How to Cook

Best known as a crooner of award-winning love songs—and perhaps as one-half of a power couple alongside Chrissy Teigen—I’m beginning to think of John Legend as an incredible culinarian. Earlier this year, he taught me the secret ingredient for the creamiest baked mac and cheese ever. (Psst…it’s evaporated milk.) 

That mac and cheese was actually a Legend family heirloom recipe, so I didn’t really think much about diving deeper into his recipe archives. Still, I found inspiration to do just that in an unexpected place: Etsy. While searching for a gift for a food-loving friend, I found a listing for John Legend-inspired cookies billed as peanut butter, oatmeal, peanut, and chocolate chunk cookies. 

Turns out, Legend is no one-hit wonder in the kitchen. After some sleuthing online, I found that he shared this recipe in a throwback episode (circa 2011) of a show called “Cookies & Cocktails” on the Cooking Channel. Legend confirms he started cooking around age 11 or 12, and this recipe is inspired by an experience he had then. If he’s still talking about—and baking—these cookies a couple of decades later, I figured they must be good. So let’s give them a go!

How to Make John Legend’s Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

“I grew up…having oatmeal for breakfast,” Legend tells Teigen during the show, as the duo stands in their kitchen. “On the back of the box, there would be [a recipe for] oatmeal cookies. So one day, as a kid, I decided I was going to make some oatmeal cookies,” he reminisces.

“We’re going to have some oatmeal cookies today, but we’re going to include two of my other favorite dessert flavors: chocolate and peanut butter.” The pair proceeds to demonstrate how to make the cookie dough using Legend’s signature formula.

• Mix the dough. In a medium bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt. In another large bowl, add softened butter, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat well. Add the flour mixture to the butter blend and mix until all the flour is incorporated. Add rolled oats, dark chocolate chunks, peanut butter chips, and raisins. Mix once more.
• Scoop and bake. Drop or scoop cookie dough onto cookie sheets, then sprinkle the tops with chopped peanuts. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Tips for Making Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are so iconic that you can buy them through an online bakery, and that version certainly looks incredible, but it’s a cinch to DIY if you have some basic baking staples on hand—and have an extra half-hour to share.

The prospect of having an entire batch of warm, fully-loaded cookies ready to devour in less time than it takes to listen to an album is certainly appealing, as are the easy-to-follow instructions. If you are feeling inspired to join us in the kitchen, here are a few pro tips.

• Fold in the final components. For robustly studded cookies like these, our Test Kitchen pros like to cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer and also use that tool to incorporate as much of the dry flour mixture as possible. When it comes time to add elements like oats, chips, and dried fruit, we like to use a spatula to fold them in. This reduces the risk of overmixing, which can result in tough cookies.
• Customize your mix-ins. Raisins can be a polarizing cookie component, and certain folks have nut allergies. Feel free to omit any elements you don’t dig—or that don’t align with the dietary needs of folks you might be sharing these with at home or at the bake sale.
• Time it right. Different types of cookies have various ways of “telling” us when they’re done. The Test Kitchen team says you know oatmeal cookies are done when the edges are golden or light brown and the center is just set rather than jiggly. If the edges appear dark brown, they’re likely overbaked. (Don’t give up on these, though! They often work great for ice cream sandwiches or in trifles.)
• Don’t dilly-dally. Allow the cookies to cool for a minute or two on the pan. Then, if possible, enjoy them warm for the best ooey-gooey experience, Legend recommends. 

The Verdict on John Legend’s Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

When it comes to oatmeal cookies, I’m usually a purist. My Mom’s cookies always contained rolled oats as the sole mix-in; not chocolate chips and definitely not raisins. (I still have trust issues after I thought the potluck dessert was oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies rather than oatmeal-raisin ones!) However, something about this combo works, especially with the double dose of peanut goodness.

During the show, Legend deems these cookies “decadent and delicious,” and I agree. The chewy, sweet raisins with the bittersweet dark chocolate, and the salty-sweet peanut tag team make these taste like a mash-up between a PB&J and a monster cookie. Consider my tune officially changed about raisins in cookies, and I have a legend to thank.

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