped walnuts, and added some vegan white chocolate chips into the mix, along with the semisweet. Just WOW. I baked the dough from cold as you also suggested and got nice rise on them. From refrigerator cold, they took 11 minutes at 350F. Craggy is such a great word to describe them, by the way. Lots of texture and nuance of flavor. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. A cookie with sweet, salty, oatey, chocolatey goodness. I often make a more traditional chocolate chip cookie and this is a great alternative to add into the cookie rotation. Thanks, again!
Also..can these be made with raisins instead of chocolate chips Thanks
I made a double batch and love these! But I want to make them again, right now, and I’m out of brown sugar! How bad would it be to use white sugar in its place?
Do you have molasses? You can make your own brown sugar substitute.
These look delicious!!! I’ve never had a fail with any of your recipes. Have you ever baked with Einkorn flour? I wonder if it would swap one for one in this cookie? I can’t handle wheat flour, but Einkorn is okay. Thanks!!!
My kids don’t like walnuts and I didn’t have any wheat germ, so I used almond flour in place of the wheat germ/walnuts and they still turned out great!
i made these exactly as written- except i made them small. i don’t like large cookies. i got 25 cookies/batch. they took about 20 minutes to bake, surprisingly long considering what the recipe says. no matter, they are tasty.
Love this cookie recipe. I was wondering about cutting down the amount of sugar. Would the consistency of cookie stay intact?
You could cut it down by a couple tablespoons but not much more. I do try to keep the sugar in check to begin with, and any further, the cookie could be dry and hard.
I cut the amount of sugar exactly in half and we loved them – the texture was perfect and with the chocolate chips, the sugar wasn’t missed at all. I’m getting ready to make a second batch for my in-laws today, with raisins instead of chocolate.
yum! i am vegan so i made these with vegan butter (miyoko’s) and a flax egg, they turned out very good, I had to bake them about 18 minutes but they were amazing.
I didn’t have any wheat germ, and I’m not a fan of nuts in cookies, so I used the same amount of cocoa nibs to add some extra crunch and I think they may be my new favorite cookie
Seriously scrumptious. Just made and ate one warm. The bit of salt is heavenly and I don’t feel as guilty eating with the whole wheat, oats and I substituted Ground Flax seed instead of Wheat Germ. I also didn’t make them as big, used about 2 Tablespoons.
I made these and wanted to half the amount of sugar like another person mentioned doing… I accidentally did more than that, with only adding 1/4 c of brown sugar and a sprinkling of coconut sugar in the batter to replace the raw sugar. Honestly, it didn’t need more sweetness than that in our opinion!
These cookies did NOT spread at all, and I did not chill them in advance. I added both flax and chopped walnuts, which probably contributed to that. I wanted to include flax as I was using only AP flour based on what was on hand. Everything else I kept the same with the slight addition of a little cinnamon and nutmeg. I didn’t think they turned out where we’d make them again… but honestly my family devoured them, so we’ll probably continue to experiment! I think I’d like to try a little nut butter in them as well.
Overall, a fantastic, hearty cookie to have with coffee in the morning :) and make me feel like that’s okay instead of my regular oatmeal.
Less sugar does equal less spread, in my experience. We’ve reduced the sugar in our oatmeal “house cookies” by about half over the years, and they barely spread anymore. I flatten the dough balls into discs first to help. We don’t mind the cakier/chewier texture so we usually keep it at 1/2 sweet, but if we want a crispier, flatter cookie I go closer to the original sugar amount listed in the recipe.
Sugar provides so much more than sweetness for recipes – I’ve been toasting sugar to use in recipes that I’d prefer less sweetness in but can’t reduce the actual sugar (marshmallows, etc):
“Lightly toasted sugar brings these desserts into balance without sacrificing structure or distracting from their classic flavor (for small batches, see our guide to quick toasting sugar). In most recipes, toasted sugar even cuts down on the need for salt—a real boon for those on sodium-restricted diets. Not only does toasted sugar taste less sweet, it has less sucrose, fewer calories, and a lower glycemic index than plain sugar. How much lower would depend on the extent of thermal decomposition, but it’s a promising notion.”
https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/05/how-to-make-caramel-without-melting-sugar.html
Recipe links going back FOURTEEN YEARS! Thanks for being THE SOURCE for trustworthy recipes. Never made anything from you that didn’t work.
Ditto! Thank you so much for creating and sharing such slam-dunk recipes for such a long time!
I was a bit skeptical of the whole wheat flour as my experience has shown this ingredient makes rather bland and dense (not in a good way) cookies. However, this recipe delivered on flavor, crunch and “cragginess” as advertised! Delicious. The only change I might maken next time is to reduce the turbinado sugar down to 3 tablespoons. A little less crunch as a personal preference. Also, I added dried cherries, which I love with chocolate. These were a big hit with my family and voted into our repeat recipe category. Thanks Deb!
I think this is one of Deb’s best recipes ever. In fact, I’m on my second cookie as I type this! They are just the perfect amount of sweet, soft but crispy, thick but not cakey. Based on what I had, I swapped butter out for coconut oil, wheat bran out for flax seed, and used just a little less chocolate. They are divine! I feel like this recipe could be infinitely adaptable.
Just yesterday I made a similar recipe from Bon Appetit, but it called for more butter and more sugar, which made it an excessively rich and heavy cookie that I didn’t actually enjoy (is it possible to dislike a chocolate cookie? Sadly, yes.) I was going to experiment and lighten it up but you’ve done it, so thanks!
I can’t wait to try these!
This year I discovered that most baking recipes still taste good if I substitute 1/3 of the flour (by weight) for almond flour. And as a bonus, it adds a bit of protein to the carb goodness.
I love your technique of adding the baking powder/soda to the wet ingredients, before adding the flour. I do this too! I have turned many recipes into one bowl recipes that way. Who wants to wash an extra bowl? Not me.
DEB!!! WHERE THAS THIS COOKIE BEEN ALL OF MY LIFE. Wow. It’s magic.
Yum! Just pulled these out of the oven and ate one hot; delicious! Used flaxseed meal for the wheat germ, quick cooking rolled oats (cause that’s what I have) and just 1/2 c semi sweet chocolate chips. I guess my scoop is tiny in comparison so I got 28 cookies; they were perfectly done at 12 minutes (I like them extra browned on the edges). Wish I had doubled the recipe!
OMG these are so so good
These were excellent – I love ww flour in cookies (they’re practically healthy! Almost salad! O wait…) I used a combo of chopped pecans, walnuts, and coconut flakes, and it made for a perfect texture. My new fave cookie.
Among the best chocolate chip cookies ever. And I’ve made them all. The flavor and texture are fabulous and even better if you can refrigerate the dough for at least a few hours. And people who don’t love whole wheat baked goods will not know this is made with whole wheat flour. A must-try!
BEYOND perfect, as written (used walnuts). Every time I read a recipe like this I wonder if I need “another,” but this is spot-on and I doubled it right out of the gate.
This is an excellent recipe; I made as written except for subbing almond flour (or meal) for the flour to make it GF, and making them much smaller (12 to a baking sheet). “Amazing” is what my daughter called them!
While I’m a fairly confident cook, baking has never been my forte. But like seemingly everyone else in the world, I’ve found comfort in homemade baked goods these last few months – and this might be my favorite recipe yet! I added walnuts, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and popped them in the freezer for about 30 minutes before baking. The result was a dense, chocolatey, beautifully textured, husband-approved cookie.
These cookies are terrific. Thank you!
I had to get on the cookie train, as the thick chewy oatmeal cookies have been my go-to, like it has for so many others. I didn’t have wheat germ or bran, so I replaced that dry ingredient with the same amount of shredded coconut and chopped hazelnuts. With mini chocolate chips, I included chopped dried sour cherries. This isn’t as dense as the sister recipe, but I like the salty/sweet grit (grit in a good way!) in every bite. I also like the lack of cinnamon, interestingly. Definitely will make these again.
Should these be lightly pressed after scooping onto pan? They did not spread at all, and mostly kept their mound shape.
Thank you.
You could, or you might try it with 1T less wheat germ or oats next time for more spread.
These are just so good. I double batcheD them and had them in freezer. I ground up some hazelnuts from Trader Joe’s for the walnuts. Mine didn’t spread much easily….but they did respond to the now famous slam the cookie sheet method. I have always done that. I kind of like to see the fissures and the molten pools of chocolate when you slam em. I am going to do pecans and coconut and hemp seeds next time. This may be the best cookie recipe ever written. It’s infinitely adaptable and seems less indulgent than your typical cookie with its whole food ingredients….yet really hits the spot. Definitely a keeper! Thanks again, Deb!
Ben, if you want the, to be discs, you can make the dough into a log, chill or freeze, then slice and back. This is the way I make them and I end up with perfect little discs every time.
These are now my FAVORITE kind of chocolate chip cookie! The oats, wheat germ and whole wheat flour give them so much delicious body, the turbinado sugar is crunchy, the chocolate chips are ample, and the sea salt makes them so bright. YUM! Much better than the regular Toll House recipe. Thanks Deb!
When @smittenkitchen says this is her “house cookie”, how can one not make them? The flavor is wonderful, with the whole wheat flour and nuts. Highly recommend.
“health halo” – so that’s what I do!! Lol, I do that for the same reason some people work out – so I can eat more :)
(My secret weapon is whole wheat all-purpose flour which is a blend of hard/soft wheat and is barely noticeable in most baked goods)
Whole family loved these – they are a great texture for making homemade ice cream sandwiches. Next time I’m going to try adding finely chopped cocoa nibs as another commenter suggested – what a brilliant idea!
Could I use steel cut oats instead of rolled oats? Thank you!
Not for this; they’ll stay mostly uncooked.
I subbed part of the brown sugar with coconut sugar, kept the turbinado sugar and made smaller cookies (2 Tbsp size), so I watched the baking time carefully. Turned out fine at 12 minutes. I love the 1/4 cup variables because I often have leftover quantities of unusual flours, bran, nut and seed meals. This recipe is great!
Oops! I meant to reply to the comment below about using coconut sugar.
Oh my, I just made these and they are awesome! I made used walnuts and Nestle’s dark chocolate morsels (instead of semi sweet) and this recipe is a total winner. I never bake cookies bec who has the time, but the picture and your description had me printing the recipe and picking up things I don’t keep in my pantry (whole wheat flour, turbinado sugar, oats). I am curious about the flakes of sea salt. I did not know that was a ‘thing,’ but will have to track some down and try some on the other 10 ‘scoops’ of batter that are secure in my freezer. Thank you for a truly wonderful recipe, and for your lovely writing style. It is so enjoyable
These are amazing – my family cannot get enough. I’ve made two batches in the past week and a half because, well, they go that fast. That being said, I do appreciate that the recipe makes 12 cookies. That way I can make cookies whenever I get the urge and not have to worry about 4 dozen cookies hanging out on my counter (which isn’t necessarily bad, but also isn’t good…)
Do you think I could sub coconut sugar for the raw or turbinado?
I haven’t baked with it a lot but I think it burns at a lower temperature, right? So I’d use it just a little to experiment, just instead of the turbinado.
I used coconut sugar for the turbinado and they turned out fantastic!
These were AMAZING. That is all. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. :)
Ammmazing! My daughter wrinkled her nose when I told her the cookies had whole wheat AND wheat germ … but decided that she would try one when I said it was a smitten kitchen recipe. Then she declared them better than regular chocolate chip cookies – and I don’t disagree!
I doubled the recipe – I used 1/2 whole wheat : 1/2 white whole wheat, 1/2 toasted wheat germ : 1/2 chopped pecans, and 1/2 chocolate chips : 1/2 butterscotch chips. And of course, I sprinkled with Maldon salt flakes!
I also made the large size cookies (yum!!!) with a size 20 scoop, but made some smaller too – size 40 scoop – so they fit a little easier in lunch containers.
Deb, you’re right – I may never go back to regular chocolate chip cookies!
this is the 101 cookbooks WW chocolate chip cookie, halved and slightly modified. https://www.101cookbooks.com/whole-wheat-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/
This recipe is adapted from my go-to Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, which were adapted from the canister of Quaker Oats. I explain the changes in the post:
The thing with calling a recipe “slightly modified” is that basically every recipe for whole wheat oatmeal cookies will have the same ingredients and proportions aren’t going to be wildly different if the goal is a craggy drop cookie. In this case, if we were to halve Heidi’s recipe, the oats, wheat bran or germ, chocolate, and sugar levels are different, and those are not just half the ingredients, but all the core ones.
By this rule, all oat chocolate cookie recipes are adapted from one another and this is … almost certainly true! This is why I like to source recipes here. Every recipe on this site talks about what inspired it, and where it came from, if it’s a specific place or publication. This path to a recipe is what makes the food conversation interesting to me. Personally, I find recipes that don’t talk about where they come from far more suspect.
2nd time to make these. They were very popular on the first go. I am making this batch subbing dark rye flour for half the whole wheat. They taste great. I use oat bran vs wheat germ since I have that on hand. I feel like we are eating a “healthy” cookie, which my husband just laughs at me when I say that then eats another cookie! I use the Trader Joe’s semi sweet chocolate chunks. This week I noticed they had dark chocolate chunks so I used half semi sweet and half dark chocolate. thanks for another winning cookie recipe. Your salted chocolate chunk cookies were always my go to recipe but this is a great alternative to keep in the freezer.
No wheat germ, but I had some almond flour, so I used that. Mixed in dark chocolate and dried tart cherries.
So good!
These really are delicious. They remind me of the oatmeal cookie dough I ate as a kid, which I always thought tasted better than the actual cookies. But these taste as good as that now forbidden treat and have a delightful light texture. I made them egg free with a flax egg and they turned out chewy, crunchy, tender: everything a cookie should be.
I just made these! Using spelt for the flour as I had some. I only had baking powder but it had no impact. The spelt and chopped nuts made these very substantial. Especially since kiddo and I rolled them into 9, not 12, cookies :) We used roughly chopped dark chocolate which I would recommend above chips. These are robust enough to deal with melting pools of chocolate!
Made these last week and loved them. I took the suggestion of another commenter and used chocolate covered raisins (and a few chips as I didn’t have quite enough). Delicious and a good use for the whole wheat flour in my pantry. I liked that it was a small batch too. Next time I will make smaller cookies as 2-3 smaller cookies is somehow more satisfying than one larger cookie. My son was hankering for a cookie with matcha, so I set aside 3 cookies worth of dough and added some matcha. He thought they were great, until he had the others, which he ultimately preferred. But thought I’d include that in case anyone else was interested. If that’s a flavor you are looking for, then it was good.
These are delicious, a great after-school snack/easy to make anytime cookie. I decreased the brown sugar to 1/3 cup brown, used 1/4 c oat bran, and added some unsweetened coconut flakes. They barely spread in the oven, baked for 12 min.
These are the best cookies I have ever made! I have been a subscriber to your website for a few years but have never tried any recipes until now – I was blown away!
I made the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with the whole wheat flour. I did use coconut sugar instead of the raw…. I am gg to try more recipes now! Glad I kept subscribing.
You are a very talented chef!
Any recipes with grits? Like a cheese, jalapeño bake?!!!
Thanks, I am smitten with your site!
This recipe is a keeper – delicious!! I’m avoiding gluten and dairy, so I used GF all purpose flour (cup for cup substitute), vegan butter, and finely chopped toasted walnuts, plus GF oats and dairy free chocolate chunks. I baked a few right away and froze the rest of the dough. Next batch I may try pecans instead of the walnuts. Cookies for dinner on Saturday night!!
These were something special. Made as written with wheat germ, Scharffen Berger chocolate chunks and chilled dough overnight. Toast, wheaty, delicious. Will try with nuts next time. Deb for the win!
These were fantastic. I am all about a cookie with some healthier components and the flaky salt on top was a perfect finish!
I made these with wheat bran and found them sadly very dry and unappealing in comparison with a standard oatmeal choc chip cookie.
Yum! This was pretty close to my MIL’s recipe, but I’ve always had problems with the cookies flattening in her version. Maybe because hers didn’t have baking powder?
Made it with Demerara instead of turbinado, and used almond meal (but just 1/2 the amount called for) instead of the bran/nuts, bc that’s what I had. I just used a 1 Tbs scoop because I like that size, but then I proceeded to eat 3 of them because they were so good! I’ll pace myself tomorrow.
Also, love your tip about freezing the dough after it’s been scooped! Can’t believe I never thought of that…
can these be made as bars instead of cookies?
I have never tested them as bars — but I’d like to. Let us know if you give it a spin.
These are super tasty!! I don’t feel guilty eating them!! I made them much smaller, though, using a #50 scoop. Baked for 8 minutes. The changes I made were to reduce the sugar: I used 2 TBS turbinado and 60 g dark brown sugar; used a 72% chocolate bar chopped up, and only used 4 ounces; I used a combo of flax meal/wheat bran/finely chopped toasted pecans. These are DEFINITELY different from the NYT recipe I’ve been making of late, but still, SO GOOD. Much more to my husband’s taste, although he still says they are too sweet. Ugh. I have to eat ALL the cookies in this house, LOL! I am definitely adding this recipe to the CCC rotation!
These were so good! The flavor is exactly what I want from a cookie, and I love that they are whole wheat/grain. I baked them immediately b/c I couldn’t wait and they did spread out a lot, just like Deb said. I like a crispy cookie so I was okay with it! Maybe next time I’ll plan ahead mode and fridge them for a few hours to keep them more heaped.
I made these last night and WOW so good! They took the full 14 minutes and turned out perfectly. I used walnuts instead of the wheat germ. Enjoying one with coffee for breakfast right now!
I didn’t chill the dough and had no issue with them staying as a mound (which I prefer to spreading / thinning).
WoW! These are delicious! Thank you!
These are so good that I’ve made them three times in the last three weeks (most were given as gifts, honest!). They work beautifully with fridge-cold butter, and do benefit from a rest in the fridge prior to baking. I’ve been using wheat germ and mini chocolate chips, and use a smaller scoop which gives me 26-ish lovely cookies. Definitely use the turbinado if you have some (I’d say it’s worth seeking out) – it adds a gorgeous flavor and crunch to these more-ish treats. Kid-approved. School-safe. Healthier than many without really tasting like it. Thank you for the knock-out recipe, Deb!
We found these cookies to be highly satisfying! Thanks!
These are delicious! I had been looking to use up the whole wheat flour I got in May during the flour shortage.
I made them with extra oats, because we have a nut allergy in the house, and they were super good. The turbinado sugar is amazing in here. It makes me want to use more of this in all the cookies I bake. I might try them again with pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries. Then they’d practically be breakfast!
Has anyone experimented with adding warm spices to these yet? I’d like to add orange zest and warm spices ala this recipe: https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/11/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-and-pecan-cookies/ but I wonder if I should use the same proportions?
So good! Made with what I had on hand – blitzed some pecans in my food processor for the wheat germ/nuts and chopped up a dark chocolate sea salt Lindt bar for chocolate. I did not chill the dough (although I used butter straight from the fridge). Although I scraped down the bowl a few times during mixing, my first half dozen cookies came out some combination of round and pretty and flat and lacey. So, I made sure I mixed the dough one more time for the second half dozen and they came out great. Since the dough is a little chunky/thick I recommend just making sure everything is well incorporated one last time before you portion out.
These cookies were amazing! Made them with finely chopped toasted pecans which were great. Easily my new go-to cookie recipe.
After the success of making them with dark chocolate, today I made them with white chocolate and cranberries and they are equally delicious! Maybe I’ll add some cinnamon next time with that batch. Next up I’ll try them with ginger and dark chocolate.
I LOVE this recipe. I wonder if my usual chocolate chip cookie will work using an icecream scoop also, to make these kind of thick cookies. Or whether they will spread all over the pan, hmm.
My takeaway from this post is: You have an entire jar full of vanilla beans?!?
I hope you have them appropriate insured.
I made these last night and baked them this morning (chilled them overnight in the fridge already scooped and salted). This is EVERYTHING I want in a cookie – a nice weight but not hefty, slightly crunchy on the outside in a caramel-y way but chewy on the inside. These are my new standard for a 3 p.m. snack with a decaf pour-over.
When you say to “just use more brown sugar” in place of the 4 Tbsp of raw, is it a one-to-one substitution? By Tbsp or by weight?
You can do 1:1 by volume and the weight won’t be terribly different — it will work out fine regardless.
Thank you! Made them with all dark brown sugar and they’re amazing! Btw, your brownie roll out cookies are STILL one of the most requested cookies when I bake for family and friends.
one of the best raw cookies I had. I eliminated raw sugar completely.
This is the best tasting healthy-ish cookie I’ve had. I took it all the way and pulled out all the obnoxious healthy tweaks and vegan substitutions – lowered the brown sugar to 60g, used half rye/half whole wheat flour, used Earth Balance butter and a flax egg, and used 2 oz each of unsweetened cacao chips, chopped walnuts, and dried cherries. Was expecting a total dry hippie tasting cookie but it’s rich, gooey, and still quite sweet. It also held its shape fantastically well after only a 1 hour rest in the fridge.
These cookies are amazing. Made to the exact measurements with very finely chopped walnuts and whole wheat pastry flour. I love the texture the raw sugar give to the finished product. I think they would be amazing too if you wanted oatmeal raisin cookies. Have made these twice in three days! Thanks for the spectacular cookie!
Made these tonight with Ghiradelli bitter sweet chocolate chips and KA white whole wheat flour. Topped them with a sprinkle of maldon and used the walnuts. These were declared the best chocolate chip cookies ever by the family❤️✌️
Made these tonight, and oh my, so delicious! I so appreciate the one bowl method. Fewer things to wash! I added walnuts, dried cherries and chocolate, and we’re waiting for the kiddo to go to bed so we can sneak in another cookie…or two :)
I made a batch of these this morning to help cheer up a friend. I swapped in chopped walnuts for the wheat bran and I have no regrets. They. Are. Divine.
These are so good!!!
That’s all :)
Made these tonight and my husband said “those cookies? Delicious…delicious! Everything about them just worked.”
These are incredible. Like they legitimately taste better than white flour chocolate chip cookies. I have started using 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans and 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, instead of 1/4 nuts and 1c chocolate. Somehow they’re even better with less chocolate—you can taste the rest of the cookie too.
Made these a 2nd time and they were even better! The main difference is that I scooped the cookies before putting the batter in the fridge to chill for 2 hours. I also used a 2 tbsp scoop instead of 3. This way we could eat TWO cookies with less guilt. These still required 14 min of baking. (Used my Breville countertop oven, so not sure if that’s a factor.) Somehow eating one larger cookie is less satisfying. Go figure. I also threw in 1/4 C of raisins, which I will probably at least double next time. And I threw out my old jar of wheat germ a while ago from disuse, so simply omitted that both times, although I’m sure it’s a perfectly good addition.
Just made these for the first time and they are delicious! The whole wheat flour really does enhance the cookie and is not heavy. I chose the finely chopped walnut option. I know that you like “cookies to be cookies” but I did substitute maple sugar for the brown sugar and they were awesome. Thanks also for providing ingredient weights–so helpful and not at all a common practice in the US.
We did not have any wheat germ, bran, or nuts onhand so we used flaxseed and they still turned out AMAZING. Thank you for this recipe!
This is my 2nd time making these in as many weeks. For this batch I used KA whole grain flour blend, coconut sugar and almond toffee bits. So delicious! I love the versatility of using different flours. Fun to experiment.
Great little recipe. I did not have wheat flour, so subbed a mixed of AP and buckwheat, used unsweetened dried shredded coconut in place of the oat bran/nuts. Quick and easy, satisfied my cooking craving!
These hit the spot today! Delicious. I used pecans, and discovered (too late) that I was out of chocolate chips. I had 2/3 cup of cacao nibs on hand that I used instead. They weren’t bitter (to me) in the cookie, but I prefer things that are a bit less sweet anyway.
Not sure I’ve ever commented before, but I had to say that these are my new favorite cookies. One bowl! Does not require room temp butter! Very flexible! Comes together quickly! Delicious and craggy! Does not exceed my butter and sugar threshold for everyday desserts! I added tart cherries because I cannot leave well enough alone and look forward to trying with rye flour, additional spices (perhaps some five spice powder), and other mix-ins.
I made these as written with two substitutions – barley flour for Whole wheat, and flax seed for wheat germ. I cooked them for 12 min and waited for 5 before removing – some of my cookies spread too flat, making it hard to remove from the pan – I am hoping they will still stay together after cooling on the rack. Did I go awry any way? I know my baking powder is not expired and still good!
Ground flax seed or whole?
Thanks so much for these. They’re our new favorite “house” cookie, and one that I can kind of justify eating in quantity (all the fiber! Practically a health food!). Making another batch now as stress relief on Election Day.
These are my new favorite cookie – so delicious! They make me so happy! Thank you!
My 11yo & I made this exactly as written and they were wonderful. Very earthy yet gooey and filling. Instead of chips, we used 6oz leftover Halloween Hershey bars chopped up for chocolately goodness and 3TBS scoop for large cookie size. We’ll definately make again!
I made these today as I was celebration baking, and they are so delicious! I doubled the recipe and followed all of the directions exactly. They are so much more than just a regular oatmeal chocolate chip cookie in the best ways. I’ve made A LOT of your recipes, and generally appreciate how your desserts aren’t overly sweet. This is going to be a staple in our home. Thanks, Deb!
Have made these twice now, and needless to say they’re delicious. I use ground flax seed and/or finely chopped walnuts instead of wheat germ. I chill the dough for a few hours, bake a handful of cookies, then freeze the rest of the dough so I can bake throughout the week!
These are extremely good cookies. I made full swaps by weight with salted butter (in place of unsalted), spelt flour (in place of whole wheat) and almond meal (in place of wheatgerm). I also used three different types of chocolate (milk, dark and somewhere in between) and added 1/8 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. I rested the dough for a day before baking, which I think could’ve helped the oats soften and hydrate, leading to a pleasantly chewy cookie.
I made these with coconut oil and they were amazing- I think the coconut flavor works well here. Made 2 double batches in one week, that’s how good they were!
I have made these an embarrassing number of times since you posted them. They are just perfect. When I’m short on time I melt the butter and mix everything together at once, throw in the fridge till I next have a free moment, then scoop and bake. I’ve used wheat germ or just extra flour; I’d love to try ground walnuts. What a treasure of a recipe!
These are delicious! They mixed up so easily and cleanly. I used wwpastry flour and flaxseed. First unchilled batch took 16 min in regular oven. Second chilled batch of dough took 12min in convection. Def crispier too. Plenty of choc chips. May cut back a bit next time as one cook commented.
These are delicious! Mine spread all over the place but they were still tasty. I will try refrigerating them next time (or freezing). I love the sprinkle of salt on top.
I made these and they’re great! I added ground flax and brewer’s yeast to make them nursing cookies. They are terrific!
Not sure I’ve ever commented before, but I had to say that these are my new favorite cookies. One bowl! Does not require room temp butter! Very flexible! Comes together quickly! Delicious and craggy! Does not exceed my butter and sugar threshold for everyday desserts! I added tart cherries because I cannot leave well enough alone and look forward to trying with rye flour, additional spices (perhaps some five spice powder), and other mix-ins.
Just pulled this from the oven 10 min ago, and they’re delicious! I was pretty skeptical of using whole wheat flour and oatmeal, without any white flour… but thank you so much! I followed your recipe exactly, even letting it set up for five minutes, and it’s lovely.
Oh, I only have a heaping 1 Tbs scoop, so made 30 cookies, and the times and temperatures were still great (I’d started checking at 10 min, just in case). Thank you for these delicious practically-healthy (I mean, kinda sorta…) cookies! 🥰
These sound pretty amazing, and the fact that you name-dropped Levain tells me you know your cookies! Will be trying these over the weekend for sure.
These are diabolically good. Thanks for this perfect recipe!!!
I am not exaggerating when I say these are the best cookies ever. These are the chocolate chip cookies I have been looking for my whole life, even when I was a kid.
I always found “normal” chocolate chip cookies to be disappointing when finally baked, simply incomprable to the dough itself, losing some unspoken richness in the oven. I knew I would prefer oatmeal chocolate chip, but no recipe cut the mustard.
One cookie I have always loved that has never been a let down: the legendary DoubleTree cookie. Warm, round, chocolatey, nutty. Beautiful. Alas, it is truly impossible to find a recipe touting the name DoubleTree that actually comes close to that delightful embrace.
This recipe is both those things: it is the perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and without even trying it is somehow distinctly DoubleTree – perhaps now the DoubleTree cookie will be a disappointment in comparison!
This cookie is the one cookie I have been seeking out, and I now know where I was going wrong in my quest for the ideal cookie – I was led to believe that you had to have some plain flour in there. Incorrect! That seemingly minuscule 95 grams of 100% wholewheat flour is the holy grail of rich, deep and, as Deb said, nuanced flavour.
In my batch, I used finely chopped walnuts rather than wheat germ. For the 6oz (170g) of chocolate, I used 130g of dark chocolate chips and 40g of cocoa nibs. I baked 6 cookies with the fresh dough and shaped and froze the rest. Every time I have one, I am reinvigorated with my awe and love for this recipe.
7/5 best cookie ever.
Wow, my own comment as a metaphor for how disappointing all cookies were before this cookie: re-reading it 5x, hitting “post comment”, and finding a typo in it immediately.
I swapped out golden raisins for choc chips, and used the walnut alternative, otherwise made exactly as described. This is a perfect cookie!
I have used this recipe several times. Just made it and doubled it for gifting. I use 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar in the doubled recipe and 3/4 of a cup all bran cereal instead of wheat germ (I used 2-1/2 cups oats). Half chopped dark chocolate, half dark chocolate chips. I refrigerate the dough for a short time. I did not eat breakfast until I had baked some…made sure to walk my dog about 5 miles beforehand! 😂 But they are high in fiber and dark chocolate is a superfood, as are old-fashioned oats…
I made these today and they were great. I followed some readers’ suggestions and made the following changes (based on personal preferences and what I had in my pantry):
-halved the sugar
-used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and raw sugar
-used 4 oz of dark chocolate chips
-used ground flaxseed instead of wheat germ
It didn’t really spread (I think because of the ground flaxseed) but it was delicious right out of the oven. Great balance of crunchy edges, gooey chocolate, and nuttiness.
These were amazing! I’ve been looking for ways to use up 5lb of whole wheat flour I bought during the beginning of the pandemic. They actually improve on a regular chocolate chip cookie, imho.
I made these for the ?th time yesterday, with the following additions or changes: I used wheat pastry flour for the whole wheat flour, and since I didn’t have wheat germ or flax seed, I used barley flour for that 1/4 cup; I used less sugar, and added mini chocolate chips, dried sour cherries, and sweetened coconut. I refrigerated the log of dough overnight and baked them today. They spread and raised a touch and so are bigger than I’d like, but they taste GREAT. They have crispy edges, a craggy but slightly chewy center, and a nutty undertone (from the barley, I think?). Thanks, Deb!
Ingredients call for 1/2 teaspoon salt but I don’t see it referenced in directions? Only the sprinkle before baking. Seems like it should go into batter?
It’s in there! However, in a unique place, to be fluffed with butter and sugars.
Think these can work with canola oil instead of butter?
While I didn’t test this with oil instead of butter, I think it will be fine, but the cookies will spread more. You can adjust with an extra spoonful of oats or flour next time if happens.
I made these about a week ago, they are so good!
However I used wheat bran, and half a cup of wheat bran was 25 g, rather than a quarter cup. I am not sure if I have weird wheat bran or what. I only used half a cup rather than 50g (a full cup!) of wheat bran… Should I have used 50g?
I have made this recipe at least 6 times since you published it. I love the crunchy, craggy texture. So good! My family loves it. My sister loves it. My dad loves it. Everyone gives it rave reviews. Made it again today, 1/3 with raisins and 2/3 with choc chips (because I hate raisins but my middle child requested oatmeal raisin cookies.) My husband and the middle child both like it better with raisins. But they will never get a full recipe with raisins! I just want to thank you for this recipe.
These are the best cookies ever! made them Wednesday when off work, then again Saturday. My family is in love with them. So many thanks for all your amazing recipes and your insightful writing.
This is *literally* the perfect cookie and the friends who’ve eaten them have all said so, independently. My sincere thanks! One question though–any recommended adjustments for higher altitude baking to get more loft?
I am currently eating the first one out of the oven and it is delightful. I left out the wheat germ because I couldn’t find any at our little grocery store. I didn’t use the nuts either because I don’t think my husband would like that. So instead I just added a some extra oats. Made a double batch and I think I’m going to be very happy about that! Oatmeal baked goods are my favorite.
Very good and very healthy tasting. Followed the recipe exactly as written. I checked the cookies after 11 minutes and was surprised that they were still ball shaped, so, I flattened with a metal spatula and baked for another 3 minutes. I did sprinkle the salt on top which I was hesitant to do, but I liked it! Next time, I will probably add at least another 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, just because.
Thanks, Debbie for another recipe to add to my cookie file!
I doubled the recipe and because I am one of those people who tries to made desserts a bit healthier (less unhealthy?) I used 1/2 c butter + 1/4 c canola oil. The cookies didn’t spread too much, and maybe this is why. The finished texture is great though. Also because they are pretty addictive, I will probably make the cookies smaller next time, like using 1-1.5 Tbsp dough per cookie.
ok, so i’ve made these cookies 4 times. Twice they’ve turned out perfect, and twice they have been very crumbly and almost too moist. I think i’ve followed the recipe exactly every time. What am I doing wrong?!
Are you measuring oats by weight or cups? Both work, but oats are the biggest variable — cups closer to the bottom of a canister are heavier; at the top, lighter. So, if they’re getting more crumbly, you might be using heavier weights of oats without realizing it.
oh THAT may be how i ended up with hockey pucks – ! it was the end of one can of oats and the top of the other – you’d think they might cancel each other out, but maybe not. will definitely go by weight next time; thank you!
Oh dear. These are dangerous. The texture is fantastic! So delicious, thank you.
I never comment on recipes, but I just want to say that these cookies were some of the best chocolate chip cookies (or really, any cookie!) I’ve ever made! Truly. Make these cookies, tonight! Not overly sweet, not greasy, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. I used half butter, half coconut oil (equivalent by volume not weight, so 1/2c). I also didn’t have brown sugar, so I used 1/2c turbinado sugar and 25g of a very dark honey. I mixed the fat+sugar+honey+salt in a stand mixer, as indicated. I let it go for a good 2-3 minutes, and it got FLUFFY! Fluffy in a way I’ve never seen with coconut oil! I used walnuts and dark chocolate chips, and sprinkled the tops with flaky salt. Rested the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes before rolling into balls, then rested the balls in the fridge for an hour or so before baking four to have as dessert. They were seriously incredible. Carmel-y, nutty, chocolatey, salty, not overly sweet, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, spread the perfect amount (aka, thin edges, pillow-y middle). With a double batch, I got 30 cookies, so I made them a bit smaller than instructed, but perfect for us! Thank you Deb!!!!!
Yep, these are perfect every time I make them. Crispy on the outside, moist and slightly chewy on the inside, perfect flavor too! I always follow the weight measurements with a scale, never fails. I was low on butter and used 5 tbsp butter, 2.5 tbsp canola oil plus 1/2 tbsp water to sub for the remaining butter and even then it was perfect!
Made these again (as usual I made a double batch of dough for the freezer) and this time swapped half the chocolate chips out for mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s.
EXCELLENT swap.
Hi Deb. My 6-year-old son and I made these today. We used all-purpose flour instead of the whole wheat, and finely chopped walnuts for the bran/germ/nuts portion since that’s all we had. Also hand-mixed since despite my many years of baking, we have somehow avoided buying a mixer. We refrigerated them for about an hour before baking. And they turned out delicious! You and all the earlier commenters are right about the interesting texture, and I loved that they came out mostly chewy with a slight crisp at the edges. Perfect!
I also have your lazy pizza dough rising, should be ready for lunch tomorrow. I have followed your blog and recipes for many years (perhaps more than a decade). Many of your recipes have become staples in our home. You also feature heavily on a group chat with two of my closest friends who are also avid bakers and cooks.
I comment rarely, but wanted to thank you for your great recipes; and authentic, entertaining writing style.
Forgot to mention that we also added M&Ms because, why not?
These are absolutely perfect but could you make a peanut butter version? If so, how?
This is my new favorite cookie recipe! So simple, delicious, chewy, crispy, sweet. I was curious to see how the whole wheat flour would turn out bc I’ve had bad experiences in the past with using ALL ww. But this is perfect! Make them! I’m saving this recipe forever. (Didn’t have bran, so I just upped the flour to a scant cup.)
I mixed up a double batch of these today, with my usual sub/adds of barley flour instead of wheat germ, whole wheat pastry dough rather than regular WW, and the additions of mini-chocolate chips, coconut, and dried sour cherries. It occurred to me while the Kitchen Aid was beating away at the butter and sugars, that while this recipe is incredibly forgiving re: substitutions and playing with amounts/volumes of ingredients, I bet the length of time I let the butter and sugars whip up probably accounts for any differences in dough texture I’ve experienced (and maybe for others, too?). I think I often stop that process too soon, before getting to the truly “fluffy” zone. Today I let it ride a bit longer and really noticed actual fluffiness, so we shall see what if any impact there is on the result.
Made exactly according to the recipe, and these were SO delicious. I accidentally are three tonight after dinner!!
We love these! I used minced walnuts instead of wheat bran and will continue doing so in the future. When hot out of the oven I sprinkled just a tiny bit of sea salt on each cookie. The scoop I used produced about 24 cookies. They were eaten so quickly that I never counted! Thanks for another great recipe.
These cookies are my fav – and now my go to. I’m making them tonight to hand out at my church where I hand out sandwiches and treats to anyone who shows up at the door around dinner time. Last month someone asked if there were any of the home baked chocolate chip cookies that were given out the previous night. I found two packets and the woman said she couldn’t remember when she had homemade cookies last and those were so good. Im lucky enough to make these cookies when I want to make to make them – but will make cookies to add to what people receive – a simple act of kindness.
These turned out soooooo good! I refrigerated the dough overnight just for life logistical reasons and the cookies were more heaped than spread as the recipe mentions will happen with chilled dough. And that is totally fine by me! Used King Arthur white whole wheat flour and pulsed walnuts in my blender rather than finely chopping but otherwise followed this recipe exactly. Will definitely make again!
These were such a a big hit with my family that I made them again… a double batch for the holidays. And they are disappearing fast! This time I had stone ground whole wheat flour and they were even better than with the white whole wheat flour! Only regret is that I tried to put two baking sheets into my tiny oven at once for my first batch and the cookies on the lower level burned… boo… but I made sure not to repeat that mistake again! :)
incredibly envious of everyone whose cookies spread. i followed the directions exactly and got something more akin to scones than cookies – big, dense pucks. great flavor, but the texture wasn’t very cookie-like.
one commenter suggested softening the wheat bran in a bit of warm milk/liquid first; may try that if i give it another go. usually SK recipes go exactly as ‘advertised’ but somehow this one went awry. surely user error since so many people had such good results. :/
April-
I had the same problem and made them a 2nd time thinking that I was really doing something wrong. I use a scale for measuring and still had hockey pucks… delicious hockey pucks but I want mine to look like the photo! I’m stumped for sure.
The perfect cookie IMHO (and my kids agree!).
Just made these and they are absolutely delicious. Crispy on the outside and tender and gooey with loads of chocolate inside. I used finely chopped walnuts as a sub for the wheat germ and extra large semi-sweet choc morsels. So good! Thanks for the perfected recipes that deliver every time :)
I’m making your cookies right now and I’m curious if you measure in grams or by cups. I’m using wheat bran and doubled the recipe so it should be 1/2 cup. If you go by grams it’s 50 grams but more like 3/4 cup when measured. Which is right? Thank you 😊
Melissa
I don’t think I would have tried a whole wheat cookie if it wasn’t a SK recipe. I’ll try anything on this site! Half way through I realized I was out of eggs, so subbed a flax egg. It worked great! Really loved these, more than I thought I would. I’ll be making a lot more of these!
Your ratios of butter to sugar and vanilla is Devine! I think you forgot to include “sugar” in the first instruction when beating the butter and salt together. But as always, theses cookies are the best ever.
Can I add flax seed or substitute it for the wheat germ?
I promised my husband cookies but didn’t want to make the same ole chocolate chip. I saw your Instagram post and knew I had to bake these. I swapped half the sugar with coconut sugar and used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. The sea salt flakes…chef’s 😚!
So tasty! I’m totally smitten.
I finally tried this recipe today after realizing I’d saved multiple IG posts about it. The cookies are PERFECTION – just the right mix of sweet & wholesome to satisfy a snack craving but keep you from reaching for another one! Definitely a new go to!
I had to bake for 15-16 minutes in my gas oven: they came out crispy on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside. Hoping to try the raw sugar instead of additional brown sugar next time!
I have now made these twice and they are delish! I used almond pulp leftover from homemade almond milk instead of wheat germ and they turned out great!
These were quite possibly the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I have ever had! I will definitely be making them again!
These are terrific! I added dried cranberries, some unsweetened coconut flakes and chopped pecans along with half the amount of chocolate chips. This is my new favorite recipe!
I made this and they are delicious. Used up all the left over Easter chocolate.
Yes ma’am, they’re good, all right! Lovely flavor. I usually use whole wheat flour anyway, but these are somehow lighter, and even almost flakey and crumbly, and yummily crunchy. Is it the baking powder? The extra salt? I had only 1 stick of butter, so I used 1/4 cup of coconut oil to make up the rest, which added a….something extra. Also, no vanilla, so almond extract went in. Top notch. Favorites list.
These were really delicious oat cookies, thank you so much. I used all regular sugar as that’s what I had, everything else I followed in the recipe. They did not spread, but were very nice. Everyone loved them, luckily you suggested a double batch so I froze some dough already formed into cookies for next time.
Hi Deb! Would these work with browned butter if the dough was scooped and then refrigerated before baking, a la Claire Saffitz’ chocolate chip cookie recipe from Dessert Person? I love and prefer a hearty oatmeal cookie, but I love the nutty caramel-y flavour her cookies end up with. It seems like the perfect marriage—what do you think?? :)
I didn’t test them with brown butter, so I cannot say with certainty but they should probably work well but you might need to add a little water, maybe 2t, for the water loss when browning.
I’ve made these before as-written and they were absolutely delicious. When I went to make these today, I didn’t have wheat germ so I used chopped almonds. I thought I was otherwise following the recipe until I went to add my egg in and realized we were out. Nooooo! So I’m commenting here in case this is helpful for anyone else. Maybe there’s someone out there who can’t eat egg or is also a bad planner like me, ha.
We also didn’t have flax, so I used a tbs of chia with 1/3c water and let it sit for ~10min before adding. I intentionally creamed longer than I normally would. The dough was wetter and more crumbly, but stuck together when I formed balls with my hands. I baked them a tad longer and they were very delicate when they came out of the oven. Surprisingly the cookies still taste great, but you can just barely discern the chia in the texture. So not an absolute win, but in a pinch know that using chia will work.
These are my new favorite chocolate chip cookie (and I guess, new favorite cookie in general). Other oatmeal chocolate chip cookies have been wayyyy too sweet (eg the ultra popular King Arthur one). This one has about half the sugar per unit everything else, but still tastes great. Love the texture. Doesn’t feel like a “healthy” cookie or anything either.
I don’t have fine sea salt – just kosher, table, and flaky sea salt. What is the fine sea salt to table salt conversion? I know that the kosher salt to table salt conversion is same measurement by weight, or half as much by volume. Is there a similar formula for fine sea salt?
Fine sea salt is basically the same weight as table salt, so use that. Kosher weighs less than table salt, and is less salty per teaspoon.
These are my favorite oatmeal cookie! Everything I want in a cookie – chewy, nutty, and not overly sweet. I’ve made them twice (using walnuts instead of wheat germ both times). I’m going to make them again with some ground flax seed so I can gift some to a new mom friend as a lactation cookie! Does anyone have advice on how to add the flax? Maybe replace some of the walnuts so I’m not just adding additional dry ingredients? I’m not enough of a baking expert to ever make changes to a recipe myself!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever eaten! I used spelt flour, 1/4 cup of chopped pecans and bittersweet chocolate chips. I didn’t chill the cookies before baking them, which was fine, because they spread very little. Thanks for a great recipe! Gwen
I have made these repeatedly. Straight to the oven and frozen. By far my favorite cookies ever and crowd pleasers too. I follow the recipe as is but use food processed walnuts instead of wheat germ. Incredible. Thank you!
My husband was speechless when he tried these…they were THAT good. He immediately went back for a second cookie. Thank you!
Love these cookies!! Ive made them the normal way and with half the amount of sugar and I actually prefer them with less sugar.
These cookies are fantastic, like bakery quality in my opinion (especially when making the large size). I bought turbinado sugar and wheat bran specifically for this recipe because I saw the recipe and KNEW I had to make them, and I’m so glad I did! They will be a new favorite in my house!
These are my favorite chocolate oat cookies ever. Adding this recipe to my go-to’s!
I loved the idea of Rye in choc chip cookies (my fave), but I doubled the recipe (good plan!) and didn’t have enough. Made up the diff. w some Buckwheat flour and just a bit of ww pastry. I love them, but my hubby said he thought the only thing that saved them (as he scarfed down 3 or so!) was the choc. chips. Any way you make them, they’ll be great, I’m pretty sure. I also added walnuts, cuz choc chip cookies without walnuts just don’t live up to their potential.
These are excellent. Made them today with flaxseed meal instead of wheat germ. Sprinkled with chocolate salt on top.
I just made these a second time. I baked them according to a Dorie Greenspan recipe from Mokonuts in Paris. Those cookies used rye flour and baking powder, producing the “dome” after baking. The recipe calls for chilling preformed balls overnight and I use a medium scoop. Cookies are baked cold on a cold pan at 425 for 8-9 minutes, then lightly tapped with the bottom of a glass, then cooled on the pan for 3 minutes. Worked like a charm for these. Such a delicious recipe. Great healthy texture and not too sweet. Thank you!
Man! After reading this recipe and seeing everybody’s review I was very excited about these healthy oatmeal cookies and have been looking for something using whole wheat flour. Unfortunately they ended up disastrous. So crumbly like granola! I added another egg to try to get the dough to come together but nothing seemed to turn it into cookie dough. They ended up as little clumps of rubbery oatmeal being held together only by the pumpkin chips I used. What do I do wrong?
I used to have this happen when I didn’t weigh whole wheat flour. Did you weigh it or use a measuring cup?
I make these cookies all.the.time. I just adapted the recipe to make cookie-in-a-jar gifts for a couple of *really* good friends. Other faves are the rustic bread, melting potatoes, and really anything with browned butter in it. Thank you so much, Deb!
These are fantastic! The texture is so nice and chewy, yet soft. I got 18 cookies using a #30 disher that holds ~2 tbsp of dough. I didn’t use turbinado sugar (just more brown sugar), and I made one batch with regular butter and one with browned butter. The regular batch was really good, but I did think the brown butter made a difference; it added a deeper, nutty flavor that was delicious. I’ll definitely make it with brown butter in the future. I might also try adding 1/4 tsp cinnamon like a few other people did.
For anyone who wants to try the recipe with brown butter — just brown the stick of butter called for in the recipe, put it in the fridge to cool off before beating with the sugar, and add 14 g (1 tbsp) of water to the sugar/butter (to make up for the water lost from browning the butter).
Layla-This sounds like a great idea!
These were delicious. I ate way too many of them last night. Wonderful crunch and crispy texture, while remaining chewy and soft as well. I used oat bran, didn’t have wheat germ or wheat bran. YUM.
OH…and, sprinkling with Maldon before baking is KEY!
I love a good oatmeal cookie and I have a bunch of wheat flour and oats that were begging to be used. But I didn’t have wheat germ or walnuts. I did have… pumpkins seeds! if any of you are wondering if this recipe works with seeds (chopped), it does. I don’t know how my cookies compare to one with wheat germ or walnuts, but these. Are. Good. Not too sweet, lots of texture. Love it. Thank you!
Are there any tweaks that would make these delicious-looking cookies chewy (household preference) rather than crispy-crunchy?
These are quite chewy and only crispy around the edges. If you want them crispier, then you can make them smaller. But for a chewy cookie, make them exactly as written. For extra chewiness, you could refrigerate or freeze them first (I’ve done both and the biggest issue is underbaking and having them fall apart into bite size fragments. But when done correctly you can pull 2 of these out cold and have cookie bliss in 15-17 mins)
I just tried a banana bread with rye flour. Can I use rye flour in place of Whole wheat?
Yes, absolutely.
Oh I am so excited to make these for my kids! I actually baked chocolate chip cookies today too- It’s funny, I didn’t make one cookie before the holidays but have done one recipe a day ever since. I tried to make them more healthy by doing half oat flour, but this is really the recipe I’ve been looking for. Thank you for sharing!
Also made your mom’s apple cake two days ago too- it was beautifully delicious and the only time I have ever gotten a cake out of a Bundt pan in full!
I love these! I used 80g of maple syrup instead of the brown and raw sugar. So soft ang gooey but little crispy on the outside! May add more oats next time.
Is their nutritional info someplace?
Thank you for the amazing easy one bowl recipe!!
Made these with a large cookie scoop – came out perfect! Very good! Used all brown sugar and wheat germ
This is my new choc chip cookie recipe – amazing flavor and texture. I also appreciate healthier ingredients. Used chopped walnuts. Thank you!
Excellent recipe! I used flaxseed in place of wheat germ (as that’s what I had) and a flax egg in place of the regular egg (for allergies) and they came out great. Whole family loves them, thank you!
I liked the size I got from making 12 cookies per batch as written. Made half with chopped dates and half with semisweet chocolate chunks. What a satisfying treat!
These look AMAZING!! However, I’m hoping to make it a little more keto and calorie friendly by using King Arthur Flour Keto’s Wheat Flour Blend and Lily’s chocolate chip for a friend’s birthday. What do you think??
By the way, I love reading and watching you prepare your recipes. Next recipes up to try are Farro with Tomatoes and Vegetable Lasagna.
After gaining way too many pandemic pounds, I’m scaling back on carbs and will be experimenting with using KA keto wheat flour, KA sugar alternative and Lily’s chocolate chips in this recipe. Deb’s cookies have been very forgiving on the different variations, so maybe adapting the lower carb ingredients may work. We shall see.
BTW, Deb’s farro with tomatoes is one of my favorite go-to recipes. While not low-carb, it’s very healthy.
I am about to put these in the oven. Second time making them this week and it won’t be the last. I used almond flour in place of the wheat germ or other nuts. These are delicious and filling no guilt cookies
I veganized the recipe by using vegan butter and a flax egg. They came out great! What a hearty, delicious cookie!
For the gluten free folks, I used half sorghum, half oat flour instead of whole wheat, and I used buckwheat instead of wheat germ/ bran. I chilled for 30 minutes, made some 3 T and some 1.5 T and baked for 14 min. Both sizes delicious. Smaller size a bit crispier. Maybe I’ll use smaller chips next time though b/c some didn’t seem very melty.
Made these for the first time yesterday and my family loved them! 10 out of 10 for the reviews. :)
I used finely chopped walnuts and refrigerated the dough overnight (because I didn’t have time to bake them immediately).
These are very good. I didn’t have wheat or oat bran, so I used almond meal. I will try with medium rye flour next time as I have an abundance of various flours after going on a bread baking binge the last two years. I only baked 6 cookies to start and will do some more after they sit in the frig overnight. I want to see if they spread less.
Tried these lat Sunday. Double batch. Two of us ate them gone by Wednesday night. Really really good recipe, thank you. The texture and flavor are perfect. I used ground flaxseed instead of wheat germ or ground nuts and after tasting the raw batter I was a little concerned about the strong flavor coming through, but you can’t tell in the baked cookies. My husband loved them and he is not a whole grain sort of person. Give these a try!
These were amazing, I doubled the recipe, used wheat bran, and so happy that we have some of these ready to bake in freezer! So good! Thank you, Deb!
How much sugar do you think I could lift out of this recipe without compromising it? Made these for the first time yesterday and they seemed more sweet than your cookies usually taste. I used weight and not volume if that makes any difference. (Don’t get me wrong, we still ate them all).
These cookies are truly scrumptious! I made them as written, using pecans, and upped the salt to 1 tsp (but didn’t add it to the top). I used 1/4 cup of dough for each cookie and baked for 16 minutes. The texture is just crunchy enough, just chewy enough and the depth and layers of flavor from the whole wheat flour/finely chopped pecans/oats combo is absolute perfection. And I love that it makes about a dozen large cookies – the perfect amount for our 2-person household. This recipe has shot to the top as my new Perfect Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie. Thanks for sharing!
These cookies are even better baked from frozen, 16 min at 350. The outside are crunchy the insides are perfect. Love this recipe so much!
I made these today with what I had around, which was whole wheat pastry flour, tahini instead of butter, coconut palm sugar , oats, coarse almond meal instead of wheat germ, and chunked 70% dark chocolate. They are delicious . I chilled them for only an hour and they didn’t spread at all, in fact I smooshed them a little at 10 minutes as they weren’t flattening enough for me.
I loved the tahini in it though I’m sure butter would be delicious too. I recommend the chunks of chocolate because they were all different sizes and the shavings created by chopping went all through the cookies
For those asking about spelt, einkorn etc, I use those as well as buckwheat and rye in cookies frequently and they are delicious.
My husband made these with our 2 year old grandson today. When we ate some , the little guy declared “these are wiggle, jiggle delicious!” I agree!
Absolutely delicious! Truly, the best cookies of this type we’ve ever eaten. I went with the walnuts. I was confused when I had extra dough after portioning the 12, but I’m happy to have 6 more in the freezer for another time. Will definitely make again and again.
These are our new favorite cookie!! I always reduce sugar – used about 110 g of dark brown sugar – and they were REALLY GOOD. Then, I got an itch to sub miso for salt so I replaced the salt with 1.5 tbsp of white miso – and discovered an EVEN MORE FAVORITE COOKIE. The ratio of chocolate to other stuff is perfect, and the oats and walnuts add a great textural note. The miso adds a slight salty umami undertone, and the level of sweetness is perfect for us. YUMMO. Thank you!!
My husband calls these my “better than Levain” oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (iykyk) and they have fully replaced my previous signature oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Thanks, Deb!
Could I use spelt flour as a substitute for whole wheat? I *think* they’re similar…. Thanks!
I didn’t test it with, but I bet it will be fine. This recipe is fairly accepting of other flours!
These are SO GOOD. New go to cookie.
I usually don’t comment, but this is a really nice blog, and I am learning many new things.
Thank you a lot. Keep writing and spreading more useful information with us.
This is a go-to cookie recipe for me. I make them all the time. Delicious. Everyone loves them. Yesterday, I decided to try them with King Arthur’s measure for measure Gluten free flour. The dough came out very dry and crumbly. I baked them anyway. They fell apart while warm. But as they cooled they held together. Today after a night in my cookie tin, they are even better. I woke up this morning and found a raw egg on the counter and soon realized that they were that crumbly because I totally forgot to add the egg. Duh. So I am going to try these gluten free again, only with the egg next time!
Delicious, so fast to pull together, and easily added to my regular rotation of baked goodies! I love how this is whole wheat. I used ground flaxseed instead of wheat bran.
Fabulous! I ran out of rolled oats so substituted 1/3 of the oats with unsweetened muesli. This added some texture (sunflower seeds, wheat flakes etc.) and a few raisins. So I used about 3/4 recommended amount of chocolate chips. Delicious, thanks!
These are apparently now my house cookie. I was making a batch and my husband said, “Are you making your normal chocolate chip cookies?” After a little back and forth, it turns out these wholewheat ones are indeed my normal chocolate chip cookies! I think they’re the ideal cookie, and I keep wheat germ and old fashioned oats stocked just so I’m always ready to make them.
These are the best chocolate chip biscuits. I have them in rotation with your oatmeal, raisin and walnut biscuits. I keep biscuit size balls of dough ready, in the freezer, to be cooked at a moment’s notice. Going out for the day – pop a few biscuits in the oven and produce on route to eat with coffee – such a treat.
A suggestion – I find this recipe hard to find. I always search oatmeal chocolate chip and they don’t come up. I rarely remember that they are called whole wheat chocolate chip.
Maybe a little change to the search algorithm would make sure no one misses this great recipe.
I love this recipe and have been making them for a couple of years. I decided to try a little different twist on them this time. I cut the butter back by 1/3 and added the remaining difference in extra crunchy Jif peanut butter. It turned out fantastic. I kept everything else the same. Thanks Deb for all your great inspiration! Looking forward to that cookbook release in the fall!
Whole wheat pastry flour has been my staple for 25 years. I’ve made almost this exact recipe for that long freezing 3 or 4 gallon bags full of cookie dough for emergency‘s! Even caught my son-in-law raiding the freezer for cookie dough six years ago. I used whole wheat pastry flour for everything back in the day. WEPF transforms the taste of everything.
These are delicious! I used finely chopped pecans. The sea salt sprinkle is key. Thanks for the recipe!
I gasped when I took a bite of these. Just incredible. I always have a batch of dough balls (a la Deb’s Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe) in my freezer for whenever the mood strikes…but these…THESE. These cookies have loads of textures and a nutty, almost savory quality. I can’t believe I’m preferring a cookie with whole wheat over one with Valrhona feves but here we are lol!
For anyone who likes using scales, my 3-tablespoon-sized dough balls clocked in at around 72 grams.
I’m sad. My cookies spread and got very flat and thin :(
why?
waaaaaa
I love these cookies! However, I always get a few that spread super thin, while the rest are fine. This last time, I put the scooped dough in the fridge for a couple of hours. Any idea why I always get those spreaders?
Good flexible cookie recipe. I used sucanat for the raw/turbinado sugar, dark brown sugar, walnuts in place of germ/bran. Since Deb mentioned using rye flour, I thought rye flakes might also work so I used a 50/50 split of rolled oats and rye flakes. For the finishing salt, we did a “blind taste test” using Morton’s coarse sea salt, Maldon, and Grey Salt. I preferred the Grey Salt and my husband preferred the Morton’s, so feel free to save your pricey Maldon for a different application if you have another option.
I had made these a while ago and was thrilled to have finally found an oatmeal cookie that’s actually delicious! I made them again today, except that I only had half a cup of rolled oats left. Oops. I subbed in an extra cup of oat bran and the cookies came out quite nicely.
These are amazing! I’ve made two batches in 3 days. How do you recommend storing them?
I just never anticipated it to happen to what we refer to as our House Cookie—a one-bowl oatmeal cookie that I’ve probably cooked many times a year for well over a decade, always saving extra scoops in the freezer so we can have freshly baked cookies when the situation calls for them.
This is the 3rd year that I have made these a part of my Christmas Cookie give aways. I make two double batches, one with Gluten Free flour. Add chia seeds as well (instead of wheat germ). Dark chocolate/bittersweet chips- and they are always delicious! Lovely texture, flavor…a total keeper. Now off to make those Fudgy Bourbon Balls- another holiday staple! Gluten Free cookies for those as well.
Thanks for all the great recipes!
I’ve made these exactly as written–delicious.
I’ve made these with half sugar and half honey–delicious.
I’ve made these with different chocolate combos–delicious.
I’ve made these with ground nuts instead of wheat germ–delicious.
I’ve made these with flaxseed instead of wheat germ–delicious.
I’ve made these with a combo of rye flour and whole wheat flour–delicious.
I’m currently in a short but very sad period where I can’t have refined sugar so I made them with date syrup and date sugar–delicious.
We are big cookie fans in our house, and these are our favorites!
These are looking a lot like my favorite cookies made my monks in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The only thing missing is peanut butter. Any suggestions of how to modify to add a little peanut butter in there?
You could try replacing 2 Tbs butter with 2 Tbs peanut butter since both are fats.
Just baked it. Perfectly delicious! We don’t like chocolate chip cookies, so I added caramel drops and raisins + pecan in place of wheat germ. Amazing! I love the nuttines of whole wheat flour. The best oatmeal cookies ever!
These are definitely a winner! Made as written. A generous amount of chocolate per cookie (I usually find myself poking in extra chips here and there but not necessary here). I did not have a cookie scoop the correct size, so I weighed out three tablespoons in grams on the kitchen scale for the first one and after that – just weighed out the lumps and rolled into balls – very easy. With all the relatively healthy ingredients, I might use raisins or dried cranberries instead of chocolate next time and call them Breakfast Cookies 😀 !
I veganized these with a flax egg and they are excellent!
I am several years late to this recipe, but I am very pregnant and just made a batch of these to freeze for post-baby cravings and wow, they are incredible and extremely easy. So much so that I am making an additional batch today to also put (mostly) in the freezer. Thank you for always putting such care and thought into your recipes!
I made these with half light brown sugar and half Swerve brown sugar substitute. They are fabulous. I also added a small handful of nuts (pecans and sliced almonds) to the butter/sugar mixture and let the mixer break them down with the paddle attachment while beating the butter. Adds a little extra richness and uses up what’s left in the bottom of the package of nuts. Win win.
Perfect! Crunchy, soft, sweet, salty. This cookie has it all. Thank you!❤️
I just made these today and wanted to report how it went, since I find others’ comments so useful. The dough smelled amazing as it came together and they taste good, but mine spread pretty thin. Not to full-on lace cookies, but most have a lace-y effect. They’re thin and crispy, and I was really hoping for the thick and chewy look/texture in the recipe photos. Hmm. I chilled them in the coldest part of my fridge for almost 3 hours. I used finely chopped (well, crushed with a rolling pin) pecans for the 1/4 cup part. I might try ground flaxseed or oat bran, or process nuts in a food processor. I will also try measuring ingredients by weight. I really want these to become my “weekday” cookies so I’m willing to test out some variables! I like all the creativity and variations I’m seeing in the comments – you could pretty much never get bored with these, swapping out different chocolate, dried fruit, or nuts. Oh, and different flours! I’d love to try out rye sometime. Will report back when I try again!
I made these again with a few tweaks and what a difference! Used 25g wheat bran and rye flour and the cookies hardly spread, which is exactly what I was hoping for. They look just like the picture and taste great! Crisp outside, soft and chewy inside. Love the quantity this makes – perfect for a weekly batch for lunches. Going to add nuts in the future, in addition to the wheat bran.
Just perfect! Outer crunch, chewy center, and lots of flavor. I used a medium (#40) ice cream scoop….made approx 2 dozen. Thanks!
Made 2 batches last night with added peanut butter. First batch I stayed true to the recipe just adding 3Tbs of PB. Did not refrigerate. Cookies remained domed with a wonderful crumb but slightly dry. Loved the flavor. 2nd batch reduced the butter by 2Tbs and replaced it with PB. Did not refrigerate but did flatten the mounds before baking. We liked these better – specifically the texture. Somehow they seemed less dry, even though the others had more fat. Will definitely be making them again.
These cookies are SO good. They are now the top cookie in my house (officially dethroned the KA flour oatmeal choc chip). Make them, you won’t regret it!
WHY IS THIS SO SWEET???? Otherwise 10/10
I’d love to add peanut butter to these. Would I substitute it for the butter or some of the butter? Thank you
This is my favorite cookie. I made them gluten free for a friend recently with a 1:1 sub whole wheat for buckwheat flour and the walnuts rather than the wheat germ. 100% as good. They also veganize well with vegan butter (I use violife) and a flax egg.
Healthy version but a little chalky with the oatmeal. although dunking saved it into a pretty decent breakfast treat.
Holy moly these are good! Perfect combination of healthy & decadent! I used 70% dark chocolate chunks & not-so-old fashioned oats but otherwise followed exactly as written and wow! I was afraid of the oat discrepancy but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Delish! These will be in the regular rotation! Might try pecans, coconut flakes or raisins with them in the future. I feel like the cookie base could handle different mixins.
I usually bake by weight, and I started to with this recipe, but noticed that 25g of either wheat germ, oat bran, or chopped nuts didn’t sound right. I opted for oat bran and 1/4 cup of it turned out to weigh nearly twice of what was cited. Also, I used a different brand of whole rolled oats than your standard Quaker. If I had used the cited weight measurement of 120g, I would have ended up with 1 cup of oats instead of 1.5 cup in my recipe. I opted to go with 1.5 cup of my brand (hence, a heavier weight than what was cited in the recipe), and these cookies turned out great — really hearty and chewy, which I think was the right way to go.
This is a fantastic cookie recipe! I have tried many oatmeal chocolate chip recipes and this one is definitely one of the best! I highly recommend it! And on top of making delicious cookies it is a very easy recipe,…one bowl!
These were delicious! We made them without nuts, everyone loved them. Next time will try with butter substitute for the dairy free office staff.
I have made this recipe many times, and they always come out great!
This time I made them again but they did not turn out so great. Maybe it started with not getting the sugar and butter “fluffy” enough?
Or going too far?
Before adding the dry ingredients, the wet ones were very liquidy, and after adding and beating the eggs and vanilla, the texture almost seemed kind of separated in a weird way. And super liquidy.
Has anyone had this before? The end result was really flat cookies without the usual intensity of flavor …
(I do the recipe as written, with chopped walnuts. This was the first time measuring flour, walnuts and oats by weight and not volume …)
Thanks for any input ! They are still good .., just not the usual home run. Thank you !!
I don’t have fine sea salt. I have regular table salt and coarse kosher salt. What’s a good swap?
Table salt is the same weight as fine sea salt.
I made this recipe but it didn’t come out – too much liquid. I would perhaps suggest add more flour.
Made the cookies today. I chilled the dough for 3 hours. One cookie on the first batch spread. I think if the mixins isn’t mixed well into the batter the cookie will spread. But all others were fine. Bake exactly 12 min & rotated the pan 1/2 way. Baked each pan separately. The person who said the cookie was gritty, I don’t think you creamed the butter long enough. I was a little short on chocolate so I added a handful of cranraisens. Also added double the amount of walnut. The cookies are very good.
These were great. Thx.
Hi Deb, These cookies look wonderful and I’d like to make the recipe. When I tried to print it, there were huge gaps in the text, almost as though it was formatted for photos, but only blank space appeared. Any suggestions? I normally print good recipes to make notes on and save to my “Favorites” folder in the kitchen. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks for all the great recipes!!!
Thanks for the heads-up. I just checked and for me, it’s working as it should. But, a few people have mentioned features not working this week so my hunch is that *something* is happening, just not sure where. Was this on mobile or desktop? What browser were you using? Was this from the Print button in the recipe or just Cntrl + P? Thanks.
I made these a few days ago. I am adding a new comment. These actually taste better days later. When first made the cookies were very soft so I wasn’t sure if I liked them enough to make again. I also didn’t have enough chocolate & added in cranraisens. Next time I will make sure I have the chocolate but will still add the cranraisens. I also used walnuts. I love that they keep for awhile. I love that the recipe calls for whole wheat flour. So will definitely make again!!
These cookies are incredible. Used chopped pecans instead of wheat germ, reduced the chopped chocolate a bit to make room for dried cherries. Will 100% make again
These cookies are fabulous! Loved the flavor and texture. Used oat bran and also coarsely chopped walnuts. Made and froze balls of dough and then baked directly from the freezer,
These were a big hit with my family as well as the staff at the cancer clinic I go to for chemo. I followed the advice of commenters and added cinnamon and they were delicious. I used a smaller scoop which yielded 30 cookies, giving me 10 bags of 3 cookies each to give to the cancer nurses and staff. Rave reviews from all, so this goes into the “keeper” file!
Glad you’re enjoying the cookies — I hope your treatments are swift and successful. 💕
Made these tonight using finely chopped walnuts as suggested. Omg best cookies ever. They were amazing as they were cooling (who can wait for cookies to fully cool?) And I just sneaked another bite now, a few hours later and they’ve developed a perfect chewiness. New fave cookies ever! Thank you!
For someone who wants cookies to be as close to granola bars as possible, these are PERFECT. My husband was suspicious right up until he ate 5 in a row and requested more. :)
I used wheat germ, wheat bran and chopped walnuts, and also added 1/4 cup each whole flaxseeds and hemp hearts as well as a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Added an extra egg to compensate for all the dry ingredients and also halved the chocolate chips (I used mini chips, so they were very evenly distributed with 1/2 cup.) They didn’t spread much, but I loved that, and the texture was absolutely perfect — the crunch from the bran and the flaxseeds does it for me!
Hi Deb – I saw on your IG stories a while back that you made these lactation cookies. Can you remind me what you substituted in the original recipe? Thank you!
I didn’t like how fluffy these were. (I used some buckwheat flour in place of ww and flax meal in place of wheat germ.) I would reduce the leavening next time.
Made today with stevia brown sugar and Lily’s dark chocolate chips. I also did a blend of whole wheat and dark rye flour otherwise as directed here.