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 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.
What you’ll need to make Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
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.
I’m a big fan of this recipe. I love the balance of chewiness and crispness it has. I usually make a double batch and freeze the dough balls so whenever I feel like having some I place them in the oven and, voila! I have fresh baked cookies!!!
These are great cookies! The coconut is not overwhelming, but it seems to add a chew and a more heavenly flavor! I like them slightly under baked!
I love these cookies, I make batches and send them with my husband to work. His co-works all love you for the best cookies.
Thanks Jenn
Review: 5 star on taste, love the buttery, chocolatery, nutty taste….I did not taste the coconut at all, the only thing is that I don’t know if I overcooked them because they were kind of hard…I am an amateur in the kitchen though lol
This is THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made, and my entire family agreed! I even featured it on my Pinspiration in the Kitchen series on my blog- http://thepreggofoodie.blogspot.com/2012/06/pinspiration-in-kitchen-secret.html
I left out the pecans because I didn’t have any in the house, but they were still amazing! My husband and my son said that I have to only make this chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on. 😉
*This is one of my entries for the Anolon Cookware giveaway.*
These are perfect just the way they are! The kids loved them even thought they dont like coconut and nuts!
These were a big hit at a BBQ I brought them to last weekend. I made the cookies a little smaller (not quite 1 T each), so they cooked a bit faster.
I love the secret, I’m not usually a fan of coconut but these were soooo good!
My husband considers himself a bit of a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur and this were a huge hit with him. Quite a testimonial coming from him!!!
I ground the oats in a Magic Bullet saving clean up of the food processor. These are amazing, chewy cookies with crisp outer edges. Definitely a “keeper” recipe!
These are to die for! This has become my “GO To” recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Thanks a million!!!
These were delicious. I will definitely be making these again!
mmalavec(at)med(dot)umich(dot)edu
AWSOME WILL MAKE AGAIN!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!! 🙂
Delicious, this will become an heirloom recipe.
Will definitely be trying these in the very near future!
I will be trying this recipe this weekend! Thank you!!!
What an interesting twist on a classic! I like the way you think and will defiantly try this soon!
Looking forward to trying this “secret”. Love softer cookies!
I was surprised that my coconut-adverse fiance loved these so much! The coconut added moisture without taking over the flavor – a great recipe!
Made these several times and everybody loves them, especially my hubby. Moist and chewey!
Can’t wait to try this one!
These cookies were a big hit at the office, even though I cooked them a touch too long. I just upgraded my cookie sheets though, so I should probably test them out with this wonderful recipe. Very moist, flavorful cookies.
Interesting. I’ve never thought to put coconut in a chocolate chip cookie before. I’ll have to give it a try! 😀 They look great!
just made these cookies. They are really very YUM !!
I replaced egg. (with flaxmeal + water) combination.
Will def make them again. Thank you
These are hands down the best chocolate chip cookies ever! I have made these for all my family and friends and they fight over who will get the left over cookies.
me and my friends are doing a baking class project. she found this and we’re planning on using it. wish us luck!
I was craving coconut and chocolate one day – so I made my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and added coconut…I thought I was really onto something all by myself! My hubby was not a big fan. But others who I shared them with loved them as much as I did. And I always make my cookies as organic as possible with my ingredients.
Dee-licious cookies! Thank you!
Thanks for revealing that secret ingredient , we will have to believe that it would be truly special when baked.
These cookies sound wonderful. I’m usually not a fan of coconut but I think I will have to give these a try. It also helps that I have little cookie monsters in my house with my two girls and husband. I know they would love these! Thanks for sharing.
I love your blog so beautiful!
I did find a box with a decent amount of quick-cooking brown rice in it. I used the microwave directions to prepare a couple cups. By adding the brown rice and some extra salt, pepper and vinegar to the salad, I made dinner.
Hi,
Thanks for the secret ingredient chocolate chip cookies that you share and send it to me. I will try to follow these ingredient of coming semistral breake. I will send you the result. To tell you I really love cooking or making cake or cookies.
Respectfully your’s
Virginia
These cookies turned out great! I had to make half without the coconut (hubby doesn’t like it), but they are so addictive!
thank you for the best choc chip cookie ever! it is so yummy and delicious~perfect! i’ll use this recipe from here on out!
Just be careful to let people know what is in these…hiding coconut could trigger someone’s allergic reaction (unknowingly sent a dear friend to the hospital this way).
Yummy! I baked these and brought them to work and they were gone in under 30 minutes. So delicious – I love the consistency and buttery-ness.
I reduced the oat flour to 1/2 cup, and threw in 1/4 cup of wheat germ. The addition of the coconut keeps the cookie tasty fresh and chewy even after a couple of days. 🙂
I think I have the world’s best cookie but I cannot wait to give this one a try! Thus far, I have L O V E D all of your recipes.
Keep up the good work.
Deborah
Delish cookies. Love the “secret”!
Oatmeal AND coconut! yum
Hi Jenn,
I have been using Earth’s Best Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal for years in my chocolate chip cookie recipe and it saves an enormous amount of time grinding oatmeal. Hope your readers find that tip helpful. We’ll stick with our yummy organic recipe but yours looks wonderful too.
Thanks, Deb