Chocolate Cookies
January 30th, 2010.
Categories: All, Baked, Dessert, Lacto Ovo, Vegetarian
Not sure if you have received this hoax email before, which story centered around a freely distributed RM250 Famous Amos Chocolate Cookie Recipe?
I got that a while ago, ignored. But received again from Piggy last year, saying that her sister baked it successfully and is quite delicious, except that it is the chewy type, which can disappoint some who expect it to be crispy.
I waited a year to bake it!! CNY is nearby, and I thought maybe I should bake it for CNY!
It is not an easy task. I don’t think I will repeat this in a short while. The part about grating the chocolate bar is killing me. And then, have to roll the dough into tiny pieces… With the small oven we usually have at home (i.e. not commercial), it is so slow. Every tray can only carry that many pieces only, have to leave space for the biscuit to expand. I think it yielded about 100 tiny pcs or so, didn’t really count it. Tedious, tired, sweaty…
Anyway, my kids loved it so much. I think before CNY the cookies are going to be gone!
Here is the recipe. I reduced the sugar by half, and still think it is quite sweet. Can’t imagine how people eat with the original recipe!!
‘FAMOUS AMOS’ CHOCOLATE COOKIES RECIPE
Ingredients
1 bar butter (approx 250g)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla essence
2 cups plain flour
2 1/2 cups oatmeal, blended to powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
340g chocolate chips
250g Chocolate bar, grated
100g nuts (your choice), chopped
Method
1. Preheat oven at 190C
2. Cream the butter and both sugars
3. Add eggs and vanilla, mix evenly
4. Fold in flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda.
5. Add chocolate chips, grated chocolate bar and nuts. Mix well (I used my hands in a food grade plastic bag, as it is too thick for my mixer).
6. Roll into small balls (around 1 inch in diameter) and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet/tray.
7. Bake for 10 minutes at 190 C.
When the cookies are removed, they are soft. But when left cool, it will harden up and become slightly crisp outside (but chewy inside).
No related posts.
I used apricot glaze....
January 30th, 2010 22:31
Update: OMG! Just brought some to MIL’s place. Everyone said very nice, and they thought it is “like the Famous Amos cookies”. It was finished within seconds. I was asked to bake more. Looking at the demand and popularity of it, I might make another batch next week!!
February 2nd, 2010 13:38
Suzette… is this the ori recipe or is the sugar content reduced d?
February 2nd, 2010 22:46
Sue: This recipe is with the sugar reduced by half. It is exactly how I baked it.
Very yummy!!
February 7th, 2010 19:36
Sue: I am so so so sorry!! I made a mistake. When I baked the cookies again today, only I realized that I haven’t reduced the sugar by half in this recipe, and have just corrected it. It should be 1/2 cup granulated and 1/2 cup brown sugar. So in total 1 cup. The original recipe called for 1 cup each. I nearly put that much when I repeated it today. I hope you have not tried baking this!!!
April 3rd, 2010 01:31
Hi!
First of all, your site is very neat with pictures following every recipe that makes me drool, seriously!!
2ndly, I”ve tried this and it is awfully sweet even with the sugar reduced by half. After taking a few bites, i became really nauseous. If i should make this again or anyone wishes to try, i suggest omitting the granulated sugar totally or reduce it to a quarter. oh, and the temperature should be One Hundred and Ninety five degrees(195) Celsius to make the cookie crumble properly in the middle.
last note: add the choc chips just right before you bake so it doesn’t totally melt into the batter.
regards,
max
April 5th, 2010 11:26
Cookies looked great,how’s the texture? Crispy outside, chewy inside??or just crunchy throughout? ^^
April 7th, 2010 15:34
I made it last weekend it was such a success!Yeah..the 1 cup sugars is already quite sweet..should reduce again.
April 13th, 2010 12:19
Max: Thanks for dropping by and left a comment here. Ya, I really don’t know how people could eat the original recipe, with so much sugar in it! And thanks for the tips on the temperature. Ya, I do notice many cookies recipes call for 195, and now after you explain, that could be the reason why the center is not crisp with the original temperature! Cheers for that!
Starry: If you follow the recipe, it gives you the crunchy outside but chewy inside texture. But Max has suggested to increase the temperature so that we get the crunchy texture throughout.
Jude: Looks like you are really into baking now. LOL! All the best in all your trials!
April 13th, 2010 14:02
yeah!I am..and waiting for your new recipes!
July 18th, 2010 13:06
I tried this cookies today and it turn out so well! I just add extra sugar bcase my family really have sweet tooth and I add half cup of dry coconut. It is soooooo crispy and I can’t stop eating it!
It so delicious, and owh I forgot, last night I tried ur japanese light cheesecake recipe and my family love it.
July 23rd, 2010 08:00
Azura, I am so happy to hear that! I will share a recipe on a very easy-to-bake yet delicious chocolate cake later.
July 29th, 2010 14:48
Hi Suzette, I tried your recipe yesterday and it turn out really well! Thanks for sharing. Will definitely come back here for more recipes!
August 17th, 2010 01:06
Hi,
I’m going to try baking this tomorrow! My first time actually and I’m excited!
I was just wondering, what chocolate chips/bar do you use? Where can I get it? I don’t mind spending extra money on something really good.
Thank you for the recipe!
August 17th, 2010 16:47
Neems: You can get the chocolates from any cake ingredient shops. Depending on where you live, I can’t say exactly where you can get it. Alternatively, you can still get from super/hypermarkets, though it would be more expensive.
August 29th, 2010 14:00
Hi sis, what flour did you use? btw the pic of the cookies looked yummy!!
August 29th, 2010 16:10
Ofilia: just normal plain flour, or medium protein flour.
September 1st, 2010 12:23
i m so excited to try. I m baking for hari raya. Thanks for sharing suzette..
September 7th, 2010 11:56
The chocolate bar = cooking chocolate is it??? Thx.
September 7th, 2010 14:06
Pastry Lover: Yes, cooking chocolate. Use the good one (usually more expensive type), for example the Belgium Chocolate Buttons ==> this will produce very good quality cookies. The type of chocolate is the key to the output.
September 8th, 2010 06:14
thx for the info. Will try it tmr before raya.
September 8th, 2010 10:17
Pastry Lover: I just realized that this is for the cookies, which the chocolate needs to be grated. Therefore, Belgium Choc Button wouldn’t be practical, coz would be too difficult to grate. A very good quality choc bar would do well with this… Apologies for the oversight.
September 16th, 2010 22:07
Hello there, im thinking of trying this. Would just putting 1/4cup of granulated sugar still give me a crunchy texture throughout?
And does anyone know why does my cookie edges always get burnt? I have tried lowering the oven temperature, chilling dough before i bake, but none of it works =( Even with shorter time for baking, the edges get burnt before the centre is cooked. =(
And could I skip the nuts and chocolate? =O
September 16th, 2010 22:14
oh and could i omit the oatmeal too? i dun have a blender nor a grater..
September 16th, 2010 22:35
Jess: Wow, so many questions! LOL! I will try to answer one at a time…
1. Reducing 1/2 cup sugar further down to 1/4 cup shouldn’t affect the texture. Just don’t know if it would be too bland in taste.
2. How big is your cookie? Could it be too big? Try to reduce the size so that the center is cooked faster, hopefully together with the outer parts?
3. You can skip nuts but the texture would be different, but don’t think you should skip chocolate, as this would not be “chocolate” cookies any more!
4. Omitting the oatmeal will cause texture change. I believe you would not have the chewy texture as a result of that.
September 16th, 2010 23:40
Ohh thanks so much for the prompt reply!
I’m sorry, I’m new at baking this is only my 4th or 5th attempt ><
Okay I think I would try omitting the oatmeal and nuts! I like crispy cookies better anyway
I see, I always make my cookies giant! Maybe thats why theyre always burnt.
Thanks so much again!! Gonna try this saturday, hope they turn out well
September 17th, 2010 09:00
Jess: One other point I’ve just thought — what is the shape that you leave in the tray before you put in the oven? It should be sphere, i.e. like a ball. This is not flat round thin shape. At least not for this recipe. Leave room for it to expand and flattened out between doughs.
September 17th, 2010 21:22
Thanks loads, I tried this recipe today without the oatmeal or the nuts, and it tasted so gooooddddddddd
But it didn’t yield alot of cookies though.. Abit too much chocolate too.
I realised that putting the dough into the freezer for a couple of mins before baking for this recipe helped the cookie bake more evenly =) no burnt edges!
October 2nd, 2010 22:41
i tried this recipe today… but what is the reason my cookies are not so crispy..?? is the oatmeal problem?? pls help me… thanks Suzette
October 5th, 2010 01:13
Elaine, did you make your dough too big? I realized that if my cookies are too big, they are soft throughout. I must make it small, AROUND, like the size of the common lollipop, or (just) slightly smaller than that. Let me know if this help?
October 5th, 2010 04:22
sure, tis is help me a lot also…let me ask another question is the temperature muz be 190C?? cos my oven din hav 190c but got 180c n 200c… so i use 180c…i think mayb tis is the problem…
thanks…
October 5th, 2010 12:32
Elaine, usually temperature matters. In your case, try the size first, and then if still doesn’t work, try the 200c and see. Also, if you make a large batch of batter, you can keep in fridge and try a few times with different setting, so you can experiment it. I would say, every oven is not the same. You have to keep trying to get the right setting for you.
All the best!
October 5th, 2010 13:32
My cookies are still flat and burnt at the edges! I substituted baking soda for more baking powder. is that the reason?
October 5th, 2010 18:22
Jess, not sure but could have caused the batter flattened out, if it ‘expands’ too much. Did you make it round like a lolly pop? It should be the size and in shape of a lolly pop. With lollypop size (much smaller), you can reduce baking period to maybe around 7-8 min. Try this and see? We have made many batches and every time yummy…
October 5th, 2010 23:29
oic… i wan to ask how to make the chocolate chips inside the cookies can melt when u eating (like the famous amos cookie), and not crispy and hard??
thanks…
October 6th, 2010 11:23
Elaine, not sure what do you mean by that. The choc chips are not crispy and hard in this cookie, so I really don’t know what you mean by that.
October 17th, 2010 20:00
I tried this recipe but i failed. It was not dough but rather oatmeal mix so i cannot rolled them. I used 625g(2 1/2 cup) of oatmeal. Is it the correct amt of oatmeal? I only omit granulated sugar. Is baking chocolate the same as cooking chocolate? Thanks!
October 17th, 2010 23:20
Kyn: The oat meal measure is before grounded. Did you measure it before you ground it? It sounds too heavy to me. Also, what do you substitute for the sugar if you omit it? If you go without the sugar, not only it is not sweet, it would be too dry as well. Yes, baking chocolate and cooking chocolate are the same.
October 18th, 2010 11:00
oops. i measured the grounded oatmeal… i used 1/2cup brown sugar since some ppl commented too sweet.
October 18th, 2010 12:31
Kyn: Okay, now we know the issues. Oat meal measurement is before grounded. If you are worried of sweetness, reduce the granulated sugar to 1/4cup, don’t completely omit it. But I personally think 1/2 cup is alright for most people. You have a trial and adjust along the way. Cheers!
October 21st, 2010 23:17
How many gm is “1 cup”?
October 22nd, 2010 07:33
Elaine, best is to buy the measurement cups from baking shops, coz no weighting require, easier for me. If you don’t, then the weight really defers by the stuff that you are measuring. I have found this site have some converter table (scroll down for the ingredients you are measuring and the cups/grams).
http://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml
October 26th, 2010 22:36
Hi,
Anyone tried this recipe without eggs?? I need to make some for some prayers. Any suggestions?
thanks.
November 19th, 2010 11:01
Hi Suzette,
what do you mean by one bar of butter? is it those from the supermarket?ie a block of butter? of about 225g? i tried to find out how many grams a bar of butter on the net, but couldn’t get th answer. Hope to hear from you soon, cause i’m thinking of baking it later.
November 19th, 2010 11:11
Xueqi: yes, about 225g or 250g, would be fine. That’s the standard size.
November 19th, 2010 11:52
thank you very much Suzette.
Sorry but i have another query. Is oatmeal the same as rolled oats? and for the chocolate bar can we use those chocolate that we usually eat? (:
Sorry once again.
November 19th, 2010 16:52
xueqi: Yes, they are the same. Better to buy the cooking chocolate bar, you can find it from supermarket bakery section, alongside with those flour, sugar, pudding, coloring, flavor, etc section. Don’t apologize, you have done nothing wrong!
Enjoy baking!! Cheers!
December 1st, 2010 22:35
Hi,
may I know what oatmeal to use?is it like those Quaker oat meal?the instant or the blue tin one?
December 2nd, 2010 11:39
Jacq: Either one is alright. I used the non-instant, happened that I have some organic ones at home (equivalent to your Blue tin).
December 7th, 2010 07:22
Hi Suzette,
I have tried your above recipe, turns out to be very good. I have added Walnut & Almond nipple. I was only making half portion of your recipe, but unknowing I have took the same measurement for a portion. But it turns out fantastic, not too sweet !! Maybe the nuts in between has cut the sweetness ?? !!
This time, I also released that I dont use use my hand to roll them, I use the back of the metal spoon & scope a portion into ball & flatten it with the soon. Previous try, I use my hand to roll the ball & I squeeze them a little. Turns like out to be less harder, more like when you tasted famous amos cookie!
How make the cookie more crunchier?? After bake, its very nice & crunchy but after a while, I released it turns alittle soft..??
December 7th, 2010 23:17
Juliet, I believe the chewy (or softness) comes from the oatmeal. You may reduce the oat meal if you want it crunchier. I haven’t tried that though.
December 14th, 2010 09:10
Hi Suzy,
I will be baking some of these cookies for a Christmas party.
Just wanted to enquire if the Vanilla is actually Vanilla Essence and for the flour ( can I use wheat flour?)
Step 4 in your method(s), can i put everything in and then fold them or put each of the indgredients in and fold them one by after another?
Rookie Cookie Baker.
December 14th, 2010 14:07
Justin: Vanilla is Vanilla Essence, sorry should have made it clearer! You can mix half plain flour and half wheat flour. In step 4, everything should be put in together and mix well, then take bit by bit you roll them before you place onto your baking sheet.
December 16th, 2010 17:45
What does 1 bar of butter equal to? 250g or 500g?
December 17th, 2010 01:48
Elaine: 1 bar of butter = 250g
December 21st, 2010 21:21
can i reduce the all ingredients by half? cuz i dont plan to bake too much
December 21st, 2010 23:19
Hi, dear! Tried this today n omg it makes so many pieces! Hehheeh i get bored easily so next time i should just make 1/2 d portion.
Anyhow it turns so good! Wasn’t exactly chewy, just soft n not crunchy.
In my last batch of cookies, i tried to add some dried raisins n it turns out okay^_^ was worried at first but mom said it’ll b fine, just dont use raisins that are juicy types.. So yeah!^_^ its good!
Tq suzette for r sharing this n other recipes here!
Live ua!
December 22nd, 2010 11:25
Eelynn: Yes, if you reduce this by half, everything will have to be halved. However, temperature, dough size and baking time should remain.
Vee: I’m glad that you successfully made this! Raisin sounds like a good addition/alternative for people who love it! You are so creative!!
January 8th, 2011 22:56
Hi Suzette, I’ve tried your recipe last weekend, and it turned out to be really delicious!!! i wish to make it more crunchier.. you have any idea what’s the key ingredient? i’m thinking to add more oat but looking at ur previous post, oat is the ingredient that make it more chewy instead? also, i wish to make more dough at once, and slowly bake it on daily basis.. how to keep the dough fresh? or it’s not advisable to do so? appreciate your advice! Thanks in advance!
January 9th, 2011 14:59
YY: If you want it to be less soft, try reducing the oatmeal. As for making large batch of dough and bake slowly in many batches/days, it is fine. Just keep the dough in the fridge. My friend does it all the time, and I think it would make it easier to roll as well. This can take away the boredom of rolling so many pieces in a day!
January 10th, 2011 14:59
Thanks Suzette. I tried it again yesterday, after I mixed the dough, i leave it for 1 hour+ before sending to the oven cos i need to bring my dog to the vet. surprisingly, it turns out to be crunchier compare to 1st round. i omitted the salt (dont like salty taste), total of around 140g nuts.. the rest of the ingredients remain the same. Not sure is the timing/weather of the day make the magic.. but it’s really tasty and everyone said it’s very close to famous amos!
January 10th, 2011 16:14
YY, did you make it smaller this time? I experimented with smaller round and it is crunchier compared to bigger rounds. This is also a way to try making it crunchier.
January 13th, 2011 11:39
Suzette, yup.. the 2nd batch i make it smaller. I just use a small spoon to scoop it. rolling takes too much time!
if i keep the dough in fridge, do i have to wait it back to normal temperature before baking? or straightaway from fridge, i can send to oven?
January 13th, 2011 15:28
YY: If you keep in fridge (chiller not freezer), by the time you roll/ shape them, it should be ready to be baked.
January 13th, 2011 17:37
Hye Suzette,
Your cookies look amazing!
Can I omit the nuts altogether? I hate nuts but I’m afraid it will affect the crunchiness of the cookies coz I prefer the cookies to be crunchy but melt inside your mouth
And can I also omit the oatmeal entirely instead of just reducing it? I don’t want the cookies to be chewy. Plan to bake it this weekend 
January 14th, 2011 15:21
Kamelia: I don’t know, honestly, coz I haven’t tried. If you omit the oatmeal, I guess you will need to substitute it with more flour. Actually if you stick to this recipe, you can still make it crunchy by rolling into smaller balls, about the size of lollypop.
January 15th, 2011 13:20
Hi Suzette,
I baked half of the recipe last night and it was amazing! Never thought my first attempt to bake cookies (any kind of cookies) went so successful
My son kept coming back for more.. I managed to get 150 pieces from half of the recipe. Do you mind if I share the recipe in my blog? Thanks again 
January 15th, 2011 18:39
Good to hear that!
Go ahead to share it… though I hope you would link back. :p 
January 17th, 2011 04:21
I have a ton of grounded oatmeal so this recipe is just what I need to use it up
I have been looking for crunchy crispy buttery cookies just like Amos. A question to all the bakers here and Suzette. I heard that adding eggs make the cookies hard or chewy instead of crispy. Has anyone tried to bake this with just egg white, egg yolk or absolutely NO EGGS? I heard that this will give it that shortbread texture which is the crispy cookies that asians like but not sure how it works with oatmeal in the mixture…don’t want rock hard cookies either 
January 17th, 2011 06:55
Onion: I am pretty happy with the recipe as it is, so have not (and won’t) try that, but let us know the outcome if you do that ya? If you measure the ground oatmeal, it will have to be lesser than the recipe. The recipe measure the oatmeal when it has not been grounded. Please take care of that part.
January 18th, 2011 00:54
Thanks Suzette!
January 18th, 2011 12:20
hi, im kind of new in baking. Can you recommend a good brand of choco bar and choco chips to be used in this recipe?
Thanks!
January 18th, 2011 20:29
April: I used unbranded ones. Heard Hersey is very good, but expensive. Just go to the supermarket cake ingredient section and you will be able to find them.
January 18th, 2011 23:12
thanks suzette…shall give it a try….!
February 10th, 2011 00:24
Hi suzette, which of brown sugar you used? Light or firm brown sugar?..because this two have different weight measurement and this makes me confuse if using a cup for measurement..tq
February 11th, 2011 10:34
Mimi: light one
July 21st, 2011 19:11
Hi Suzette
Baking this recipe now and changed two things, the grated choc bar and the quantity of the choc chips.
The cookies smells wonderful and tastewise, they’re addictive!
Unfortunately,the cookies aren’t crispy.
What was the texture of your dough? Mine is good to roll and doesn’t stick to the hands. My last cookie recipe which turned out crispy had a wetter texture.
Any ideas?
*munched cookies with a chai latte*
July 23rd, 2011 12:28
Candy: Mine is also good to roll, but slightly sticky to the hands. Try reducing the oat meal to 3/4 of the said quantity and see if it works better for you?
August 9th, 2011 01:14
Hi! I saw your pictures and your cookies looked absolutely delicious!! Can’t wait to try the recipe. Just a few questions, is it alright if I just use baking powder and no baking soda? How will it affect the cookies? And do you use semi-sweet chocolate in the recipe? I don’t have a blender so I think I’ll try it without the oatmeal.. Hope it will be fine..
Thanks so much! ^^
August 9th, 2011 17:33
Actually baking powder and soda are different agents. Baking soda will cause the cookie to rise/expand, but you can’t put too much coz it gives you a metallic taste. For things like baking powder/soda, I would try to stick to the recipe. Yes, I used semi-sweet choc, else it would be too sweet. You can try without the oatmeal, but it would not give you the chewy texture (some like it not so chewy anyway).
Good luck in trying!!
August 11th, 2011 21:06
Hey Suzette!
Was wondering if its possible to know how many pieces of cookies are made out of this batter? and is it possible to blend the instant oatmeal in a juice blender?thats all i have..
August 15th, 2011 16:42
Michelle: Sorry, I’ve never counted the amount of cookies, but roughly maybe around 100 pcs, depending on how big you roll them. Not quite sure about the blender thingy… :p
August 22nd, 2011 13:29
i havent this yet but will do soon..is it enough to use van houten cooking choc?not sure whether that is xpensive enugh to give a really good cookies..cheers!
August 27th, 2011 10:39
if i add 1 tbsp of vegetable shortening will it make the cookies crunchy..ive tried this bt its not crunchy n tat rely dissapoint me a bit..but love the taste:)
August 27th, 2011 15:18
amy: I haven’t tried that, but it sounds logic. Another way is to reduce the oat meal. Did you make your ‘balls’ small, not bigger than the standard lollipop size? Smaller size also can help making it crunchy.
August 29th, 2011 14:50
Thank you Ms Suzette for the wonderful recipe … Me and my daugther had a lot of fun just now baking the cookies ….
The only problem we had now is …. My daugther keep asking me if she can break her fast a bit earky today … As she could not tahan the aroma of the freshly baked cookies
Anyway thanks again … Really appreciate it
September 15th, 2011 14:00
hye.
i have tried baking this and the result is amazing. very delicious. i just wondering how to make choc chip cookies like this, but not using chocolate cookies. instead using butter cookies. any idea how to alter the recipe? i’m thinking to just exclude grated chocolate in the recipe, but that will just reduce the mass of the cookies. if this will work?
October 13th, 2011 00:36
12 Oct 2011
Hi,
I followed the receipe and tried baking it last night.
It was so yummy and my family love it.
It taste even better today.
Thank you.
-Diana
November 14th, 2011 17:27
Hello,
I lived in Germany. I saw ur recipe and i tried it last night. I am a big fan of Famous Amos while im in Msia, was so happy i could basically found all the ingredients here, after translation from german to english, sourcing around from one store to the other, especially oatmeal in powder is not common over here. I have ommitted the vanilla essence coz i dont really like the taste. The salt making the cookies really interesting!
I baked em’ at 170C coz when i put at 180c, the bottom is pretty burnt.
I find the center is not crunchy, i think could be that i need to reduce the oatmeal (from 300g), roll it smaller and see what will happen
Btw, my hubby and baby loved it so much, they keep asking for more…
Thanks for sharing!
cheers, daphnie
November 23rd, 2011 23:24
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It looks really good. I tried this recipe last weekend without the oats. However, it turned out really soft, until it just doesn’t hold still. Where do you think went wrong?
November 25th, 2011 17:15
Jaclyn: Usually for those who got it wrong with this recipe, the most likely culprit is the size. How big is your dough before you put into oven? It should look like a lollipop, not bigger than that.
December 5th, 2011 10:52
To balance this recipe you need two full cups of sugar… 1-1/2 cups brown sugar, 1/2 white sugar. Because of the large amount of flour and oats in relation to the creamed sugars and eggs and chips and nuts, this dough doesn’t spread so as Jacklyn says, the size of the unbaked balls should be small. Here’s a cookie tip… after removing the baked cookies from the cookie sheets, sprinkle them with a shake of coarse sea salt, this really brings out the sweet/salty flavor.