If you love your oatmeal cookies soft and chewy, this is THE Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe for you! Nicely crispy around the edges, studded with plump and juicy raisins, and buttery in taste with the faintest wisp of cinnamon, these cookies smell heavenly when they’re in the oven and also keep really well!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Being more of a savoury than sweet-toothed gal, I’m rarely a victim of the urge to buy cookies or sweet tarts lined up in temptation on the counters of coffee shops. Unless, that is, they have big and fat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Here’s the thing: I’m all about fruit and spice oatmeal cookies, and they rate higher than chocolate chip cookies in my world. For me that magical mix of warm cinnamon and fruit studding a caramelly, chewy cookie just tastes like pure comfort and, well, home. Keep your Insta-friendly hipster cookies and call me a granny, I don’t care – just leave me all the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!!
Ingredients for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
This is a recipe adapted fairly closely from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe. I read that it took them 6 months to come up with the perfect soft and chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. I applaud them for their persistence, not least so we may feast on the sweet fruits of their labour!
Here’s what you need:
Butter (at room temperature) – When recipes call for butter at room temperature or softened butter, the butter needs to be firmer than you probably think. Ideally it is 18°C / 64°F. This is soft enough to whip until creamy, but still cool enough such that when you touch it, you don’t end up with a slick of grease on your finger.
Butter that is too soft can lead to cookies that split or spread too much in the oven. In fact, this is one of the most common problems people have when making cookies!
A quick way to bring butter to room temperature: Cut fridge-cold butter into 1.5cm cubes (1/2″ thick slices if you have a US stick of butter). Scatter on plate. Microwave 2 cups of cold tap water for 4 minutes on high. Remove jug, quickly put plate in, close door. DO NOT turn microwave back on. The residual heat will soften the butter in 5 minutes.
Baking powder – Most recipes call for baking soda / bicarb, or a combination of baking soda and baking powder. This recipe specifically calls for only baking powder which Cook’s Illustrated found makes the cookie chewier. So, just baking powder it is!;
Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. For this recipe, self-raising flour cannot be used in place of the flour and baking powder, because self-raising flour has too much baking powder in it;
Brown sugar AND white sugar – Brown sugar makes the cookie chewier and adds a pleasing caramelly note, while the white sugar gives the cookie crispy edges. The contrast some crispiness around the edges brings to the soft cookie centre is part of the magic of these cookies!;
Raisins – I like my raisins tender and plump, so I soak them briefly in hot water. This is not a step in the Cook’s Illustrated recipe, it’s just something I like to do – a personal preference!
Eggs at room temperature – The eggs need to be at room temperature and not fridge-cold, to ensure it incorporates properly into the cookie dough easily. A quick way to warm up fridge-cold eggs: Place eggs in a large bowl, cover with warm tap water (just warm, not hot) and leave for 5 min. Wipe dry, then use per recipe.
Egg size (“large eggs”): 50 – 55g / 2 oz per egg is the industry standard of sizes sold as “large eggs” in Australia and the US. If your eggs are significantly larger or smaller in size, just weigh different eggs and use 100-110g / 4 oz in total (including shell) or 90 – 100g / 3.6 oz in total excluding shell (useful if you need to use a partial egg to make up the total required weight. Crack eggs, beat whites and yolks together, THEN pour into a bowl to measure out what you need);
Cinnamon – The king of cookie spices! Just a hint in the mix so you know it’s there, but it doesn’t overwhelm. This is another deviation from the Cook’s Illustrated recipe. They omit it so you can taste the oats more. I cannot process that idea! I need the cinnamon!
Salt – Just a touch to bring out the flavour in sweet baked goods.
How to make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Part 1: Cookie dough
Soak the raisins to plump them (this is optional);
Drain the raisins then leave to dry, or pat dry to speed things up;
Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl;
Beat butter, sugar and egg: In a separate bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Then add both brown and white sugars and beat until fluffy – around 2 minutes on high using a handheld beater.
Now beat the eggs in one at a time until incorporated;
Add dry ingredients: Next, switch to a wooden spoon and mix the sifted dry ingredients in. I prefer doing this step by hand rather than the electric beater to ensure I don’t accidentally overwork the cookie dough, which would result in a tough cookie; and
Oats and raisins: Lastly, stir in the oats and raisins. At this point the cookie dough will become quite thick and hard to stir. Dig deep to find the strength – it’s worth it!! 😂 (Just kidding, it’s not that hard! 😇)
Part 2: Rolling and baking
Cookie dough made, now it’s time to bake!
Portion out cookies on to tray: Scoop 2 tablespoons-worth of cookie dough and place in a mound on a tray, for one cookie. An ice cream scoop with a lever or a cookie scoop will make this step speedy!
Repeat: Repeat with the remainder of the dough. I like to portion all the dough out first on to trays before I start rolling because I just find it faster;
Roll into balls: Wet your hands if needed to stop the dough from sticking. Lightly roll each dough portion into a ball. They should be around 5cm / 2″ wide;
Squash dough balls: Distribute the balls across two trays lined with baking / parchment paper, ensuring you leave plenty of space between them (see photo #5). Lightly press each down to flatten. This is just to help ensure the cookies spread evenly, rather than leaving a mound in the middle;
Bake: Place both trays in the oven with one tray on the middle shelf and the other on a shelf below, ensuring you leave 10cm / 4″ of space between each rack. Bake at 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan) for 11 minutes. Switch the position of the trays and bake for a further 11 to 14 minutes until cookies are golden on the edges and LIGHT golden in the middle. If you cook too long, the cookies will be crispier;
Cool: Cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.
This recipe has been the only Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe I have ever used since I found it. It is absolutely perfect, in my humble opinion.
Having said that, I also came across this recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies on a fabulous baking blog called Brown Eyed Baker, run by a talented lady named Michelle. That recipe is by a famous bakery in New York called Sadelle’s. Michelle thinks it is even better than this Cook’s Illustrated one (which I noticed she also has on her blog!) I, for one, trust her judgement on that call.
But there’s one big catch. The Sadelle’s recipe requires the cookies to be flattened onto the cookie sheet, then refrigerated for four days supposedly to enhance the depth of flavour. Yes, FOUR WHOLE DAYS!!!
So if that makes my preferred recipe the world’s second best Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, I’m totally ok with that because at least you can make these RIGHT NOW!!! 😉 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Oatmeal Raisin Cookie (Soft & Chewy)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raisins (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 cups flour (all purpose / plain)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 250g / 8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter , at room temperature (Note 2)
- 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1 cup white sugar (granulated. Superfine/caster also ok)
- 2 large eggs , at room temperature (Note 3)
- 3 cups rolled oats (Note 4)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Adjust oven racks to middle and low position, ensuring you have 4"/10cm between each rack. Line 2 trays with parchment/baking paper.
- Optional: Soak raisins in boiled water for 10 minutes. Drain then pat dry. (This makes them plumper).
- Sift dry ingredients: Sift flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl.
- Cream butter and sugar: Using a stand mixer or electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Then beat in sugar until fluffy – about 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add eggs: Beat in eggs one at a time until incorporated.
- Mix in flour: Use a wooden spoon to stir the flour mixture in.
- Stir in oats and raisins: Stir in oats and raisins – this requires a bit of effort as the dough gets firm!
- Roll and flatten balls: Form 4cm / 1.6" balls (~18) and place onto baking trays 4"/10cm apart. I use an ice cream scoop. Then press down to slighty flatten into a thick disc shape.
- Bake for 11 minutes. Then swap the trays between the shelves AND turn the trays around. Bake for a further 11 – 14 minutes, or until cookies are golden on the edges and LIGHT golden on the surface.
- Cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published July 2016. Updated June 2021 with new photos, video and a streamlined recipe subsequent to further testing to improve the recipe!
For Cookie Monsters 🙋🏻♀️
Life of Dozer
Dozer with his friends post Winter-evening-beach session. It’s a photo from the Golden Retriever boarder where Dozer is boarding while I’m away in Tasmania! I think that’s him in the middle in a red robe…. not 100% sure! 😂
And from the original publication date:
No cookie dough for Dozer!!
These cookies are the bomb! I know the recipe says about 20 cookies, but I got over 30 huge cookies!! Crunchy chewy deliciousness
That’s terrific to hear Hilary! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review – N x
Does the brown sugar need to be packed?
Hi Brenda! Yes it does, thanks for the question, will add that note. 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, can you use sultanas instead of raisins?
YES! 🙂
Hi, can I substitute the butter for margarine?
I actually substituted for margarine and they worked perfect! I used quick oats too
Not in this recipe, sorry 🙂
Short on butter and brown sugar and husband is still eating cookies out of the tray hahaha! Thank you! 🙂
That’s so great to hear Dixie! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
The detailed instructions made it super easy to make perfect delicious cookies, will make again!
Fantastic! I’m so pleased to hear that Lauren, thanks for letting me know! N xx
I am giving it 5 stars
Thank you for the recipe! Cookies were delicious. My kids loved them.
I’m so pleased to hear that Mira! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Hi Nagi!
These cookies are speaking to me through the screen! I’ve only recently come to really appreciate the simplicity and deliciousness of a good oatmeal raisin cookie! I haven’t made any of my own yet, but I think this is the perfect recipe to test my baking skills on! I love that I already have all the ingredients in my pantry, and that pretty much never happens, so I’m ready to bake these bad boys!
Also, I run a site of my own, and recently posted an article about skipping candy this Easter for healthier options, and included your oatmeal cookies as a suggestion! Here’s the link if you want to check it out!
https://gatheredagain.com/healthy-non-candy-easter-basket-ideas/
Thanks again for the yummy looking recipe, can’t wait to see how they turn out!
Laura
Oh I love that Laura! Thank you I will pop over to have a look and share! 🙂
i just came back from the grocery store and purchased my items for the oatmeal raisin cookies but im going to add pecans in mine…. Can’t wait!!!!!!!!!
THEY WE’RE DELICIOUS THANKS FOR THE RECIPE…
Oooooh! Hope you LOVE!
Exactly what I was after! These are delicious cookies. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Woo hoo! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed it Heather, thanks for letting me know! N x
I am so sad..I really wanted to try this recipe right now..BUT…I have no idea how many eggs to use. Hopefully I’ll find a recipe that comes out as good as these sound.
Hi Barb! The ingredients says 2 eggs 🙂 N x
Nagi, I’ve made a lot of cookies over the years. These are TERRIFIC! I added walnuts and, for part of the batch, ghiradelli dark chocolate chips 🙂 I made some giant size and some “normal” size. All the variations were fabulous.
Thank you for posting it! You rock!
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Kaycee, thank you for letting me know! Though I can’t take credit – it’s thanks to Cook’s Illustrated! N x
Thanks for yet another simple to follow and delicious recipe. I liked the tip about the ice cream scoop to portion out the cookies. Except I had a scoop without the pushy-outie-bit so I had to use a second spoon to scoop the mixture from the scooper! A bit funny really… ? Anyway, I got there in the end. I got 2.5 trays of mega yummy cookies from this recipe. Next time I might experiment with cranberries instead of raisins. This recipe is definitely going on my Pinterest!
Mega yummy and mega in size?? 🙂 I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it Belinda! Thanks so much for letting me know. Happy weekend! – N xx
I’m exited to try making these over the weekend. My wife often asks me to make Oatmeal Rasin, because I like to make brown butter chocolate chip cookies. I have two questions: The first is that I have a bad of the Bob’s Red Mills Extra Large Rolled Oats, could I use these for the recipe? The second question is about the nutmeg / cinnamon substitution. I would like to try a little both, so do you think it would work and what measurement / ratio would you recommend?
Hi Stefan! I just googled your oats and it will work fine, it is just that your oat pieces will be larger 🙂 If you would like both, I’d suggest 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. I think that’s a good balance so you can taste both!
Hi Nagi, Thank you. I found reg. old fashion rolled oats. I split the cinnamon and nutmeg as recommended and the cookies came out tasting wonderful. Just a touch of both flavors. When baking the didn’t spread as much as I hoped and after shaping the trays, the original bottom cookies were slightly burnt a few minutes after the change. I tossed that batch, turned down the oven and placed three oven thermometers in various locations. As suspected the temps varied by several degrees and 350 was actually 375 on top and 380 on bottom. I set the oven to 325 for second batch, know it would creep up and the cookies spread nicely. Chewy, dense and tasty! (so was the batter)
Can I roll the dough into smaller portions and still come out chewy? If not, Any suggestions to keep it chewy?
Hi Mary! The smaller they are, the less chewy they are because there is more surface area. 🙂 Hope that makes sense? But they are still chewy, don’t worry!!! It’s the size that will affect the chewiness so I don’t have any suggestions for how to make it chewer. 🙂
Hi there! Do I need to use raisins in the recipe? The oatmeal cookie part looks fantastic, but my daughter won’t eat raisins if I put them in…just wondering if it affects anything or if I need to adjust anything by omitting them? Thank you.
Hi Melissa! You can definitely just leave them out if you want, it will make less cookies but other than that, it will still be delish! N x
Can you use regular butter or does it have to be unsalted?
Hi Heidi! Regular will be fine, just skip the salt 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi,
Loved the cookies but I found mine didn’t flatten out as I expected so I ended up with yummy domes of cookies instead. I didn’t use a mixer to cream the butter and sugar together though. Was that my mistake?
Hi Jenny! Using a mixer or electric beater to cream the butter is defiantly necessary to soften it to help it spread 🙂 I’m glad it was still yummy though! N x
I’m so thrilled with this recipe as I’ve never before been able to get quite that perfect chewy texture I’ve been after. Absolutely perfect, yummy cookies – and not overly sweet either. I ended up being forced to give some away to avoid eating them all myself! Yum!
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed this Beck!!! Isn’t that chewy texture awesome?? I love love LOVE it!