Quaker Oats Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Don’t skip this classic Quaker Oats oatmeal cookie recipe with chewy centers that make you want to eat the whole batch in one sitting. It’s my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe for a reason. Add some mix-ins to make them your own, or simply enjoy warm oatmeal cookies right out of the oven for a sweet and tasty treat!

Oatmeal always gets a bad rap when you serve it in a bowl for breakfast. When you turn it into chewy cookies, though, they become irresistible!

Ingredients for Quaker’s Best Oatmeal Cookies

In addition to these simple ingredients, you’ll want to get your electric mixer and your cookie sheets ready. These chewy oatmeal cookies will be ready in no time! Here’s what you need to make them:

• Brown sugar
• Trans-fat free vegetable shortening
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Quaker® Oats (use quick oats or old-fashioned oats)
• Water
• Eggs
• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Baking soda

Full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions listed at the bottom of the post. 

Grab some chocolate chips if you want to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. You can also use butterscotch chips or caramel chips to ensure your kids eat these oatmeal cookies. Other mix-ins like raisins mean you can make a Quaker oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, too. ​

The Original Version

Oatmeal cookies, like the ones we enjoy today in the U.S., started popping up around the end of the 1800s. The first known recipe for delicious oatmeal cookies was published by Fannie Merritt Farmer in 1896, a famous cooking teacher in Boston. She put it in her “Boston Cooking-School Cook Book”. These early versions were seen as kind of healthy, often packed with raisins and nuts.

The idea of mixing oats into cookies probably came from the Scottish and British oatcakes, which had been around for ages. But those oatcakes were more like flatbread and weren’t as sweet as our oatmeal cookies. 

What really made oatmeal cookies a big deal in the U.S. was the Quaker Oats Company. In the early 1900s, they came up with this quick-cooking oat method and started putting an oatmeal cookie recipe right on their Quaker Oats box. That move made oatmeal cookies super popular and a regular part of American snacks. And they are now the famous oatmeal cookies that we all love.

How to Make Traditional Quaker Oatmeal Cookies

Before you get started, be sure to preheat your oven to 375° degrees.

While that warms up, grab a large bowl for your electric mixer and beat the brown sugar together with the shortening and granulated sugar at medium speed until it’s nice and creamy.

Once you’ve achieved that creamy texture, add egg, water, and vanilla extract, beating it well.

Now, you can add the oats, flour, salt, and baking soda. If you are using any chocolate chips or other added ingredients, you should fold them in at this point. 

After you’ve formed your cookie dough, drop a little bit by rounded teaspoonfuls right onto your ungreased cookie sheets. You’ll bake these beauties for 9 to 11 minutes. I like to check at nine minutes so they don’t get overdone. You’re looking for golden brown edges as the sign to know these are just perfect if you love chewy cookies.  

Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, and then place the oatmeal cookies on a wire rack and let them cool completely. You can store them at room temperature as long as you tightly cover them in an airtight container to preserve their texture.

Optional Mix Ins

• Chocolate chips
• Toffee
• Peanut butter 
• Ground cinnamon

More Delicious Cookies

• Potbelly Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (Copycat) from Join Me in the Kitchen
• Whipped shortbread cookies
• Chocolate chip cookie bars
• Hot chocolate cookie recipe

If you’re dreaming of homemade cookies, this classic recipe won’t disappoint. We could call it the vanishing oatmeal cookie recipe. They make a great afternoon snack, and at the end of the day, if you have any left, a handful of those cookies will surely be the cure for a busy workday!