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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Hi Jennifer,
I am a big fan of your website and recipes, as are the people I bake for. I would like to know what you suggest using for brown sugar, as I can only find light or dark brown sugar. Is one generally preferred over the other?
Thanks, and keep giving us your wonderful recipes.
Sheila
Hi Sheila, Thank you, so glad you are enjoying the recipes! If a recipe does not specify which one, use light 🙂
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I have made these cookies in the past and they were fantastic. I want to make them today but I am out of baking powder. Any suggestions?
Hi Roberta, You definitely need the baking powder. Sorry!
Best cookies ever! These came out exactly as described, soft in the center and slightly crunchy on the outside. Perfect combination of ingredients too. My husband ate three in one sitting right after them came out of the over! Can’t wait to make them again. Thanks for another great recipe!!!
Thanks Jenn!
They stayed puffy and in effort to have them flatten out I left them in the oven a few minutes longer so they dried out a little more than I would have liked. Thanks for any tips I can use for the next batch! Yvonne
Hi Yvonne, I’m wondering, did you chill the dough before baking? If it was cool, that would definitely make the cookies puffier. Also, be sure to use to “spoon and level” method of measuring flour (spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level-off); otherwise, you will have too much flour, and that would also make the cookies puffy.
These were delicious, however, mine didn’t spread as nicely as yours pictured. I followed the recipe so not sure what I did wrong. Oh well, it didn’t stop us from eating them!
Hi Yvonne, Glad you enjoyed the cookies. Did they spread too flat or were they too puffy?
I thought my chocolate chip cookie recipe was that elusive “best”. Crispy on the outside, but chewey in the middle. Gonna try this though! I’m always up for improvement! Just a thought….I have been using Geridelli bittersweet chips and the troops have informed me that the cookies are WAY better with these chips. Also, Land ‘O Lakes unsalted and King Arthusr flour. Great ingredients=great product!
FIVE STAR RATING. Made these yesterday and they are GREAT!! I’m an avid baker of cookies and these hands down are the BEST chocolate chip cookies I’ve made.
Not too sweet, yet sweet enough. The coconut is in the background — you can’t really taste it though it does add that hint of something oh so wonderful.
Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Hubby loved them. Definitely a keeper!
Great recipe! I used it to make Truffle stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies with blueberry balsamic vinegar truffles. Turned out great.