Chunky, Chewy, Salty, Sweet, Everything Oatmeal Cookies

These chunky, chewy oatmeal cookies have everything BUT the kitchen sink. In fact, the mix-ins (toasted almonds, coconut, mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries and old fashioned oats) are so plentiful that the dough itself is just there to hold the rest of the ingredients together. Don’t forget the flaky sea salt finish — it’s the final exclamation point to these irresistible everything cookies.

The inspiration for these everything cookies was a pantry loaded with half-filled bags of nuts, chocolate chips and other traditional mix-ins.

You have to use that stuff before it goes stale and, I admit, I was craving cookies.

Not fancy or involved. Not delicate or decorated. Just cookies.

Big, chunky, chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with every scrap and morsel I could find. Literally “everything” went into these homemade cookies.

Ingredients for everything cookies

For starters

Before you assemble the everything oatmeal cookie dough, you need to chop and toast the raw slivered almonds. If you don’t toast the nuts first, they won’t be as crunchy and or have as much flavor.

I also like to toast the flaked coconut until it’s light brown and faintly crisp. It adds another toasty layer to the cookies. If you prefer chewy coconut, you can skip toasting it in the oven.

Assembling oatmeal cookie dough

I used a basic cookie method for this simple recipe. Creaming brown sugar and butter together until they’re really light and fluffy, then beating in the egg and vanilla and finally, stirring in the dry ingredients.

I prefer to stir in the flour, baking soda and salt to avoid making the dough tough. However, you can use a hand mixer to do it… just make sure you mix on low to medium speed, scraping the sides until the flour mixture is just incorporated. Don’t over mix.

You’ll notice that there’s not a lot of dough — at least not compared to everything else that goes into these cookies.

Instant or old fashioned oatmeal?

I prefer to use old fashioned rolled oats instead of the quick cooking oats. Old fashioned oatmeal is sturdier, and it makes the cookies chewy and substantial.

If you have the old fashioned oats, use them, otherwise, use instant or quick cooking oatmeal. They won’t have quite the same structure, but they’re cookies… no one complains about cookies.

The “everything” in everything cookies

It’s the mix-ins that make these everything oatmeal cookies so special.

They’ve got a balanced mix of chewy and crunchy, sweet and salty — and chocolate. I consider chocolate to be its own distinct ingredient.

The tart, chewy pops of dried cranberries work really well with the mini chocolate chips. I didn’t add a ton of dried fruit, so you won’t get cranberries in every bite, but when you do, it’s noticeable and appreciated.

The toasted slivered almonds amp up the chunky and crunchy factor and the toasted coconut adds a bit of tropical sweetness. All in all, a winning combination.

That said, you can (and should) use whatever you’ve got in your pantry.

Creative substitutions

Mini Chocolate Chips

Try white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips or milk chocolate chips. Or chop a bar (about 6 ounces) of chocolate into rough chunks and add to the oatmeal cookie dough. Other ideas: M&M’s, Reeses Pieces, crushed malt balls.

Toasted Almonds

You can substitute any type of nut for the toasted almonds. Pecans, walnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts or even peanuts will work. Just be sure to check whether your nuts are raw or have been previously roasted. You may be able to skip the toasting step if they’ve done it for you.

Dried Cranberries

Substitute raisins, sultanas, chopped dried apricots, dried cherries, chopped dried plums, dried pineapple, chopped dried figs, chopped dried dates or any other chewy dried fruit. Depending on the size of the dried fruit, be sure to chop them into small pieces (about the size of a raisin) before adding to the everything cookie dough.

Toasted Coconut

You can swap toasted seeds for coconut. This can add different textures and boost nutrition (not that you eat cookies for their health value). Try toasted sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.

Look at how thick and loaded this dough is! I’m telling you, there’s so many “extras” that the cookie dough can barely hold everything together.

Tips on baking everything cookies

• I recommend baking the cookies on parchment paper to save on cleaning later on. Just line a rimmed sheet pan with the paper and drop cookie dough out in heaping tablespoons or use a medium cookie scoop that measures 2 tablespoon portions.
• Make sure the mounds of oatmeal cookie dough are about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet, so they have room to spread without touching.
• Sprinkle the cookies with just a pinch of flaky sea salt before baking. (This is especially appreciated by adults – it’s the yin to the sweet cookie yan. If you’ve got kids, set aside a few with the sea salt — just for grown-ups.)
• Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, until they’re golden brown, but not completely set. The cookies will be chewier if you cook them for less time (12 minutes) and a little crunchier if you go the full 14 minutes.
• Let the cookies rest for a minute or two on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the everything cookies do spread a bit, if you want a flatter, more even cookie, spray the bottom of a large glass or metal measuring cup with vegetable spray and press them gently over each mound of cookie dough before baking. Press the dough to about an even 3/4″ thickness. Don’t press too thin or you’ll lose some of the the “chewy” factor in these oatmeal cookies.

Personally, I like the chunky look of these oatmeal cookies — and everything that goes into them.

That little pinch of flaky sea salt (I used Maldon) on top really sets off the flavors in these cookies. If you have folks who don’t like the sweet/salty play, you can skip it, but that’s one of the things my tasters loved about them.

Everything cookie FAQ’s

More easy cookie recipes:

• Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Dried Cherry Pecan Cardamom Cookies
• Soft n’ Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate
• Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

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