Oatmeal Cookies Lab499 recipes
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What goes into oatmeal cookies

The main ingredient list of all 499 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • Nearly all oatmeal cookie recipes use butter (92%); 7% use oil.
  • For sugar, 58% use white and brown sugar together, 20% brown sugar alone, and 14% molasses or honey (with or without sugar).
  • For leavening, 56% use baking soda alone, 25% baking soda and baking powder together, and 12% baking powder alone.
  • For eggs, 80% use whole eggs alone, 10% no egg, and 4% egg yolks alone.
  • 65% add spice, 47% fruit and 37% chocolate; 8% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 190 g of flour, the size of a typical batch. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical batch on every ingredient.

Butter, oil or both

Each recipe counted once, by the fats in its main ingredient list.

Margarine and vegan butter count as butter (1%). Oil includes coconut oil (3%).

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

Coconut sugar counts as brown (3 recipes). "With molasses or honey" means any liquid sweetener (molasses, honey, maple syrup and corn syrup), with or without dry sugar. Coarse and cinnamon sugar are usually sprinkled on top, so they do not count here.

Baking soda, baking powder or both

Each recipe counted once, by what it relies on to rise.

Whole eggs, yolks or whites

Each recipe counted once, by the parts of the egg it uses.

A large egg is about 50 g out of the shell, a yolk about 18 g, a white about 32 g.

Rolled or quick oats

Among the 499 recipes with oats.

Old-fashioned oats count as rolled.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 8% add none of these.

  • Spice65%

    cinnamon 62% · nutmeg 14% · spice blend 5%

  • Fruit47%

    raisins 21% · dried cranberries 8% · pumpkin 5%

  • Chocolate37%

    chocolate chips or chunks 25% · bar chocolate 6% · white chocolate 6%

  • Nuts18%

    walnuts 7% · pecans 5% · almonds 1%

  • Coconut, candy or chips12%

    shredded coconut 3% · candy or cookies 3% · butterscotch chips 2%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 499 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 190 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. All-purpose flour92%

    462 recipes · median: all of the flour

  2. Butter91%

    456 recipes · median 173 g

  3. Brown sugar88%

    440 recipes · median 177 g

  4. Salt87%

    438 recipes · median 3 g

  5. Eggs84%

    421 recipes · median 76 g (about 1.5 large eggs)

  6. Vanilla83%

    415 recipes · median 6 g

  7. Rolled oats82%

    413 recipes · median 158 g

  8. Baking soda81%

    408 recipes · median 4.6 g

  9. Granulated sugar72%

    360 recipes · median 101 g

  10. Cinnamon62%

    310 recipes · median 2.6 g

  11. Baking powder37%

    189 recipes · median 3.5 g

  12. Chocolate chips or chunks25%

    126 recipes · median 230 g

  13. Raisins21%

    108 recipes · median 171 g

  14. Quick oats18%

    90 recipes · median 160 g

  15. Nutmeg14%

    72 recipes · median 0.8 g

  16. Egg yolks8%

    44 recipes · median 22 g

  17. Dried cranberries8%

    41 recipes · median 171 g

  18. Walnuts7%

    39 recipes · median 91 g

  19. Cornstarch7%

    36 recipes · median 4.5 g

  20. Bar chocolate6%

    34 recipes · median 138 g

  21. Molasses6%

    32 recipes · median 21 g

  22. White chocolate6%

    31 recipes · median 172 g

  23. Milk6%

    30 recipes · median 36 g

  24. Peanut butter5%

    29 recipes · median 213 g

  25. Pumpkin5%

    26 recipes · median 148 g

  26. Pecans5%

    25 recipes · median 84 g

  27. Spice blend5%

    25 recipes · median 4 g

Toppings and extras

15% of recipes (76 of 499) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Powdered sugar9% (45)
  • Milk5% (28)
  • Salt5% (25)
  • Vanilla4% (24)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out. Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 190 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.