Oatmeal Cookies The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Pecan Cherry Blend

Indulge in the ultimate homemade treat with these Chewy Oatmeal Cookies, generously loaded with luscious chocolate chips, crunchy pecans, and sweet, tangy dried cherries. Based on a cherished old-fashioned recipe, these cookies are elevated to a new level of deliciousness, offering a delightful interplay of textures and flavors in every bite.

If your heart beats for cookies that are not only soft and chewy but also brimming with a rich tapestry of ingredients, then this recipe for Easy Oatmeal Cookies is exactly what you’ve been searching for. Imagine sinking your teeth into a perfectly baked cookie, where the warmth of wholesome oats meets the melty joy of chocolate, the earthy crunch of toasted pecans, and the bright burst of dried cherries. It’s a symphony of flavors that promises to captivate your palate and become a new favorite in your baking repertoire.

Why You Must Make These Irresistible Oatmeal Cookies

There are countless reasons to whip up a batch of these extraordinary chewy oatmeal cookies, beyond just their incredible taste. They represent the perfect blend of comfort, versatility, and wholesome goodness that makes them a staple for any home baker.

• Unmatched Soft and Chewy Texture: Unlike many dry or overly crisp cookie recipes, ours is meticulously designed to deliver a perfectly soft, tender interior with delightfully chewy edges. This ideal texture is achieved through careful ingredient selection and precise baking techniques, ensuring every bite is a satisfying experience.
• Customizable to Your Heart’s Content: While our recipe offers a fantastic combination of chocolate chips, pecans, and dried cherries, it serves as a versatile canvas for your culinary creativity. Feel free to experiment with your favorite add-ins, whether it’s different types of chocolate, a variety of nuts, or other dried fruits. This adaptability makes it a recipe you’ll return to again and again, always with a fresh twist.
• Perfect for Sharing and Gifting: A batch of homemade chewy oatmeal cookies is more than just a dessert; it’s a gesture of warmth and kindness. They make exceptional hostess gifts, a thoughtful way to welcome new neighbors, or simply a delightful treat to share with friends and family. The joy of homemade cookies is truly infectious.
• Wholesome and Hearty: Oatmeal cookies, by their very nature, offer a more substantial and satisfying bite than many other cookie varieties. The inclusion of old-fashioned rolled oats adds fiber and a comforting, rustic quality that makes them feel a little more wholesome, perfect for a hearty snack or a delightful accompaniment to your morning coffee.

Ingredient Notes: Crafting the Perfect Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

The success of these chewy oatmeal cookies hinges on the quality and preparation of each ingredient. Here’s a closer look at what you’ll need and why each component is crucial:

• Kitchen Staples: Butter, Flour, Baking Soda, Salt – These foundational ingredients form the backbone of our cookies. Ensure your butter is softened to room temperature for proper creaming, and use all-purpose flour. Baking soda provides lift and contributes to the chewy texture, while a pinch of salt balances the sweetness and enhances all the other flavors.
• Dark Brown Sugar – This is a key player in achieving that coveted chewy texture. Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light brown sugar, which not only adds a deeper, caramel-like flavor but also significantly increases moisture content, resulting in a softer, chewier cookie. If you only have light brown sugar, you can easily make your own dark brown sugar by adding a tablespoon of molasses per cup of light brown sugar and mixing thoroughly.
• Egg – A single large egg binds the ingredients together and adds richness. For optimal incorporation into the dough, make sure your egg is at room temperature. This helps it emulsify more effectively with the butter and sugar, leading to a smoother, more uniform batter.
• Vanilla Extract – Never underestimate the power of good vanilla. I highly recommend using a high-quality pure vanilla extract, such as Nielsen-Massey, for the best flavor. Avoid artificially flavored vanilla, as it can impart a synthetic taste that detracts from the overall cookie experience.
• Baking Powder – While baking soda is essential, a touch of baking powder provides additional lift and lightness. It’s crucial to check the expiration date on your baking powder, as it loses its potency over time, often before the container is empty. An expired leavening agent can result in flat, dense cookies.
• Old Fashioned Rolled Oats – For the best texture in chewy oatmeal cookies, old-fashioned rolled oats are non-negotiable. Their thicker, more substantial flakes provide a delightful chewiness and a hearty structure that quick oats simply cannot replicate. Quick oats can become mushy and lose their texture during baking, so stick with the rolled variety for superior results.
• Chopped Pecans, Toasted – Nuts add a wonderful crunch and a depth of flavor. Toasting the pecans beforehand is a small step that makes a significant difference. Toasting brings out their natural oils, intensifying their nutty aroma and flavor. Simply warm them gently in a dry skillet over medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant, then let them cool before chopping and adding to the dough.
• White Chocolate Chunks – For a luxurious touch and a balance of sweetness, white chocolate chunks are perfect. Chopping a high-quality bar, like Ghirardelli, ensures irregular pieces that melt beautifully and provide varied bursts of creamy sweetness throughout the cookie.
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks – The classic choice for a reason, semi-sweet chocolate chunks offer a rich, deep chocolate flavor that complements the oats and other mix-ins perfectly. You can chop a bar for larger, more decadent pools of chocolate, or purchase pre-made chunks found in the baking aisle alongside chocolate chips.
• Dried Tart Cherries – These provide a bright, tangy counterpoint to the sweetness of the chocolate and the richness of the nuts. Dried tart cherries from stores like Trader Joe’s are excellent. If cherries aren’t available, dried cranberries (Craisins) or even classic raisins make delicious alternatives.

Substitutions and Variations: Customize Your Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

The beauty of this old-fashioned oatmeal cookie recipe lies in its incredible versatility. While the combination of chocolate chips, pecans, and dried cherries is undeniably delicious, don’t hesitate to personalize these cookies to suit your taste preferences. The basic dough is a fantastic foundation for a myriad of flavor combinations:

• Dried Fruit Alternatives: Instead of dried tart cherries, consider swapping them for an equal amount of dried cranberries for a similar tangy kick, or classic raisins for a more traditional oatmeal cookie experience. Golden raisins, chopped dried apricots, or even a blend of mixed dried fruits can also work wonderfully, adding different textures and sweetness levels.
• Nutty Swaps: Toasted walnuts are a fantastic and flavorful alternative to pecans, offering a slightly more robust, earthy note. You could also experiment with chopped almonds for a delicate crunch, or even macadamia nuts for a buttery, tropical twist. Always remember to toast your nuts for enhanced flavor!
• Chocolate Adventures: The world of chocolate is your oyster! Replace the mix of white and semi-sweet chocolate chunks with milk chocolate chips for a sweeter, creamier profile, or go for dark chocolate chunks for a more intense cocoa experience. Peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, or even a blend of different chocolate varieties can create unique and exciting flavor combinations. For an extra treat, try adding toffee bits – their buttery, caramelized crunch is incredibly addictive!

Beyond ingredient swaps, you can also play with the size of your cookies. Feel free to make smaller, bite-sized cookies for a party platter or jumbo-sized cookies for an extra-indulgent treat. Just remember that altering the cookie size will necessitate adjusting the baking times accordingly. Smaller cookies will bake faster, while larger ones will require a longer baking period. This adaptable oatmeal cookie recipe ensures delicious results, no matter how you choose to make them your own!

Mastering the Art of Chewy Cookies: Expert Baking Tips

Achieving that perfectly soft, chewy cookie texture is a baking goal for many, and it often comes down to a few key techniques. When it comes to my cookies and cookie bars, I consistently aim for a slightly underbaked finish rather than an overbaked one. This simple approach is paramount in ensuring soft, pliable cookies instead of crisp, hard ones. However, there are several other valuable strategies you can employ to guarantee your oatmeal cookies—and indeed, most other cookie varieties—turn out wonderfully chewy every time:

• Embrace Brown Sugar and Molasses: This is a fundamental principle for chewy cookies. Brown sugar, particularly dark brown sugar, contains molasses, which is a hygroscopic ingredient—meaning it attracts and retains moisture. This extra moisture content is crucial for a soft, chewy final product. White granulated sugar, on the other hand, lacks molasses and tends to promote crispiness.
• PRO-Tip: Make Your Own Dark Brown Sugar: Don’t have dark brown sugar on hand? No problem! You can easily transform regular light brown sugar into its darker counterpart. Simply add a tablespoon of molasses to one cup of light brown sugar and mix them thoroughly until uniformly combined. This not only gives you dark brown sugar but also leverages the moisture-retaining power of molasses.
• Slightly Underbake for Optimal Softness: As mentioned, baking for a shorter duration is key. Cookies continue to cook and set from the residual heat of the baking sheet even after they’re removed from the oven. If the centers look just a tiny bit underdone or glossy when you pull them out, they’re likely perfect. They will firm up as they cool, resulting in that desirable soft chewiness without being raw in the middle.
• Experiment with Lower Oven Temperatures: Another approach to preserving moisture is to bake at a slightly lower temperature. Consider reducing your oven temperature from 350°F to 325°F. At a cooler temperature, less moisture evaporates from the cookies during baking, which helps keep them softer and chewier. You might need to extend the baking time slightly to ensure they are fully cooked through, so keep a close eye on them.
• PRO-Tip: The Power of Shortening and Butter Blend: For an even chewier texture, try using a combination of shortening and butter in your recipe. Shortening has a higher melting point and fewer water solids than butter, which can contribute to a softer, more tender crumb. However, butter provides unparalleled flavor, so I recommend a partial substitution—never replace all the butter with shortening, as you’ll miss out on that rich, buttery taste that makes cookies so delicious.
• Add an Extra Egg Yolk: Many professional bakers, including those from Cook’s Illustrated, advocate for adding an extra egg yolk to cookie batters designed for chewiness. Egg yolks are rich in fat, and higher fat content in a cookie dough leads to a softer, more pliable, and ultimately chewier cookie. The added fat inhibits gluten development, preventing a tough texture.
• Chill Your Dough: Don’t skip the chilling step! Chilling cookie dough allows the dry ingredients to fully hydrate, preventing your cookies from spreading too much and becoming thin and crispy. A chilled dough also results in thicker cookies with a more concentrated flavor and a chewier texture.
• Ensure Cool Cookie Sheets: Just as important as chilling the dough is using cool baking sheets. Placing chilled dough onto a hot baking sheet will cause the butter to melt too quickly, leading to excessive spreading and thinner, crispier cookies. If baking multiple batches, make sure your cookie sheets are completely cool before adding the next round of dough.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:

While my picky husband might tirelessly scan every bakery window for his beloved chocolate chip cookies, my heart truly belongs to oatmeal cookies – especially the chewy kind. There’s just something inherently comforting and satisfying about them.

In my kitchen, oatmeal cookie dough is almost dangerously tempting; I have to exercise extreme self-control to keep myself from “sampling” away half a batch before they even make it to the oven! If you share my passion for these wholesome treats, or are simply looking to expand your oatmeal cookie repertoire, you’re in for a delight. Here are some more fantastic oatmeal cookie recipes that are sure to win you over:

• Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from The Food Charlatan
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Persnickety Plates
• Iced Oatmeal Cookies from Shugary Sweets
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Triple Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
• Gingered Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
• Loaded Oatmeal Cookies 
• Triple Threat Oatmeal Cookies
• More of the Best Cookies Recipes

This chewy oatmeal cookie recipe was first shared in January 2011. Photos and text were comprehensively updated in 2024 to provide an even better baking experience.

The Recipe:

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chunks, Pecans, and Dried Cherries

Prep Time
20 minutes

Cook Time
20 minutes

Total Time
40 minutes

Yield
16 large cookies

Jumbo-sized oatmeal cookies chock full of chocolate, nuts, and dried fruit! Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ sticks butter
• 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• ½ cup white chocolate chunks
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup dried tart cherries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter until light and fluffy. Add the dark brown sugar and beat again until well combined. Incorporate the room-temperature egg and vanilla extract, mixing until just combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer, mixing on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
4. Stir in the old-fashioned rolled oats. Then, either by hand with a spatula or with the mixer on its lowest speed, gently fold in the toasted pecans, white chocolate chunks, semi-sweet chocolate chunks, and dried tart cherries until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
5. Scoop out the dough using a ¼ cup measure (for large cookies). Roll each portion into a ball and then flatten it slightly to about ¾ inch thickness. Arrange the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 3 inches between each cookie to allow for spreading.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers still look slightly soft. If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Remember, slightly underbaking contributes to a chewier cookie.
7. Alternatively, for smaller cookies, scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, flatten slightly, and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes.
8. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about a minute before carefully transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to set as they cool.

Notes

If you don’t have dark brown sugar readily available, you can easily make your own. Simply add one tablespoon of molasses to one cup of light brown sugar, mix well until the molasses is evenly distributed, and then use as directed in the recipe (you’ll need more than one cup for this particular recipe).

Recommended Products

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• Baking Rack Cooling Rack Set of 2
• KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield, 5-Quart, Empire Red
• OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop
• 1/4 cup scoop
• Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets Non-Stick Parchment Paper, 25 Sheet, 4 Count
• USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1 cookie

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 302Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 170mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 2gSugar: 21gProtein: 4g

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