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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!”
Over 1 million people have seen this recipe on Pinterest and it has rave reviews. You know it has to be good!
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.
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.
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!
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!
The World’s Best Cookies
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
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
Other favorite cookie recipes:
- Frosted Flakes Cookies
- Doubletree Copycat Cookies
- BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (and the internet agrees)
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Last Updated on January 7, 2023
Does anyone have the alterations for high altitude….. please??
I don’t have cornflakes but have frosted flakes. Wondering if I could use that in the recipe??
You could also use plain potato chips to sub for the cornflakes!
YES! I’ve done that too.
Awesome! I didn’t have cornflakes and just upped the oats a bit. They turned out great and got raves at a gathering. Will save recipe and make again with the cornflakes this time.
This one is a keeper-
I made these cookies for a cousin’s get away weekend. WE ALL LOVED THEM! They are my new “go to” recipe for cookies. Thank you.
These taste like my childhood! My Grandma would make them for me and they are EXACTLY like I remember. She did not have coconut in her recipe but I like the addition. Perfect cookie, truly the worlds best! Even my chocolate loving family and friends thought they were excellent.
I absolutely love these cookies! I just don’t understand why mine go flat!!
Try replacing your baking soda and store it in the fridge for future use. Or maybe getting your oven calibrated? Also, an ice cream scoop is great for getting the perfect portion cookie and helping to keep it plump as it bakes.
And ALWAYS make sure you use room temperature ingredients (Eggs) and softened butter! Makes a huge difference
Can you say Awesome? They truly are!!! Love ’em!
First time making these cookies but my family and the friends loved them! You don’t miss the chocolate chips. They have a lot of flavor and great texture to them.
My grandmother always made these. She said she got the recipe from her mother who copied it down from a radio program in the 40’s. Hers calls for oleo. ? and she always added chocolate chips. I love these cookies. They’re fantastic, and for my family always includes sweet memories.
I’m baking them now and they look good enough to eat. I had to have my hubby check behind me on the measurement of dough size. The recipe says 4 dz. Cookies but 2 tablespoon doughballs. Shouldnt it be 1 tablespoon balls?
I was a kid of the 70’s. These were called Ranger Cookies when my mom made them. They were hearty and yummy at the same time and this recipe brings back all those memories! Yay!!
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