These Pan Banging Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies may not be the prettiest, but trust me, they’re amazing! Chewy middle and crispy edges . . . cookie perfection!
My son’s wedding reception was last night and it was such a fun night. The weather was perfect, the venue was beautiful and the food was delicious (thank you Texas Roadhouse)! It was so good to see friends and family. I’ll share some pictures as soon as we get them.
You guys, there are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and then there are Pan Banging Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Holy smokes these are good! I hadn’t planned on sharing these cookies quite yet, but when I showed one on my Instagram last week, I had so many people ask if the recipe was on my site yet.
So because I love you so much here you go . . . one of the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever eat. It’s kind of hard to actually tell from the pictures, but these cookies are huge and you’re going to love them!
If you live in Utah and have eaten an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Great Harvest Bakery, these cookies remind me so much of theirs. Big, flat, crispy edges and chewy centers. Seriously these are so good!
Every single person that I shared these with absolutely loved them. Some of them told me it’s their new favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and I have to agree with them.
Now let’s talk cookie dough for just a second. You all know how I feel about cookie dough . . .it’s the whole reason to make cookies if you ask me. I’m just giving you a heads up that this cookie dough is dangerously good. That’s all I’m going to say.

Can I use parchment paper instead of foil?
Parchment paper will work, but the aluminum foil helps the cookies spread a bit more and creates a slightly crisper bottom.
Can I use chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate?
Yes you can and I have several times. When I have made these with chocolate chips, I use the Guittard milk chocolate chips and Trader Joe’s semisweet chocolate chunks. The recipe calls for chopped chocolate for a good reason. Chopped chocolate spreads much better than chocolate chips, so you get “puddles” of chocolate throughout the cookies. So just keep that in mind when you’re deciding what kind of chocolate to use. When I use chopped chocolate, I love using the Trader Joe’s Pounds Plus Belgium Chocolate Bars.

Why do I need to bang the pans?
Banging the pans while the cookies are baking creates ripples on the edge of the cookie, which gives you a crisp outer edge, and a soft, gooey center.
One last thing, these cookies freeze really well and are so good eaten straight from the freezer . . . just in case you were wondering.
Now go make these and be sure to tag me on Instagram if you do.
Print
Pan Banging Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: about 12 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature (I use salted)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate, chopped coarsely (I use milk and semisweet)*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three cookie sheets with aluminum foil, dull side face up.
- In a small bowl whisk together the oatmeal, flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add both sugars and continue beating on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low just until combined.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Add the chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) and mix on low.
- Scoop the dough into balls (3 oz, about 1/4 cup) and place four on a cookie sheet, leaving equal space between them.
- Bake for 9 minutes, then open your oven and lift one side of the cookie sheet about 4 inches off the rack, gently let it drop down against the oven rack. Let the cookies cook 2 more minutes and repeat the lifting and dropping of the pan. Repeat a couple more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookies. Bake for a total of 15 to 16 minutes or until the cookies have spread and the edges are golden brown and the centers still look light and not fully cooked.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes. Transfer cookies from pan to another cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
I always throw in more chopped chocolate or chocolate chips than the recipe calls for. Use whatever amount you like.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Cookies
Recipe Source: 100 Cookies Cookbook
These were delicious. We really liked them with Heath baking bits. (We tried some with semi-sweet chunks, which were a little overpowering, and some with Heath.) I baked on parchment paper for the Heath version so the toffee wouldn’t stick, but they didn’t spread quite as much. Next time I do Heath, I may try cutting the flour just a little.
Sounds delicious Whitney! I’ll have to try adding toffee bits. Thanks for the comment!
This is one of my favorite cookie recipes! As soon as I saw the recipe, I knew I wanted to make these cookies right away. I didn’t have any chocolate bars, but I didn’t want to wait until I could go buy some, so I just made the recipe using chocolate chips. They were delicious! I decided that I wanted to try the recipe, as written, so a few days later, I went to Trader Joe’s to buy some Pound Plus bars. I baked another batch (yes, the second one in a week) with the chopped chocolate bars, and they were even better. My husband and sons love milk chocolate, and I am all about the dark chocolate. When making any chocolate chip cookies, I set aside enough dough for two or three cookies for me, and add dark or semi-sweet chocolate to it. The rest of the dough gets milk chocolate added. This way, everyone is happy, and I don’t end up eating too many cookies since the milk chocolate ones don’t tempt me ;). I have seen and tried various “pan-banging” chocolate chip cookies, but this is the only one I have seen for OATMEAL chocolate chip cookies. These are definitely the best! In fact, I am enjoying a little bit of the cookie dough right now as I have another batch baking. They usually don’t turn out to be prettiest cookies for me, but the taste and texture more than make up for that. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
Thanks Becky! I am thrilled you loved these cookies and I love that you enjoy the dough too. I wish I could put either kind of chocolate in cookies and one wouldn’t be a temptation for me, but I love dark, semi-sweet and milk chocolate!♀️ Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.Take care.
These are my holy grail cookies! I love how chewy they are and the great texture from the oats. I made half with chocolate chips and half without. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks Laura! So happy you’ve made these cookies and love them!
These are so yummy! I doubled the recipe and added cinnamon and raisins to one half the dough and lots of chocolate chipped to the other half. We thought the cinnamon raisin cookies were even better than the chocolate and I love chocolate! 😉 I put a bit of fun in the chocolate chip version as well and it have it some warm spice. Thanks for the recipe!!
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Omg. Autocorrect just changed the word cinnamon to “fun” :() I didn’t put any fun in the chocolate chip dough. Haha!
Hey Gina, don’t you hate autocorrect?!? So happy you loved these cookies!
These are Sarah Kiefer’s Pan-Banging Cookies from her 100 COOKIES, book. Yet she published these in her blog Vanilla Bean Blog long before you posted here. Your recipe matches hers to the T. Hum…credit where it belongs please.
Deana, I did give credit for this recipe, scroll to the bottom of the post and you will see it! I always give credit when it’s someone else’s recipe, even if I make adjustments to the recipe.
Jodi, I just found your blog and can I just say I am so happy that I did?? All of your recipes look fantastic and will be making so many in the weeks to come! I made these cookies this morning and wow are they tasty. I added some extra chocolate chips and I can’t wait to share them with my family! Thank you!
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Hi Rachel! I’m so glad you found my blog too! Thanks for the sweet comment, I hope you love everything you make. I’d love to hear back from you anytime!
Do you need to put these in the fridge before baking? I’ve done the regular pan banging ones tons of times but love oatmeal choc cookies so I’m so excited for this! I usually put them in the fridge before baking but you don’t have this step and I’m wondering if it’s not necessary! Thanks !
Hi Mary! You don’t need to put this cookie dough in the fridge. You will love these!
I tried them yesterday and they ARE AMAZING! Sent this recipe to app my friends.
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Thanks Mary. . . so happy you love them.