Oatmeal cookies are fairly straightforward to make, but the type of oats you use in your dough can greatly impact both the taste and texture. Old-fashioned and quick-cooking oats are the most commonly-used varieties for baking, and bakers who prefer their cookies to be chewy and rich should reach for old-fashioned oats.

Using old-fashioned oats results in a browner and chewier cookie, since they take longer to cook and therefore stay more toothsome, even when combined with other ingredients. For an unmatched level of chewiness, soak your old-fashioned oats and any dried fruit you'd like to use before mixing them into the dough.

On the other hand, quick-cooking oats absorb water more quickly, resulting in a drier dough and cookies that sit more compactly on a baking sheet rather than spreading out. Biting into cookies made with this type of oats is a softer, lighter, almost cake-like experience, since the water-absorbent oats yield a moister final result.