The Best Oatmeal Walnut Cookies
Dec 09, 2018, Updated Feb 03, 2021
This post may contain affiliate links.
Oatmeal walnut cookies are chunky and tasty. They are crispy around the edges and so delicious. These oatmeal cookies are perfect for the holidays.

Another oatmeal cookie recipe for your sweet cravings! Have you checked out our oatmeal cookie collection? Some our favorites are cranberry oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and maple oatmeal cookies. Today I’m going to show you an old but updates recipe, these oatmeal cookies come with a crunchy twist, making it so hard to stop at one cookie!

Table of Contents
A twist on the classic
While nothing beats the classic oatmeal raisin cookies, I think a twist on a classic recipe could be fun and delicious. This recipe calls for walnuts instead of raisins which makes it chunky and really tasty. These cookies are crunchy with a hint of cinnamon that makes them perfect for anytime of the year!
The best thing about this oatmeal cookie recipe is that you can make the dough ahead of time and chill it in the fridge for 2 hours up to 3 days. You can also freeze the dough or the baked cookies to enjoy later!
3 tips for the best oatmeal cookies
- Use old-fashioned oatmeal: There are several types of oatmeal available at a regular supermarket: quick. old fashioned, steel cut, etc. Make sure to use old fashioned oatmeal when it comes to cookies.
- Room temperature ingredients: Keep the butter and the eggs at room temperature, they’ll mix much better.
- Don’t overbake: Remember, when you remove the baking sheet from the oven and leave it on the counter, the cookies will keep baking for a few more minutes since the baking sheet is still hot. It’s best to remove the cookies when they’re a bit underdone so they don’t get hard and too crispy after they cool.
Ingredients
- Butter: It’s best to use unsalted butter that’s at room temperature. Soft butter mixes very well wit the sugar and eggs. Make sure the butter isn’t melted.
- Sugar: For this recipe you need both brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Egg: Again, you’ll need room temperature egg.
- Oatmeal: Old fashioned oatmeal works for this recipe.

Quick oatmeal vs old fashioned oatmeal
To make this recipe, I used old fashioned oatmeal as I almost always do when it comes to baked oatmeal cookies. Old fashioned oatmeal gives a nice texture to cookies and it makes them pretty chewy. Check out this article to learn more about old fashioned oatmeal vs quick oatmeal for baking.
Instructions
Start with creaming butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the egg and mix well until fully combined. Add in flour, oatmeal, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir using a spatula or a wooden spoon. Then add chopped walnuts and stir well. Refrigerate the cookie dough for about two hours.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop out the oatmeal cookie dough onto the baking sheet using a cookie or ice cream scoop. Place them two inches apart from each other to give them room to spread. Bake in the oven and cool completely on a baking sheet before serving.
Pro tip: Make sure not to over bake the cookies otherwise they’ll turn hard and dry. The cookies are ready once the edges are set and golden and the middle is still soft.
Frequently asked questions
I usually bake oatmeal cookie for about 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown. The cookies are usually pretty soft once they’re out of the oven and you can transfer them to the wire rack after 5-10 minutes.
You can make the cookie dough and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to bake, simply follow the baking instructions in the recipe card. You can also bake the cookies and keep them in an airtight container a couple of days in advance.
Yes, place the cookie dough in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 month. To bake, thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight and proceed with the baking instructions.
To make these walnut oatmeal cookies gluten free, use 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour. As for dairy free, I don’t recommend switching ingredients since alternatives such as coconut oil or flax eggs would change the flavor and texture of the cookies.
Variations
- Oatmeal raisin walnut cookies: add 1/2 cup raisins to the batter with the walnuts.
- Cranberry oatmeal walnut cookies: add 1/2 cup dried cranberries to the cookie dough with the walnuts.
- Oatmeal chocolate chip walnut cookies: use 1/2 cup chocolate chips in the cookie dough while adding the walnuts.

More Cookie Recipes
Cookies and bars
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Cookies and bars
Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies
Cookies and bars
Easy Molasses Cookies Recipe
Cookies and bars
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups with Chocolate Pudding
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or subscribe to our newsletter to get a free e-Cookbook!

Oatmeal Walnut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 2/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 cup chopped walnut
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer.
- Add the egg and mix well.
- Add the old fashioned oatmeal, flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Mix well using a wooden spoon.
- Add the chopped walnut and mix again.
- Let the dough chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, form balls of cookie dough and place them 2 inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies start to brown.
Notes
- Make sure to refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2 hours up to 3 days.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container and keep in a cool and dry place up to 3 days.
- To freeze the baked cookies, place them in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the oven at 220 degrees F for 10 to 20 minutes.
- To freeze the cookie dough, transfer it to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake the cookies, thaw the dough in the fridge overnight, then proceed with the baking instructions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hey I was wondering if we can use normal flour instead of AP flour?
Hi! By normal you mean, white flour? Yes!
these look tasty. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Angela at daysinbed
Glad you like the Angela!
Love Oatmeal Cookies!!! My only issue is they’re always stuffed with Raisins, gross. Thanks for sharing- can’t wait to try these.
I like them with raisins too but there is always room for change 😀
Oh man these look divine!
I absolutely love your blog name!
Thanks Amanda! Glad you like them! <3 🙂
These look amazing! I think I know what I’ll be taking to the cookie exchange this year! 🙂
I love cookie exchange!! <3 🙂
Omg I’m planning the same thing. These sounds easy and look tasty and perfect for Christmas…
They are great for holidays Michelle! 🙂
YUM! I love a good oatmeal cookie and these sound fabulous. Love the simple ingredients – will definitely whip up a batch soon!
So glad you liked it! <3 🙂
YaaaY, Oatmeal cookies are my fav and teh combination with walnut sounds divine.
It’s Delicious Molly! <3 🙂
Oooh! I love this!! I love walnuts!! So much. So this addition for oat cookies is amazing! 😀 I can’t wait to try it out…
I love walnuts too! 😀
Oatmeal cookies are so awesome….you can do so many things with a basic recipe. Love the addition of walnuts….so tasty!!
Makes them chunky and yummy!
We love anything oatmeal in this house. Will have to make these soon and share with my little crumb snatchers. Thank you for sharing.
I hope they like it Chanelle! 🙂 <3