Regular readers might remember we ran John Legend’s family heirloom mac and cheese recipe a while back, a dish he’s said carries real sentimental weight from his childhood. It turns out that wasn’t the only recipe close to his heart. Long before he was an EGOT-winning musician, a young John Legend was already in the kitchen, and these loaded oatmeal cookies trace back to that same period, first shared publicly on a throwback episode of the Cooking Channel show Cookies & Cocktails back in 2011. Legend has said he started cooking around age eleven or twelve, and these cookies are inspired by that exact stage of his childhood.

This version is our own take on the concept, built around the same genuinely appealing idea: a proper, chewy oatmeal cookie base loaded up with whatever mix-ins you love most, chocolate, raisins, nuts, or all three at once.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 24 cookies | Prep: 20 minutes | Cook: 10-12 minutes per batch

Ingredients

1½ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
225g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
½ cup raisins (optional)
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Stir through the oats, chocolate, and raisins and nuts if using, until evenly distributed.
Roll heaped tablespoons of dough into balls and place on the prepared trays, spacing them a few centimetres apart to allow for spreading.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centres still look slightly underdone and soft. Don’t be tempted to overbake — the centres will firm up as the cookies cool.
Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Enjoy warm for the best gooey texture, or once fully cooled for a firmer, chewier bite.

Tips

Raisins are genuinely polarising, so feel free to leave them out entirely, or swap in dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots instead.

Watch the edges closely as they bake – golden or light brown means they’re ready, while dark brown edges mean they’ve gone too far.

These freeze beautifully, either as baked cookies or as raw dough balls ready to bake straight from frozen (just add an extra minute or two to the cooking time).

Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days, though they rarely last that long.