Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are hands down the best oatmeal cookie there is! Perfectly balanced flavors with caramelized toffee bits and milk chocolate, and always soft & chewy on the inside while barely crisp around the edges. These cookies are impossible to resist!
We love these cookies any time! Some of our other favorites like this are Monster Cookies, Oatmeal Fudge Bars, and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Table of Contents
Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have been in search of the ultimate oatmeal cookie recipe for ages! Seriously, years. I have tried so many of them only to be disappointed time and time again with oatmeal cookies that were too thick or too thin or too dry or cakey or greasy or bland.
But those days are over because this recipe right here is oatmeal cookie perfection, and I’m not saying that lightly.
I’m ranking these Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies in my top 5 cookies of all time even, right along with my Double Lemon Glazed Cookies and my favorite Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Back when I was at BYU, there was a little cafe on campus in the Eyring Science Center that was run by the dietetics students called the Pendulum Court Cafe. And they offered a toffee oatmeal chocolate chip cookie there that was the inspiration for this one that I’m sharing today.
What makes these Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies the best?
I think there are a few things that really set these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies apart from others I have tried.
First, I finally wised up and did something I should have done a long time ago and just decided to use only brown sugar instead of a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar and boy did it make a difference!
Then I ditched the cinnamon because even though I love that spice I didn’t want it to overpower the flavor of the toffee bits. I also opted to use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet, which actually made a big difference in balancing out the flavors, and I’m not even normally that much of a milk chocolate girl.
I also resisted the urge to add in walnuts or pecans or coconut, which is always a temptation for me when doing a drop cookie with mix-ins. But I feel like they would take away from the simplicity and sheer perfection of the triple combination of oatmeal, toffee, and milk chocolate.
And finally I made sure not to overbake them, which can easily dry out an oatmeal cookie even more so than overbaking other cookie varieties.
I actually even underbake slightly, like I do with many cookies, so that the center is quite soft and almost even a little wet looking right when the cookies come out of the oven. The cookies actually continue to bake a bit as they set up on the pan, which is why you need to let them cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
If you find that your cookies are getting too hard, try taking them out of the oven a minute or two earlier and seeing what a difference it can make!
It is hard to say exactly how many cookies this makes because the toffee oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough makes because it is so good it’s hard to keep fingers out of it before I can get all of the cookies scooped and baked!
It’s one of the best cookie doughs ever, if you’re into that sort of raw cookie dough thing. Which I am.
But it’s roughly 2 dozen cookies using my large cookie scoop which makes generous sized toffee oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
And while not the most “Christmasy” looking cookie since it is lacking holiday colors or showy bling from sprinkles, all you have to do is tie a cute red and white striped piece of string around a stack of cookies and they instantly look positively cheery and festive, don’t you think?
This cookie is also a good candidate for dipping partially into melted chocolate to up the fancy factor, like I mentioned in my post about Toffee Pecan Shortbread Cookies. Don’t wait until Christmas to make these babies. They belong in your regular cookie baking repertoire all year long!
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Soft & Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- The Best Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened (227g)
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (247g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (240g)
- 1 1/2 cups toffee bits
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again, scraping sides of bowl as needed, until combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, stirring just to combine. Mix in oatmeal, toffee bits, and milk chocolate chips.
- Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. I prefer making these cookies extra large with my cookie scoop, which is about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes (if making large cookies) or 8-10 minutes (if you are making smaller ones, just until light golden brown around the edges. I prefer to underbake slightly for a chewier, softer cookie.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
I’ve not made cookies in so long but these look SO good, I’m saving this so I can make them later.
Recently i started baking cookies and heres another lovely cookie recipe for me to try out
I really loved this cookie recipe it really sounds awesome .
Thanks for such a lovely recipe
Yum! I love baking this time of year. These cookies just made it on my to make list!!
What amazing flavors! These are just perfect.
Just the sounds of these, you know they will addictively good. Perfect food gift, and great for having with a cup of hot chocolate to warm up from the cold.
This would probably be close to my husbands’ favorite cookie! He loves toffee. I’ll have to make these for “Santa” this year!
You have all the good stuff in here!
The entire house is is crazy for these oatmeal cookies.
This has become our favourite cookie. I made them twice as a large cookie and once as small. Both resulted in a soft chewy cookie. I followed the suggestion to bake them for the minimum time; 12 minutes for large and 8 for small.
I’m so glad you love them! They are one of my favorite cookies as well!
my cookies spread flat as a pancake… followed recipe, my baking soda/powder are not expired, any thoughts?
Uh-oh! Sounds like maybe the flour was mis-measured? Or the butter was too soft?
These are SO GOOD! My new favorite! Thanks. I was a bit short of both of the chocolate add-ins, so I supplemented with some butterscotch chips, which worked perfectly. Thanks for sharing.
Can this dough be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to bake?
Yes, you can refrigerate it for up to 4 days, or freeze it and thaw overnight in the fridge. Another option is to make the dough and scoop it, then freeze the individual scoops of dough on a baking sheet and store in a ziploc bag for longer term storage in the freezer.
Hi Amy! Do you know how the recipe would need to be altered if I didn’t add the chocolate chips? Thank you!
You can just make it without chocolate chips or add some chopped nuts instead. The cookies might be slightly flatter, but not by much.
Hello, I’m enjoying the articles on your website. They are created well, easy to digest, in spite of English being my second language. Greetings.
Can you freeze this dough? Thanks!
Yes, absolutely! Just let it thaw in the fridge completely. Or you could scoop individual cookies, freeze them individually, then store in a ziploc bag.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
Where do you find toffee bits?
They are typically just in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips at most grocery stores, but you could also order them online. Or you could chop up Heath or Skors bars.
How should I adjust for high altitude? TIA!
I would start by adding an extra 2 tablespoons of flour and decreasing the oven temperature slightly and see if that helps. King Arthur Flour has a really helpful high altitude baking guide if you do a lot of high altitude baking!
These look great! Can you substitute instant rolled oats for the old fashioned oats?
I don’t recommend substituting instant for old fashioned oats in recipes because they absorb liquid differently and can tend to dry out cookies. Plus, they don’t have the same chewy texture.
We tried your recipe for the first time this afternoon and they are incredible!!l I took them out earlier than I would have (as you suggest) and once they cooled they were the perfect chewy bite! We will be making these regularly.
This recipe was great! I added the whole bag of semi-sweet so the batter wasn’t as moist as if I had followed that measurement but it really didn’t affect the outcome 😆they were so delicious and chewy. Lovely recipe.
These cookies are amazing! I made them to take to a cookie exchange and IMO they were the best! I made them exactly as written but browned my butter first. Soooooooo delish!
I’ve made these cookies a few times and really do love them. I make my own toffee from scratch which is relatively easy for anyone unable to find store-bought toffee bits. However, as one other reviewer noted, these cookies spread a tonnnn in the oven (which has happened every time I bake them). I find I get much better results when I freeze the dough for a bit and bake once they are chilled, as the cookies spread a bit less in the oven.
My cookies were a flat mess. Followed instructions completely.
Well that shouldn’t happen! Sounds like a mismeasurement where some of the flour was forgotten on accident. Happens to the best of us from time to time!
Amazing! I’ve made these several times and everyone loves them. Delicious!!
Love this cookie recipe! Make them to take to my 91 yr. old mother-in-law. Her favorite
Thank you! I love any kind of oatmeal cookies! They’re my weakness!
Absolutely delicious! I have made them numerous times.
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
These were so so good. Only change I made was to add only 1 cup of toffee bits so they weren’t so sweet, and only had semi-sweet chocolate chips in the pantry. I also had to cook them longer as I used an insulated cookie sheet. Warm, moist, melt-in-the mouth delisiousness! Thank you.
is the butter unsalted? light or dark brown sugar?
Salted and light brown. I’ll edit the recipe card to be more clear! I posted this one ages ago but it’s still a favorite!
Hello Amy,I just finished making a double batch of the OatmealToffee Cookies and they turned out excellent. Thanks again for this posting. This time of the year is always so busy baking and sharing with friends and Family. I amglad to have some new recipes to share this year and i know that those that receive them will be grateful as well.
God Bless You and your Family this wonderful Holiday Season. Jilli
So glad you enjoy this recipe! Merry Christmas!
I’ve already commented on how delicious these cookies where when I made them a while ago but I had to add another comment. Since it is only my husband and I at home I had frozen half of the cookie dough for later. I thawed the dough overnight in the refrigerator then brought to room temperature the next day. They were just as delicious as the first time if not better!
Wow! That’s great! It’s great freezing the dough to enjoy for later! Yum!
I have been trying for a long time to find a recipe that came close to the oatmeal cookies available for purchase at my high school many years ago. These bits of joy and wonder hit the mark. I think it’s the use of brown sugar only rather than brown and white. The addition of toffee pieces was brilliant. For my first batch, I left out the chocolate chips, but I will add them to future batches. Thank you SO much for this incredibly yummy recipe!
We LOVE this recipe and have made it three times in four weeks. 😂I have to use 3 cups flour for my cookies to turnout fluffy/normal. Delicious!