Best Ever Oatmeal Cookies

As far as beloved classics go, oatmeal cookies are pretty tough to beat.

Growing up, whenever a cookie craving used to hit (especially of the oatmeal variety), my mom would undoubtedly turn to the handy dandy jar of Quaker oats in the cupboard, where the tried-and-true recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies could (and still can) always be found.

To those with similarly fond memories of the Quaker Oats’ oatmeal cookies, you’ll find the recipe below stays pretty true to the original with the exception of a few tweaks here and there. I remember my mom always adding two extra (heaping) spoonfuls of flour to stiffen the dough a bit more, and of course adding an unreasonable – but never objected – amount of chocolate chips. The biggest and most genius modification to this recipe, though, comes in the form of a (not-so-) secret ingredient: shredded coconut.

I know this may seem unusual in an oatmeal cookie recipe, but hear me out – coconut takes these cookies from good to GREAT. The coconut contributes to an inevitably soft, moist, and chewy cookie – really, the ideal cookie texture. If you’re not crazy about the flavor of coconut, decrease the amount indicated in the recipe to only 1/2 cup (you won’t taste a strong coconut flavor in the final, baked cookies, but you will get all of the great textural benefits).

I happen to be a lover of all things coconut, though, so I always add at least 1 cup of shredded coconut to this cookie dough. Perfect texture aside, the absolute best part of these cookies may just be the bits of coconut that bake up into sweet, toasted coconut perfection during their stint in the oven… SO GOOD.

These chunky and hearty oatmeal cookies are a true and beloved classic at heart. Full of dark chocolate chunks, raisins, and the ingenious addition of shredded coconut, this recipe is sure to become your new go-to recipe whenever a cookie craving hits.

Best Ever Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 20 large cookies

1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick + 6 Tablespoons (14 Tablespoons total) butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 1/3 cups raisins
1 1/3 cups dark chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup shredded coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed with the paddle attachment until fluffy. (If you don’t have a stand mixer, a hand mixer works well, too.)

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well combined; scrape the beater and the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture with the mixer on low speed, mixing until just combined. Add in the the remaining ingredients – the oats, raisins, chocolate chips, and coconut – and mix until just combined, scraping the mixer bowl and paddle attachment as necessary.

Using a 1/4 cup cookie or ice cream scoop, drop moundfuls of dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. (Optional: lightly flatten the tops of each mound of dough with the palm of your hand.)

*At this point, the shaped cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to a day, or even stored in the freezer in a zip-lock bag until they’re read to be baked (just be sure to add an extra few minutes to the baking time). 

Bake for about 10 -13 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned and the centers no longer look gooey – don’t get nervous if you see they get a lot of color before the centers are perfectly set; the interior of these cookies will still be nice and soft, thanks to the addition of the coconut. Cool on the cookie sheets for 1 minute before moving to a wire rack or counter top to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Quaker Oats’ Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.