Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Nov. 23, 2024
These are the best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies we’ve ever made or eaten! They are every bit as thick and chewy as bakery cookies, and loaded with the goodness of rolled oats and plump raisins.
In This Article
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Why This Recipe Stands Out
As a young girl, I often made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, as they’re my brother’s favorite. Over many years, I’ve tweaked and experimented with the recipe, inspired by an old Cooks Illustrated magazine. Here’s why you’ll love this recipe:
- As Good as Bakery Cookies: These cookies turn out amazingly chewy and buttery just like bakery-style cookies.
- Super Easy Recipe: Just like these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies require no chilling and couldn’t be easier to make!
- Optional Simple Icing: While these cookies shine bright on their own, we include a simple icing recipe, similar to Sugar Cookie Icing, to drizzle on top for a little extra magic.
- People Love These: Cookies are always a crowd-pleasing treat, and we find that even our friends and family that aren’t oatmeal raisin fans devour these cookies.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour – Regular flour is great for this recipe. Feel free to sub out half of the regular flour with white whole wheat flour for that extra dose of whole grain.
- Spices – Wonderfully warm spices include cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Butter – Be sure your unsalted butter is softened just to moderate room temp, ensuring that none of it is melty at all.
- Sugars – We go with half brown sugar and half granulated sugar. The brown sugar lends a slightly caramel-molasses flavor to the cookies.
- Eggs – Fresh, room temperature, large eggs will bind the cookie dough together
- Oats – We use plenty of old fashioned rolled oats in these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Whole rolled oats are hearty, toothsome, and provide texture.
- Raisins – The fresher your raisins are, the plumper they will be in the dough. Check that your raisins haven’t been opened.
Substitutions And Variations
Check out these easy variations to Oatmeal Raisin Cookies:
- Omit the Raisins: If you’re not a fan of raisins, try our raisin-less Perfect Oatmeal Cookies.
- Add Some Chocolate: We also love mixing dark, milk, or white chocolate into these cookies when the occasion calls. Check out this recipe for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies!
- Add Icing or Caramel: While these cookies are totally delicious without any topping, we like adding a simple icing or Salted Caramel Sauce.
- Make them Fall-Themed: Baking these in the fall? Add cinnamon baking chips, or try our Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
- Mix in eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Gently mix in the oats and raisins, just until combined.
- Roll dough into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Gently flatten each ball into a disk shape. Bake at 350F for 13-15 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
Here’s how you can easily prepare these cookies in advance:
- Mix Dry Ingredients in Advance: Feel free to measure and mix all dry ingredients (except the sugars) in advance. Store airtight at room temp until ready to bake!
- Make Icing in Advance: If you choose to make the icing, you can mix it together up to 3 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. You may have to heat the icing in the microwave for a few seconds to get it back to drizzling consistency.
- Chill Dough and Bake Later: While you don’t need to chill the dough for these cookies, you can opt to wrap the dough airtight and chill in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before using.
Commonly Asked Questions
There is no need to chill the dough in this recipe, as the dough will be thick and ready to form right away. However, you can chill the dough for later use, if you’re making it ahead of time.
The main culprits of tough cookies is over-mixing and over-baking. Once you’ve combined the wet and dry ingredients together, take care not to over-mix. When baking, take cookies out when they’re puffy and golden brown at the edges, but seem slightly under-baked. They will set upon cooling.
Yes to both. You can freeze the dough, wrapped airtight, for up to 3 months. Baked cookies should be wrapped airtight and frozen up to 2 months.
We don’t recommend quick oats for this recipe, as they have a completely different texture. Old fashioned rolled oats are best for the chewy, toothsome texture we’re looking for.
Baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookies will stay fresh for up to 5 days at moderate room temperature as long as they’re kept airtight.
Plumping raisins involves partially rehydrating them by soaking them in hot water until they “plump”. This strategy isn’t necessary for delicious cookies, but can really take your cookies to the next level.
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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups raisins
For the Optional Icing:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 teaspoons water or milk
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Line baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg to fully incorporate.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment set to medium speed, beat together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, a full 3 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating just until combined; don't over-mix here. Gently mix in the oats and raisins, just until combined.
- Roll dough into 2 TB sized balls and place 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets. Gently flatten each ball into a disk shape. Bake 13-15 minutes or just until edges are golden. Cookies will seem a bit under done, but they will set upon cooling.
For the Optional Icing
- In a bowl, stir together powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add water or milk until desired consistency is reached.
- Transfer into a piping bag or you can use a Ziploc bag and cut a small hole in the corner. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Icing should harden within 30 minutes.
Notes
- 1 cup butter is equal to 16 tablespoons.
- Beat butter and sugars until the mixture is airy, light, and fluffy. Take your time with this process; it will be at least 2-3 minutes of beating. This step is important for cookies to turn out thick and chewy.
- Do not over-mix the dough; over-mixing causes end result to be tough rather than tender.
- When measuring flour, use measuring cups meant for dry ingredients, which do not have fluted lips. Gently fill the measuring cup and level excess flour off the top with the flat side of a butter knife. Do not shake, tap, or pack in the flour at all.
- Biggest tip: do not over bake. Bake for lowest specified time and check cookies for doneness. They are done when the edges are browned but center looks slightly under-baked. Center may appear a bit glossy, but edges and bottoms will be nicely browned. Once cookies cool, they will set perfectly.
- For a slightly different flavor, try drizzling some of this Salted Caramel Sauce onto cooled Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Nutrition (per serving)
More To Bake And Eat
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies – These Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are packed with all the goodness of pure pumpkin and wholesome oats, and they take just one bowl to make.
- Healthy Cookies – Finally, we have an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast! These Healthy Cookies are full of all of the good stuff and none of the bad.
- Apple Cookies – Serve these soft, chewy Apple Cookies with a drizzle of caramel for the most comforting fall treat!
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – With just 6 simple ingredients, these cookies couldn’t be easier to make, and so delicious too!