Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Crispy outside and chewy inside, these are wonderful chocolate chip cookies. You’ll never guess what’s in them.
In the food world, there are few things as elusive or sought after as the perfect chocolate chip cookie. This recipe from my friend Carrie might just have my vote. When she first sent it to me, I thought, “Geez, she sure threw the whole kitchen sink in there.” But Carrie is a great baker so I tried them, and I’m not sure I’ve ever had a better chocolate chip cookie. The secret ingredient? Actually, there are two. The first is oatmeal, which is finely ground so that it lends the desired chewiness without drawing too much attention to itself. The second, believe it or not, is coconut. Weird, I know, but you can barely taste it and it makes these chocolate chip cookies out of this world.
“Such a great recipe— I try all different kinds of chocolate chip cookie recipes and this one is definitely at the top!”
What You’ll Need To Make Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Adds a subtle nutty flavor and chewy texture when ground.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for the cookies. Measure by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Baking Powder: Helps the cookies rise and become fluffy.
- Baking Soda: Ensures even spreading and browning.
- Butter: Provides richness and moisture.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor. When measuring brown sugar, always pack it tightly to eliminate air pockets.
- Granulated Sugar: Contributes to the sweetness and texture of the cookies.
- Large Egg: Binds the ingredients together and adds moisture.
- Vanilla: Enhances the flavor of the cookies with its aromatic richness.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Provides rich chocolatey bites throughout the cookies.
- Sweetened Flaked Coconut: Adds a touch of sweetness and chewy texture.
- Pecans: Introduce a crunchy texture and nutty flavor — a wonderful pairing with the chocolate chips.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, place the oatmeal in the bowl of a food processor or blender.
Process until finely ground.
In a medium bowl, combine the ground oats with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Whisk to combine and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla.
Beat to combine.
Add the dry ingredients.
Beat at low speed until just combined.
Add chocolate chips, coconut and nuts.
Mix well.
Working with 1-1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough at a time, form balls and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between them.
Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until edges of cookies begin to crisp but centers are still soft, 12 to 14 minutes.
Cool cookies on baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
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Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
Crispy outside and chewy inside, these are wonderful chocolate chip cookies. You’ll never guess what’s in them.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats, ground in a food processor or blender until very fine
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup loosely packed sweetened flaked coconut
- ¾ cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Adjust racks to upper- and lower- middle positions and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ground oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and vanilla; continue beating until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, coconut and nuts and mix until evenly combined.
- Working with 1½ tablespoons of cookie dough at a time, form balls and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between them. (Keep remaining batter cool in refrigerator while first batch cooks.) Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until edges of cookies begin to crisp but centers are still soft, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The Cookie Dough can be Frozen for up to 3 Months: Scoop the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To Freeze After Baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 146
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 92 mg
- Cholesterol: 18 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Jenn, you did it again. Last week I made your excellent crusty artesian bread and yesterday these great secret ingredient chocolate chip cookies. Super delicious! They get crunchy and coconut is just a hint but makes the cookie. Wonder what I will try next. Sure it will be another 5 star recipe. Thanks for refining these recipes to perfection.
Hi Jen,
Is it okay to use instant oats instead of old-fashioned rolled oats? If yes, is there any difference in measurements? Thank you!
Hi Raji, The recipe will work with instant oats (with the same measurements) but the cookies will have a slightly different texture. Please LMK how they turn out if you try them!
Hi Jenn,
Thanks for your feedback. I tried it today and it turned out to be great! It is crispy and chewy. We all liked it. Thank you.
So glad they came out nicely – thanks for reporting back!
These cookies are fabulous! Perfect combination of flavor and texture. Thank you!
Jen – Absolutely delicious! I have a question regarding convection baking with this recipe. My cookies were quite overdone using this method. Is it best not to do so, or is there a modification I can make? Thanks so much for sharing your talents!
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie, I always develop and publish my recipes using the regular setting on my oven (because many people don’t have convection settings on their ovens), so I’d go with the regular/non-fan setting. If you do want to use the convection setting, the rule of thumb is to reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees.
My problem with these cookies is that they are too delicious and we can’t stop eating them. The good thing is that we feel less guilty eating so many because of the oats, coconut (used unsweetened organic) and the walnuts.
I have been waiting years to try this recipe because my son was allergic to tree nuts, but recently grew out of the allergy and I am so happy I remembered to come back to it! I was so confident that it would be a good recipe that I made a double batch and I am so happy I did.
These are the BEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted! When they came out of the oven. I let them cool in the pan and then on a rack. After that I tried a cookie and it was very tasty. I think this is something I will definitely make again.
Can I substitute walnuts for pecans?
Sure!
Hi Jenn,
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes! Was wondering if I could leave the coconut out and if so would I need to make any adjustments?
Thanks!
Tamara
So glad you like the recipes, Tamara! Yes, you can omit the coconut with no other adjustments necessary. Enjoy!
Hi, Jen, I want to incorporate the oats to another cookie recipe. once ground, do I reduce the amount of flour? I would also like to turn the butter into brown butter. your thoughts?
Hi Sherie, Without seeing the recipe, it’s hard to say for sure, but yes if you’re adding ground oats to a cookie recipe, I’d suggest reducing the flour by an equal amount. And if the butter in the recipe is supposed to be melted, I think browned butter should work. Hope that helps!
Jenn the added oatmeal to the flour made for a great cookie I did what you said to do equal amounts I did the brown butter I let it sit long enough for it to have the consistency of room temperature butter I also chopped the pecans to a fine chop and added a little bourbon thank you for the tip
Hi Jen – I only have shredded sweetened coconut on hand. Will that do or is it worth a trip to the store to pick up some flaked coconut instead? Thanks so much!
Hi Monica, sweetened shredded and flaked coconut refer to the same thing, so you’re good to go! Enjoy the cookies. 🙂