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! Love your page. I have an oat allergy. What can I use a substitute?
Hi Fern, You can use wheat germ or just replace with more flour. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I tried this recipe over the weekend and although the cookies tasted great, they didn’t flatten out like you show in the picture. They remained more dome shape and then they weren’t browning as much either so i kept them in longer, which made them more hard at the end and not chewie. Any suggestions as to what I should do differently next time? Thanks! Olga
Hi Olga, Did you, by any chance, chill the dough before baking? If it was cool, that definitely can make the cookies puffier. Also, be sure to use to “spoon and level” method for measuring flour (spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level-off); otherwise, you’ll have too much flour, and that could also make the cookies puffy.
A little too sweet for my taste, but otherwise a good cookie. I like the chewy texture. If I wanted to make it less sweet should I reduce the sugar or use unsweetened coconut instead? I imagine the the unsweetened coconut adds to the chewiness so will probably try to reduce the sugar. I’ve tried many of your recipes and all have been fantastic. This is the only one I didn’t love. I suppose I just like my cookies to be less sweet.
I’m with you on the sweetness. This by far though is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever found. I reduce both of the sugars by about a quarter, or go a hair over – half cup. I swear it’s still plenty sweet and doesnt mess with the chemistry of the baking. I also use GF flour for the white flour portion and no one can tell.
Jenn—Have been an avid fan of your website for over a year now and you are my go to every week. We recently took our daughter to college, several states away and I thought this might be a good cookie recipe to make on a Sunday night to ship out on Monday, next day air. Want to give her something homemade. I wanted to get your thoughts or any tips on sending these cookies to her or is there another one of your cookie recipes that might be better to make the night before and ship out the next day air?
Hi Celeste, Yes, I think these would be a good option to send your daughter. How happy she will be when she opens the package!
By reversing the the pan, do you mean switch the pan from the bottom rack to the top rack and vice versa or do you mean spin the pan front to back?
Hi Kevin, I mean the former (switching the racks that the baking sheets are on). Hope you enjoy the cookies!
Hi I’m trying to decide between the chocolate chip cookie or your chocolate marbled cheese cake brownies to bring to a friend’s birthday. I have to make the day before. Any thoughts which holds up the best and can I make both the day before. Thanks. I really enjoy your site. We are retired and I cook as a hobby. I find your site so great and helpful especially for younger cooks with children. Gives me ideas for when my grandchildren come to visit.
Hi Lynn, Thanks so much for your kind words about the site! You really can’t go wrong with either, as they will both be fine made a day ahead of time. The brownies definitely have more wow factor, but the cookies are one of my most popular recipes :).
Calories?? Thanks!
Hi Christy, Each cookie is 146 calories. (I just added the full nutritional rundown to the recipe.) Enjoy!
Good cookie, I love the chewy-crispness of it. I love the flavor of coconut, but the texture, not so much. I ground the coconut with the oats which helped. My daughter was telling me she had oats between her teeth. I laughed and told her it was probably coconut.
Love your recipes ! have made these secret ingredient cookies several times now and I have halved both sugars and you don’t miss it !
These secret ingredient choc chip cookies are the best I’ve ever made, and close to the best I’ve ever tasted. Kid and teenager approved, too. I love the “secret ingredient”. Thank you!!