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These really are the WORLD’S BEST COOKIES! I know that is a lofty proclamation, but it’s so true. The first bite I took of these cookies was heaven and in my mind I said “that’s why they call them the World’s Best!”

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cookies stacked on a brown wood board


What makes these cookies the World’s Best Cookies?

This is another recipe from my Mom’s recipe box. Much like her banana bread and snowball recipe, this one is sure to be a keeper. I was rifling through her recipe box looking for nuggets of gold when I came upon this cookie recipe. Fast forward a year, and she was doing the same thing and texted it to me. It was finally time for me to try them!

I think that the first (and most important) standard for any cookie is taste. These have a taste that’s hard to describe; kind of like a non-chocolate chocolate chip cookie and a pecan sandie, all rolled into one. The flavor is amazing!

The other requirement for any cookie, in my book, is a chewy texture with a crisp outside but soft and gooey inside, and this cookie is most certainly that.

I’m pretty sure this recipe is from the 70s – only back then would they combine all these ingredients in one bowl! I have no idea where this recipe originated or what it was originally called but the name fits.

stack of cookies

Special ingredients that make the best cookies

I also like to call these “kitchen sink cookies” because seriously, when I read the ingredient list I was amazed at all the components. Here’s what’s on the ingredients list:

  • Like most cookies, this recipe has brown and granulated sugar and flour and egg. Unlike most cookie recipes, this one has butter AND oil.
  • For me, butter is essential in cookies. It provides not only flavor but that telltale chewy texture a good cookie has. But, as I discovered with my favorite shortbread cookie recipe, adding oil along with butter makes them chewy and soft at the same time. Weird, but true.
  • Oatmeal: adding oats to a cookie adds to the chewiness. These are by no means oatmeal cookies, but the oats add a good chew. If you don’t have quick cooking oats you can make your own by adding old-fashioned oats to a food processor or blender and pulsing a few times.
  • Cornflakes – bring on the 70s! Adding cereal to cookies isn’t knew to me (um, Fruity Pebbles Cookies, anyone?) and I love adding cereal for texture and crunch.
  • Coconut – you can skip if you don’t love it, but you don’t 100% taste it, it’s more for texture.
  • Nuts – use walnuts or pecans or your favorite nut. Great for flavor and texture. I used pecans, which is why I suspect I tasted Pecan Sandie in these cookies.
cookies stacked on a brown wood board

These cookies are soft and chewy, crunchy and gooey and SO FULL of delicious flavor. When I find recipes like this I wonder where they went, like, why aren’t these on bakery shelves and all over the internet? I’d choose these over chocolate chip cookies any day of the week!

Tips for making the best cookies recipe

  1. Make sure your butter is softened.
  2. Measure your flour the right way.
  3. These need chilling because the dough is loose, thanks to all that oil. I also think that chilling helps the flavors meld together.
  4. Don’t over bake these! Learn how to tell when your cookies are done baking.
World's best cookies step by step

You cream together the butter, oil and sugars and after that the dough is loose enough you don’t need a mixer anymore, but I still use mine. I also like how the mixer sort of crushes the cornflakes!

Now, there is no chocolate in these cookies and I don’t miss it one bit…but you can add 1 cup of chocolate chips if you want. That would make them the World’s Best x1000!!

This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on size. They freeze well too, so you can save them for later!

Let me know if you remember these cookies. I was too young back in the 70s…but I’d love to hear if they were really a thing!

stack of cookies showing top

The World’s Best Cookies

3.99 from 369 votes
These really are the WORLD’S BEST COOKIES! I couldn’t believe how good they were when I tried them!
Cook Time 12 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 12 minutes
Yield 4 dozen cookies
Serving Size 1 cookie

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (200g) brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup (237ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup (80g) quick cooking oats
  • 3 ½ cups (434g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (60g) sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup (25g) lightly crushed cornflakes
  • ½ cup (63g) chopped pecans or walnuts
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Instructions

  • Note: this dough requires chilling.
  • Cream butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream until light and fluffy. You can also use a hand mixer. Add oil and stir until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mix until smooth, then stir in the salt and baking soda.
  • Mix in oats and flour until just mixed. Stir in coconut, nuts, and cornflakes.
  • Scoop 2 tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto a cookie sheet covered in wax or parchment paper. No need to spread the balls out, you’re just going to chill them. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least one hour. (If you chill longer than 4 hours you may need to let them warm up a few minutes on the counter before baking.)
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats. Place cookies 2” apart on prepared cookie sheets. Lightly press down with the palm of your hand. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the bottoms just start to turn golden brown. Cool at least 5 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to rack to cool completely.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Recipe Video

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

**Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!**

Last Updated on January 7, 2023



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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117 Comments

  1. These truly are amazing, I call them crack cookies- TOO ADDICTIVE. My friend made them for me one time and I have never been the same 😭

  2. These are the worlds best cookies,made them last Christmas,and I shared them with friends,everyone loved them and wanted recipe.

  3. Yes, indeed, my mom started making these in the 70s, and they are still our family favorite today. In her recipe file the name is “Best Cookies in the World.” The only difference is, our recipe doesn’t have oil. I am going to try your version this week. We’ve baked and eaten hundreds of these over the years, and I still crave them! Thanks for bringing it back.

  4. Hands down, these are my favorite cookies!!!
    This is the exact recipe that my mother in law made before I married her son in the 80’s. She loved making and eating them. So do I. They are a cinch to put together and are quite irresistible. They are delicious still warm from the oven oven, keep well in the cookie jar and make enough to fill a container in the freezer as well. Delicious with a glass of milk or a glass of wine. These have made their way into many Christmas exchange cookie as well as home getogether functions and community events. Everyone raves about them and wonders why they’ve never heard of them. My sentiments exactly. Did I mention how much I love these cookies?!

  5. I have been making these cookies since 1979 when the recipe was printed in the San Francisco Chronicle from the San Francisco Junior League cookbook. The recipe I follow does not call for chilling the dough, the cookie dough goes straight on to the cookie sheet with no paper and the cookie ball is pressed down with a fork dipped in water. When the cookies come out of the oven they are lightly sprinkled with granulated sugar.
    They are baked in a 325 degree oven for 12 minutes.

  6. Yes, they were really “a thing” in the late 70’s/early 80’s. They were also called “kitchen sink” cookies, as you could toss in the proverbial “everything but the kitchen sink” . I have had them various flavored baking chips, sunflower seeds, Rice Crispies, crushed Cheerios, chopped peanuts, black walnuts, English walnuts, pecans, even crushed potato chips! You name it! The key to the texture is the mix of butter and oil and the crunchy bits you mix in.

  7. Love, love these cookies! Lots of texture and flavor. My wife is allergic to chocolate and these cookies come across like a loaded chocolate chip cookie. These along with pan banging ginger molasses cookies are the absolute best non-chocolate cookie recipes I’ve ever found. A must try!