Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies.
Soft and chewy with slightly crisp edges, these oatmeal cookies are full of flavor and exploding with dark chocolate.
Here’s a dessert I made for Easter this past Sunday. Along with pineapple upside-down cake and baskets of candy, the whole table found a treat… or four. These soft and chewy oatmeal cookies are like a bowl full of warm oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar, cinnamon, and rais… dark chocolate. Loads of dark chocolate.
This recipe is dedicated to all my readers who have picked up an oatmeal “chocolate chip” cookie before only to be completely let down that the chocolate chips aren’t chocolate chips at all. No no. They’re raisins! Disguised as chocolate! No more misleading cookies.
As much as I love them, raisins will never be chocolate.
Oatmeal cookies are my favorite kind. It’s a texture thing. I’m a sucker for their chew. And their crispy edges, moist centers, and brown sugar goodness. I have a couple recipes for oatmeal cookies in my cookie stash. Let’s see… have you tried these oatmeal creme pies yet? Or these milky way oatmeal cookies? (Yes, Milky Ways!) How about my loaded oatmeal cookies? Chances are you have and love all three.
The last cookie is where the base of today’s cookie recipe comes from. However, I made a very slight, yet VERY flavorful change. Instead of some white sugar and brown sugar, I used all brown sugar. Let me talk geek out about the cookie dough real quick…
Food Science // Nerd Alert // YAY
The cookie dough starts with creamed butter and brown sugar. Instead of using some white and some brown like most oatmeal cookie recipes, I wanted to pack as much flavor as possible into today’s dark chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies. This is something you might not know yet– or maybe you do if you love the science and stuff of cookie baking like yours truly? Brown sugar is not only used for sweetening cookies; it provides flavor, moisture, and tenderness. Brown sugar contains molasses and therefore has more moisture and flavor than white sugar. More moisture = a moister cookie. More flavor = a really really REALLY good brown sugar oatmeal cookie.
I also add a small amount of molasses to the cookie dough. Why? For flavor. This scant Tablespoon of molasses enhances all the wonderful flavors of these buttery, cinnamon-sweet oatmeal cookies. I can’t bake an oatmeal cookie without it anymore.
Guess what? The cookie dough only needs to chill for about 30-60 minutes, shortening the time between your now and your new favorite cookie. During the chill time, the oats will soak up some of the butter and egg’s moisture which helps produce a thicker cookie. Chilling is necessary unless you want greasy cookies spreading all over your baking sheet.
Let me talk about oats real quick. Oats provide that fabulously chewy texture we know and love. And they hold onto so much moisture as the cookies bake (think: oatmeal). One of the most confusing ingredients in the world are oats. There is always the question of which type of oats to use in recipes. Quick? Instant? Whole? For these chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies, I use old-fashioned whole oats. They give more texture: hearty, chewy, thick.
Let me talk about the chocolate real quick. I use pure dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips. The reason? I have a plethora of the stuff leftover from writing Candy Addiction. Also, since pure chocolate does not contain stabilizers, it melts inside the cookie as it bakes creating these irresistible pockets of melted chocolate in every single bite.
Did you read that? Pockets of melted chocolate. Pockets of melted chocolate!
Moist and tender centers, slight crisp on the edges, sweetened with brown sugar, a hint of molasses, exploding with chocolate, and spiced with cinnamon for depth of flavor. Today’s oatmeal cookies disappeared from the table in 10 minutes.
Follow me on Instagram and tag #sallysbakingaddiction so I can see all the SBA recipes you make. ♥
Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
Soft and chewy with slightly crisp edges, these oatmeal cookies are full of flavor and exploding with dark chocolate.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large Eggland's Best egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon (20g) dark molasses
- 1 and 2/3 cups (140g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour, careful not to overmeasure
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (or chocolate chips/chunks)
Directions:
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix on high until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, toss the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate. Chill the dough for at least 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Roll balls of dough (about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes until very lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make ahead tip: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 3. Baked cookies freeze well - up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well - up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw.
Recipe Notes:
This recipe can easily be doubled to make a larger batch. No changes necessary besides doubling all of the ingredients.
Adapted from Loaded Oatmeal Cookies and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (<-- pretty much a halved version of those!)
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Raisin haters, rejoice. 😉
Try my Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Monster Cookies next!
Yes, there’s a peanut butter cup INSIDE.
Eggland’s Best provided me with eggs to bring you this cookie recipe.
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