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Everyone has a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, and this oatmeal one is mine. I grew up with my mom swapping out raisins for chocolate chips in every oatmeal cookie she baked, and to this day, soft and chewy oatmeal cookies with the sweet scent of cinnamon and loads of dark chocolate will always make me think of her. These particular cookies are soft and dense, with lots of buttery flavor and the ease of a no-mixer, nearly one-bowl method. They are very likely going to become one of your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes too.

There are a lot of oatmeal cookies in the world. In fact, Kitchn has at least three (Soft & Chewy, Cherry, Chocolate, and Pecan, and Pumpkin are our most popular). Almost all of them, however, require a stand mixer and more than a handful of ingredients. These cookies don't need a stand or hand mixer, and once you master them they can be mixed in one bowl. Plus, they stay soft and chewy for days after they're baked, thanks to the addition of cornstarch.

The two-step process

1. Melt the butter to hydrate the oats. This is a trick I learned from pastry wizard Stella Parks. The warm and liquid butter hydrates the oats and eliminates the need for a stand mixer for creaming the butter and sugar.

2. Use cornstarch to keep the dough moist and chewy. The added starch makes for a slightly drier dough, but will make the finished cookies softer and chewier after baking.

Baking and storing

Bake these cookies on a parchment lined-baking sheet until the edges are just beginning to brown. They shouldn't spread much, resulting in slightly mounded cookies with a dense, chocolate-filled center. (You can press the dough down before baking if you prefer a thinner cookie.) These cookies keep well in an airtight container for about five days, so keep your cookie jar full by baking these on the regular.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 24

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