Not your ordinary Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, these bite-sized cookies have a rich caramel flavor and plenty of chocolate. Most fun of all is that these are so small they are perfect for a little snack, lunch boxes, or to serve alongside other desserts. Bake them all at once or freeze the dough to bake just a few at a time.
These cookies are TEENY. That’s part of their charm. A whole handful is basically the same as a regular oatmeal cookie and they’re so much fun to eat! When testing the recipe, I kept making them smaller and smaller and liked them even more. The result is that one batch of dough makes an absolute mountain of teeny cookies.
I’ve come to think of these as lunch box cookies. They are great any time, but they’re just the right size for two or three to fit in a small square of my kids’ Yumbox or Bentgo lunch boxes. I keep a stash in a bag in the freezer and add them to the lunch boxes frozen. By the time lunch rolls around, they’ve fully defrosted and my kids absolutely love them.
(P.S. Do you know how much I LOVE talking lunch boxes? Check out my big review of lunch boxes here.)
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter – As with most baking recipes, it’s a great idea to use unsalted butter and then add measured salt to your recipe for consistent results.
- All-Purpose Flour – Just regular AP flour needed for these cookies. I’ve also made these with a gluten-free 1:1 flour sub (I like King Arthur’s) with great results.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar gives these cookies a soft texture and caramel flavor. Light or dark brown sugar will work.
- Quick-Cook Oats – Quick-Cook Oats are ground into slightly smaller pieces than rolled or “old-fashioned” oats which helps them to blend right into these small cookies. Be sure to grab quick-cook oats or pulse regular rolled oats a few times in the food processor to break them up.
- Ground Cinnamon – You don’t need much but ground cinnamon feels right at home in oatmeal cookies. It isn’t strictly necessary but gives the flavor a bit of warmth.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – Be sure to grab mini chocolate chips. Regular-sized chips will be too big for these teeny cookies. A finely chopped bar of chocolate will work well too.
- Large Egg, Pure Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda, Kosher Salt – Standard cookie baking ingredients.
What to do with Quick-Cook Oats
If you have leftover quick-cook oats from this recipe, make Homemade Instant Oatmeal!
Can Bite Sized Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies be Frozen?
Yes! Oatmeal cookies can be frozen both before or after baking.
Before baking: Roll the cookie dough into balls as directed. Line cookie dough balls up on a sheet pan and transfer to the freezer. When dough balls are frozen solid (about 1 hour), transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. Bake on a prepared cookie sheet as directed, but add 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time.
After baking: Bake as directed and cool completely. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. Cookies will defrost in about 2 hours at room temperature. (Note: We also eat these cold straight from the freezer and love them that way!)
Can these be Baked as Regular-Sized Cookies?
Absolutely! Add about 5 minutes to the baking time listed and be sure to leave them on the sheet pan to cool for about 5 minutes after cooking and then transfer to a cooling rack. They will be soft right out of the oven but will set up and hold their shape once they cool.
Love Homemade Cookies? Here are More…
- Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Chocolate Brownie Crackle Cookies
- Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Crispy and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
- Red, White, and Blue Pinwheel Cookies
- Chocolate Mint Pinwheel Cookies
Favorite Tools
- Stand or Handheld Mixer
- Anchor 3-Piece Glass Mixing Bowls
- Half Sheet Pans
- Parchment Paper Sheets or Silpat Baking Mat
- Cooling Rack
Bite-Sized Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- Stand or Handheld Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Half Sheet Pans
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature (1 stick butter = 1/2 cup)
- 1 1/2 cups Light or Dark Brown Sugar, packed (1 1/2 cups brown sugar = 350g)
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour (1 cup flour = 125g)
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 cup Quick-Cook Oats, uncooked
- 1 cup Mini Chocolate Chips (or use 4 oz finely chopped chocolate)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 177°C.
- Lightly grease two sheet pans (or line with parchment and / or a Silpat baking mat).
- In the bowl of a standing mixer (or use a mixing bowl and handheld mixer), beat butter and brown sugar on high until creamy.
- Add egg and vanilla and mix on medium until evenly combined.
- Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix on low until no dry spots remain (do not over mix).
- Add quick-cook oats and chocolate chips and mix on low just until all of the mix-ins are evenly incorporated.
- Use a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon to measure and drop the dough onto prepared sheet pans, leaving a couple of inches of space between the cookies. (Note: Keep in mind that these should be quite small. Resist the urge to scoop out more than 1 teaspoon of dough at a time if you want them to stay bite-sized.)
- Bake until the edges are golden and the cookies have spread out slightly, 7 to 9 minutes.
- After taking the cookies out of the oven, firmly tap the pan on the counter to deflate them
- Cool for a couple minutes on the sheet pan before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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