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.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- When you’ve got half-used bags of nuts, coconut, dried fruit or candies, this is a good way to use them up.
- It’s not a fancy or involved recipe.
- They are the cookie recipe when craving oatmeal cookies with a little extra.
Big, chunky, chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with every scrap and morsel I could find. Literally “everything” went into these homemade cookies.
- Raw Slivered Almonds – toasted so they’re crunchy.
- Sweetened Flaked Coconut – also toasted to bring out their robust tropical flavor.
- All Purpose Flour – I recommend King Arthur’s unbleached all purpose flour.
- Baking Soda – a leavener.
- Salt – regular iodized salt. Do not substitute kosher salt.
- Unsalted Butter – softened to room temperature.
- Brown Sugar – I used light brown sugar for a soft caramel flavor. Dark brown sugar will give it a more molasses forward flavor which would be overpowering.
- Eggs – For softer more delicate crumb.
- Vanilla Extract – for flavoring.
- Old Fashioned Oatmeal – gives these everything oatmeal cookies a more substantial chew.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – or regular chocolate chips.
- Dried Cranberries – for tartness and chew.
- Flaky Sea Salt – for sprinkling over the cookies to add a salty contrast to the sweet 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.
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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.
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.
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.
- 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.
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The cookies will get a bit softer after the first day.
Absolutely. Well, wrapped, these chewy oatmeal cookies will last for 3 months in the freezer.
I haven’t done this, but there’s no reason you couldn’t. I would recommend dividing the dough in half and rolling each into a log. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and then in freezer paper. Defrost the dough before slicing and baking the cookies. (Slice about 3/4″ thick and don’t forget the sea salt!)
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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Everything Oatmeal Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup raw slivered almonds finely chopped, (or see substitutions, above)
- ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut (or see substitutions, above)
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups old fashioned oatmeal or quick cooking if you don’t have the other
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips (or see substitutions, above)
- ½ cup dried cranberries (or see substitutions, above)
- flaky sea salt for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS:
TOAST ALMONDS AND COCONUT:
- Center the baking rack in the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°.
- Spread the chopped almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until toasted and light brown.
- On another baking sheet, spread the coconut in a single layer and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring once until light brown.
- Let the almonds and coconut cool while you assemble the cookie dough.
FOR THE COOKIES:
- Turn the oven up to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the brown sugar and room temperature butter. Use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat until very light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter and mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
- Add the oatmeal, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, toasted almonds and coconut (or whatever your substitions are). Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Use a 1 ounce cookie scoop (2 tablespoons) to portion out the cookie dough or drop by rounded tablespoonfuls (2-inches apart) onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the cookies with a small pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate the sheet pan 180° and continue to bake for 5-7 minutes or until the edges are browned.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 1-2 minutes on the pan. Transfer the oatmeal cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool for about 5 minutes, so they can set.
- Store cookies in an airtight container.
NUTRITION:
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YUM just YUM. These are the very best cookies, I’m struggling to just eat one at a time. Had to do the coconut from scratch, meaning remove from shell, peel, shred but it was so worth it! The touch of salt is perfect. Made the rum passionfruit cake and it was also great. Two for two so far?
These cookies look amazing and so yummy! My family and I are going to enjoy these! Can’t wait to make these with my daughter!
I’m a cookie person and these are a favorite!
Love the way you were inspired to make these. We’re big fans of using what we have on hand. And, I’m crazy about finishing a cookie with salt!
Yum, I love this. I’m a huge fan of oatmeal cookies and I love all the ingredients you have added. Loving the wonderful touch of sea salt. Can’t wait to make this recipe this weekend.
Chocolate chips, cranberries and almonds sound like an amazing combination! Will be trying these oatmeal cookies very soon.
My kind of cookie!
so glad you like them!