Buttermilk Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

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Mix up a batch of buttermilk oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips. Quick and easy cookie recipe that makes perfectly soft and chewy cookies. Simple ingredients and easy dessert you can make in a jiffy.

My oldest loves it when I make my grandma's oatmeal raisin cookies recipe. But sometimes I like to switch things up and add chocolate chips instead of raisins, making the most scrumptious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Oatmeal buttermilk cookies are a little bit soft, a little bit chewy; and they're made with simple ingredients like buttermilk (I'll show you how to make your own), brown sugar, and old-fashioned oats.

Why Make This Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?

  • You can make oatmeal cookies just because… Or rather, for an occasion, like a party with friends or family gatherings.
  • I love baking old-fashioned oatmeal cookies with buttermilk because they're such an easy dessert to make.
  • They're the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to make for a bake sale or concession stand. My favorite easy cookie recipes also include chocolate chip cookies and chewy peanut butter cookies.
  • Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies make a very yummy after school snack.
  • If you want, you can even swap out chocolate chips for raisins. We'll talk about more swaps as you keep reading.
stack of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on gray countertop with cookie sheet behind

Ingredients and Substitutions Notes

You'll need a few simple ingredients to make buttermilk oatmeal chocolate chip cookies…

  • Unsalted Butter – Soften the butter to room temperature before you start. If you're like me and you forget to get it out, just pop it in the microwave and soften it up a bit. You can also use salted butter; but it's easier to control the amount of salt in your cookies by using unsalted. Keep in mind if you use margarine, it will change the texture of the finished cookies, and they may not turn out as expected.
  • Light Brown Sugar – While you can use dark brown sugar, just keep in mind it'll produce a flatter, thinner, crunchier, cookie with a chewy texture. Light brown sugar makes a more raised cookie with a slightly crispy edge and soft, chewy middle.
  • Cane Sugar – You can also sub granulated sugar; I just prefer to use pure cane sugar.
  • Large Eggs
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Buttermilk – If you don't have buttermilk on hand, my momma taught me this trick to make buttermilk or soured milk, and it works just fine for these cookies. You'll need white vinegar and milk, about a tablespoon of vinegar for every cup of milk. This recipe calls for 1/4 cup milk, so you'd need to add about 1/4 to 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar to the milk to sour it. Step 1: To make sure you have the right amount of liquid, add the vinegar into a liquid measuring cup first. Step 2: Then add the milk to the desired level or measurement. Step 3: Stir it and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. And that’s it! Before you know it, your milk will be perfectly soured just like buttermilk.
  • Baking Soda
  • All-Purpose Flour – It's best to use a good unbleached all-purpose flour. If you want to make gluten-free buttermilk oatmeal cookies, use a good gluten-free flour (<< this one's the best); of course, always check your other ingredients to make sure they're truly gluten-free.
  • Sea Salt – You can use regular table salt, but I really prefer the flavor of Redmond Sea Salt.
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Rolled Oats – or old-fashioned oats. You can also use quick oats, but I love how thick and chewy these cookies turn out with old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats can make cookies softer and more cake-like. Baking Bites has a great article about regular vs. quick cooking oatmeal for baking. And The Kitchn has another great article explaining the difference between steel-cut, rolled, and instant oats.
  • Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – Of course, you can always swap chocolate chips for raisins. If you opt for chocolate chips, be sure and use the full bag of chocolate chips. Of course, you're going to sneak a few, but don't skimp on the chocolate. It's one of those “the more, the merrier” scenarios.
baked oatmeal buttermilk cookies with chocolate chips on cookie sheet

Buttermilk oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are such easy oatmeal cookies to make. You basically have to mix up the dough, scoop it onto a cookie sheet, and bake.

Before you get started, pre-heat the oven to 350° F, and prep a baking sheet, though there's no need to grease it.

How to Mix up the Cookie Dough and Bake It

  1. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream (or mix) together the butter, brown sugar, and cane sugar.
  2. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture, and mix well.
  3. Stir the baking soda into your buttermilk (or sour milk) and set aside.
  4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the flour, salt, and ground cinnamon.
  5. Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.
  6. Fold in the oatmeal and chocolate chips, mixing them into the dough.
mixing up best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies dough with rolled oats in white KitchenAid mixer
  1. Using a cookie scoop, drop dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheet. As you scoop the cookies onto the cookie sheet, press them down just a bit; you can do this with the flat bottom of a glass.
cookie scoop with best oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough on cookie sheet
  1. Bake at 350° F for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies turn a nice golden brown.
  2. When you remove each batch from the oven, remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and allow them to cool on a cooling rack or wire rack.
warm baked oatmeal cookies with buttermilk on OXO cookie sheet

Warm chewy oatmeal cookies fresh from the oven are the absolute best, especially when you serve them up with a tall glass of ice cold milk. Yum!

plate of buttermilk oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with tall glass of ice cold milk

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ's

Do you need to chill the dough before baking?

There's really no need to chill the dough, though you can if you want. It *could* lend to an even chewier cookie.

How should oatmeal cookies be stored?

Just store then in an airtight container or cookie jar on the kitchen counter.

Can you freeze buttermilk oatmeal cookies?

Yes, you can. In fact, you can freeze oatmeal cookie dough in an airtight container; or you can freeze the baked cookies, also in an airtight container to help prevent freezer burn. Both should keep up to 3 months in the freezer.

Why are my homemade oatmeal cookies hard?

They're probably over baked. You might bake for less time, as they'll continue to bake the longer they sit on the cookie sheet, even after removing from the oven.

bite out of oatmeal chocolate chip cookie on stack of oatmeal cookies

If you love this oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe, you'll love these recipes too…

One of my all time favorite recipes is an old recipe my family has made for years, Grandma's chocolate sandwich cookies. Another oatmeal cookie favorite that's also full of chocolatey goodness, is this recipe for chewy monster cookies.

Dinner Then Dessert has a delicious recipe for super chewy oatmeal raisin M&M cookies. And Lil' Luna has an old fashioned recipe for iced oatmeal cookies.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about fresh baked cookies.

white plate of baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with milk

If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. And subscribe to my email list too!

white plate full of buttermilk oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips, with glass of milk

Buttermilk Oatmeal Cookies

How to make the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Made with old fashioned oats, they're a little soft, a little chewy, and full of chocolatey goodness.
4.72 from 49 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Cookies & Bars
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Cooling Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 36 servings
Calories: 184kcal
Author: Mel Lockcuff

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
  • In a large bowl, cream (or mix) together the butter, brown sugar, and cane sugar. 
  • Add the eggs and vanilla extract to your mixture, and mix well.
  • Stir the baking soda into your buttermilk (or sour milk) and set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the flour, salt, and ground cinnamon.
  • Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. 
  • Fold in the oatmeal and chocolate chips, mixing them into the dough.
  • Using a cookie scoop, drop cookies onto your cookie sheet, pressing/patting the cookies somewhat flat with the flat bottom of a glass.
  • Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies turn a nice golden brown. 
  • When you remove each batch from the oven, remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
  • Serve with a nice tall glass of ice cold milk. 

Notes

*You can make buttermilk (or sour milk) by mixing together about 1/4 to 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar with the 1/4 cup of milk. To make sure I have the right amount of liquid, I’ll usually pour my vinegar into the measuring cup first; then add the milk to my desired level or measurement.

Nutrition

Serving: 36servings | Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g
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17 thoughts on “Buttermilk Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips”

  1. 5 stars
    These are very good. I added 2 cups of shredded coconut which was great. The only issue I had was the cinnamon with the chocolate chips. I think next time I would either do raisins with the cinnamon or chocolate chips without the cinnamon. But real the texture was superb!

    Reply
  2. 5 stars
    When I started making these cookies, I realized I didn’t have rolled oats. So I added about 1/4cup flour and pecans and more chips. They were very good. I want to try them with the oatmeal next time.

    Reply
  3. 5 stars
    I bought 5lbs of oats (on accident) and needed something to make other than overnight oats. Quick search and found this recipe as recommended must try. I subbed regular choc chips for Lily’s Choc Chips. This recipe is DEVINE and hits the spot for a low(ER) calorie cookie and it’s now going on my Food for the Soul board. Thanks!

    Reply
  4. I left out the cinnamon cut back on the chocolate chips and added dates, raisins and sliced almonds. They turned out really good especially if you eat them warm. Just pop a few in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes.

    Reply
  5. Delicious cookies, and simple to make. Mine made 4 dozen, half to share with my daughter and son-in-law who have just had their first baby. Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply
  6. Absolutely delicious… crunchy outside and bliss inside. I added some coconut and chopped nuts but great without too!!

    Reply

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