Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
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These chocolate chip cookies are crisp, chewy, and loaded with a couple of surprise ingredients make them extra delicious.
In the world of baking, there are few things as hotly debated as the perfect chocolate chip cookie. This recipe, from my friend Carrie, is certainly in the running. The first time she sent it to me, I remember thinking, Wow, she really threw everything in there. But Carrie is a fantastic baker, so I gave them a try—and now they’re one of my favorite chocolate chip cookies.
The secret? Actually, there are two. The first is oatmeal, ground into a fine powder so it adds just the right amount of chewiness without tasting like oatmeal cookies. The second is coconut. I know it sounds a little strange. But trust me: you can barely taste it, and it somehow makes the cookies richer, chewier, and even more irresistible.
“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 & Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise and ensures even browning.
- Butter: Provides richness and moisture.
- Granulated Sugar & Light Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor.
- 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.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Blitz the flour and oatmeal. To begin, place the oatmeal in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until finely ground.
Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the ground oats with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Step 3: Cream the butter and sugars. 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.
Step 4: Add the egg and vanilla. Beat well to combine.
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and beat at low speed until just combined.
Step 6: Mix in the add-ins. Add chocolate chips, coconut and nuts and mix well.
Step 7: Form dough balls. 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.
Step 8: Bake. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake until edges of cookies begin to crisp but centers are still soft, 12 to 14 minutes.
Step 9: Cool and enjoy. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
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Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
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
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- ½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- â…” 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 (175°C). 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 in (5 cm) between them. (Keep remaining batter cool in refrigerator while first batch cooks.) Bake, reversing the position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until the edges of the cookies begin to crisp but the 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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This is the 2nd time I’ve made these cookies and everyone loves them. My coconut was unsweetened but because of the sugar in the cookie dough no one seemed to question. Liked the surprise of coconut flavor. Love your recipes.
I made these today. I like how the ground oatmeal takes away some of the sweetness. Very nice cookie.
Can you use oat flour instead of grinding up oat flour? I have a bag of oat flour that I am looking to use up. Thanks!
Sure, Karen, that should be fine. Enjoy!
Hi again Jenn,
I’ve tried again your cookies after finally finding sweetened coconut; they got flat again, I really don’t understand what I’m doing wrong : in the last minutes they flatten a lot and when I take them out from the oven, they deflate completely and they end up being around 1/4 “ thick.
What do you think it could be? I noticed in your photos that your oat is coarsely ground not very fine, I ground mine very fine, flour like, maybe that’s the culprit?
Thanks
Ingrid
Sorry you’re having a problem with these! I don’t think the oats would be causing a problem. May I ask what brand of flour you’re using?
Hi Jenn,
I’m using Five Roses all purpose unbleached flour (I assume it’s a canadian flour).
Thanks!
Hi Ingrid, I’m not familiar with that brand (perhaps because it’s specific to Canada). Next time you make these, I’d add another 2 – 3 Tbsp. of flour to the batter. Also, I always use (and have good luck with) King Arthur brand flour. Hope that helps!
LOVE this recipe. I finely chopped about a quarter or so of the chocolate chips super fine. My sister used to make the Neiman Marcus cookies and this is somewhat of a version of that. I also lightly toasted the nuts. I also used my convection oven which worked really well. Tastes amazing with the coconut and might even replace it with macademia nuts.
I’m also going to try maybe adding even a tiny little more texture using some semolina and wheat germ. We’ll see.
At what degrees should we bake these cookies? I’m assuming 350?
Hi Robbie, Yes, they get baked at 350°F/175°C. Hope you enjoy!
There were fantastic and I will certainly be making them again and again.
Just made these delicious cookies and they are perfect. Thank you for making my baking experience make me one everyone ask for the recipe. Of course, I tell them about your amazing site, Once upon a chef. 😊
💗
Hi,
A quick question : when you said 3/4 cup rolled oats ground, did you measure before grinding or after?
And if I don’t have semi-sweetened coconut, should I add 1 Tbsp of sugar?
They came out very soft, so I had to keep them another 6-8 minutes in the oven. Delicious!
Thank you for another great recipe!
Hi Ingrid, I measure 3/4 cup of oats first and then grind them. And I don’t think you need to add additional sugar if using unsweetened coconut, but I’d be concerned that the unsweetened coconut would make the cookies a little dry. How did they turn out?
Hi Jenny,
Thank you for your answer; yes, they turned dry but still tasteful; it’s extremely difficult to find sweetened coconut nowadays.
Have a great day!
Ingrid
Thanks for reporting back!
Do you recommend adding something to offset the dryness, if one uses unsweetened coconut? Thanks!
Hi Lesli, I would just keep the recipe as is. Please LMK how they turn out!
Hi Jenn, may I find out what can I use to replace vanilla extract? It’s so hard to find this in my country! Sometimes I do see vanilla essence instead, but if I can’t find that either, can I omit vanilla totally? Or is there something else I can add instead?
Thanks in advance for ur recommendation!
Hi Jenn, It’s perfectly fine to just omit it. 🙂
Thanks Jenn! I just made them today and they taste so good!! perfectly crispy on the outside and so chewy inside. I omitted the coconut as well because i’m really not a fan of it, but it still came out good. not sure if there’s a way to modify the recipe to make it a totally crispy cookie, like famous amos’s? 🙂
Glad you like these! I wouldn’t recommend modifying the recipe to make them thin and crispy as you’d need to make too many changes to achieve that texture. Instead I’d look specifically for a recipe for thin and crispy cookies.
Try replacing vanilla with brandy or cognac. Works well as a substitute.