Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies {My Favorite Cookie}
A bold declaration, but this really is favorite cookie! Soft and chewy, these oatmeal chocolate chip coconut cookies are the best of all!
It’s a day for bold and fearless declarations. So I’ll start it off: these are my favorite cookies in the history of ever.
This is not a claim I take lightly.
I first declared it to be true ten years ago, and I’m happy (and weirdly kind of relieved) to report that today, even after posting ten million other cookie recipes, I still declare these soft and chewy oatmeal chocolate chip coconut cookies my all-time faves.
That’s not to say I don’t have other really close favorites. I do. Lots of them. But these are at the tippity top, and I feel very liberated stating it again for all my posterity to note and be aware of (as in, some generous great grandchild better be making these for me nonstop when I’m 87 1/2 years old…I’ll happily accept them before that, too, of course).
One Popular Cookie
My Aunt Marilyn gave me this recipe many years ago, and I’ve probably made them over 50 times. I’m not the only one who has fallen in love! Here’s a snippet of a few comments others have left over the years:
Alicia: For the record, the cookies were AMAZING. As in, dangerous to keep around. Thanks for another winner!
Kimberly: My family’s favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe!!! These are amazing when the dough is frozen and then baked. They are puffy and chewy and delicious all at the same time!
Yvette: There are SO good. I made them last night and had a hard time not eating the whole bowl of just the dough! YUMMY– is not a strong enough word.
I don’t think I can adequately describe how much it warms my heart when I declare a recipe to be top notch (or in this case, a favorite) and have other (unpaid but much appreciated) people agree with me.
There are a couple things that make this cookie special
While I adore a classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, I love, and this cannot be understated, that the oatmeal in this cookie is lightly blended with the other dry ingredients. The deliciously nutty flavor (and slight but not overpowering texture) of oatmeal is in every bite. And it makes me ever so happy.
Two other reasons these cookies are a step above the rest: 1) light and dark brown sugar and 2) coconut. Sure, it sounds like a lot of stuff. But you aren’t going to get Mel’s Favorite Cookie On the Planet just by following the same ol’ recipe you’ve been using for years. We’ve got to step it up. Do hard things. Live life on the edge.
You know, use two kinds of brown sugar and coconut. It’s worth it. I give you a big ol’ promise it’s worth it.
Many people have commented they’ve used either all light brown sugar or all dark brown sugar with fantastic results, but I don’t stray too far from the recipe. I’m a rule follower, and I prefer using both types of brown sugar because of the resulting rich flavor and chewy texture. It really can’t be beat.
Let’s talk coconut
Now. If you happen to be a coconut hater (or you are allergic or you hate the color or you find it offensive or your grocery store doesn’t carry it), first of all, find another grocery store immediately OR try subbing in another texturely pleasant ingredient. Someone in the comments said they nix the coconut and use toffee bits? Interesting and undoubtedly yummy.
You might possibly be able to add the same amount of oats in place of the coconut…but maybe don’t blend them this time? Hmmm, I kind of like where we’re going with this. The main thing to remember is: don’t omit the coconut completely without subbing something else or the cookies will most likely flatten into lacy little cookie pancakes because of the missing structure.
And please just keep in mind that if you go and change up the add-ins for this cookie, you *may* end up with a completely amazeballs cookie, but it won’t be my favoritest of all cookies. And I really want you to at least experience this real deal buttery, brown sugar, coconut, blended oatmeal, loaded chocolate chip cookie recipe once in your life.
After that you can go as crazy as you want with add-ins and variations (and please do report back!). Thanks. I’m glad we had this talk.
If soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies are your jam, I think you’re going to love these. I don’t expect anyone to have the same unfailing adoration about them that I do (you can leave the obsessiveness up to me, I can always be counted on for that), but they do have a fan following for good reason.
Quick and easy and consistently delicious, these cookies are the best!
Now it’s your turn for bold declarations! Do you have a beloved cookie that you can confidently declare as top favorite of all time? Do tell!
FAQs for Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies
About 1-2 days.
I bake them at the same temperature, but add a few minutes.
I’ve found these work best with old-fashioned rolled oats – if you use quick oats take care not to over measure or the cookies will be dry (and won’t flatten).
If you do, you’ll want to add in a few more oats or another substitute so they don’t go flat (see my notes above).
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Six Years Ago: Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Creamy Dipping Sauce
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Nine Years Ago: Classic Potato Salad
Ten Years Ago: Baked Chicken Taquitos
Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies {My Favorite Cookie}
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 ¼ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour, I use unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cups (265 g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (106 g) packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 cup (85 g) sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes
- 2 cups (340 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt to a food processor or blender and process for about 30 seconds until coarsely blended. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, add the butter and brown sugars and mix until light in color, 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for another 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the blended dry ingredients and mix once or twice (not all the flour will be fully combined). Add the coconut and chocolate chips and mix until no dry streaks remain.
- Shape the cookie dough into balls (I use a #40 cookie scoop) and place several inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool slightly before removing them from the pan to a wire rack.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally published April 2009; updated May 2019 with new photos, recipe notes, weight measures and commentary.
308 Comments on “Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies {My Favorite Cookie}”
Made these today with old fashioned oats, unsweetened coconut flakes and ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips, 11 minutes in the oven and 4-5 minutes rest before transferring to the rack. Thanks so much! I wasn’t sure if the kiddos would like them with the bittersweet chips but they licked the paddles clean and ate up their cookies in a heartbeat. =)
Made these today and they’re delicious! We live at 4,000 ft. and I didn’t change a thing about the recipe. They turned out perfectly. I suspect that if you don’t run the oats through a food processor–as instructed–the texture could be affected.
Delicious! I’m not a fan of coconut but a huge fan of cookies. These are delicious! Probably my favorite cookie to make (read: eat).
My go-to cookie for any occasion! Holidays? Add colorful m&ms. Not a fan of chocolate? Switch for raisins! Want nuts? Add them, they turn out amazing! Even people who claim they dislike coconut *cough cough my husband cough cough* still love these cookies! I usually half the recipe because we WILL eat them all… and even that turns out great! (I know… everyone hates on halving recipes! It works well with this one!)
Ps… if you’re having issues… WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS!!! If you still have issues after that I don’t know what’s going on! Lol.
Another tasty treat from Mel! I didn’t have both brown sugars so I used all light brown sugar. They were still delicious! Perfect baking project for a snow day. I was nervous about baking them because of some reviews, but my 5 yr old insisted on cookies with choc and coconut….and we had no issues. Thank you, Mel!
I had to use 1/4 c. avocado oil for part of the missing butter. I measured instead of weighing the flour & oats, so my dough was a little wetter but still good. I made one batch and refrigerated the rest of the dough to make later.
And, I only had light brown sugar, so next time I’ll be sure to have both. Amazing, delicious cookies even with those errors.
So I followed the recipe pretty closely, but I noticed that the measurements for the flour and oats are a bit off which could be the reason why some people are getting different results. The standard AP flour measurements in grams is 120 grams per cup (2.25 cups is 270 grams not 320) and rolled oats is 80 grams per cup (not 100 g). My cookies spread out a bit too thin for me cause I used 270g of flour and 80g of oats. They tasted great though, but I’m going to chill my next batch in the freezer for a little bit and raise the oven temperature and see if I get better results. My house is super warm right now which could be why the dough was too soft going into the oven. Some people like thinner cookies with crispy edges and chewy centers which is what I could, but I prefer them to be a bit thicker.
Your cookies baked up too thin because you used your own weight calculations instead of using the weights given in the recipe. I test all my recipes using 142 grams of flour per cup and 100 grams of oats per cup. Unfortunately, there’s not one standard across all the baking platforms out there. For instance, King Arthur Flour tests and posts all their recipes using 120 grams per cup of flour whereas America’s Test Kitchen uses 140-142 grams per cup of flour. Both of them are trusted, viable sources, but they each use different baking weight measures. So it’s important to use the weight measures given in a recipe, especially if that recipe has been tested, instead of converting them to your own weight measures. Reducing the flour and oats will definitely make the cookies bake up thinner. If you want a thicker cookie, try using the weight measures in the recipe; I think you’ll be pleased with the results. 🙂
Nuts.com sells coconut flakes that are great. I use them in scones. Can’t wait to try this recipe since oatmeal cookies are my favorite. Love your site an recipes thank you for sharing such wonderful treats and meals.
I’ve made these before and they tasted fantastic, but I had some trouble with them just staying in little clumps when I baked them – they didn’t spread out at all. Is there anything I can do to fix this? Thanks!
Try packing less flour into the measuring cup – a bit less flour should help!
Taste is great, but like many others, I had issues with the dough spreading. Attempted refrigerating sough and raising oven temp, but couldn’t achieve the desired results.
A friend shared this recipe with me and I was super iffy because I am NOT a coconut fan. Made them for a relative’s birthday and they were a HUGE hit! Now easily the most requested cookie in our house and they are delicious. It’s hard not to eat them all as they come out of the oven.
I’m so happy you fell in love with these!!
Weighing the flour made all the difference! These didn’t spread like most cookies I’ve made recently. Thank you for a great new favorite cookkie!
Turned into overcooked puddles. Unfortunately I have frozen the rest I’ll try to add more flour when I attempt to cook the rest or put them into a bar pan because they all turned into a bar anyway. I tried the comments above about convection and raising the temp to no avail.
I’ll not be making the recipe again. It wont let me give it a thumbs down.
Did you weigh the flour? Too little will make them melt like you described! Have you checked your oven’s temperature? I found out my oven temp was much lower than it said (despite raising the temperature and using convection), which made my cookies spread out.
If about 95% of reviewers had a great result from a recipe, I’d think the problem is with your oven or ingredients, not the recipe. Not really fair to give it a poor rating.