Soft and chewy with that trademark homemade flavor, these are the best soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. Made with brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, chewy oats, sweet raisins, and a secret ingredient, this recipe wins for flavor and texture. Your family will love these easy oatmeal raisin cookies!
There are two types of people in this world. Raisin haters and raisin lovers. I fall into the latter category. Besides homemade apple pie, oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite dessert. There’s something incredibly magical about the chewy texture, soft centers, plump raisins, and cinnamon flavor. Please tell me I’m not the only raisin lover!!
What Makes These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies The Best
The competition is strong, but here’s why you’ll fall in love with these cookies.
- Moist and tender centers
- Slight crisp on the edges
- Sweetened with brown sugar
- Loaded with oats
- Studded with raisins
- Cinnamon spiced
- Buttery flavor
- 30 minute chill time
It doesn’t get much better than this!
Ingredients in Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Oatmeal raisin cookies are made with very basic ingredients.
- Butter: Butter is the base of any delicious cookie recipe. Make sure you are using room temperature butter.
- Brown Sugar + Granulated Sugar: Sugar is not only used for sweetness, but also for providing structure and tenderness. I like to use more brown sugar than white sugar because (1) brown sugar has incredible flavor and (2) brown sugar contains more moisture than white, which produces a softer cookie.
- Eggs: Eggs help bind everything together. You need 2 eggs in this recipe.
- Pure Vanilla Extract + Salt: Both provide flavor.
- Cinnamon: Raisins, oats, and cinnamon are winning flavor combination.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cookies rise.
- Molasses: Molasses is my secret ingredient! 1 scant Tablespoon enhances all the wonderful flavors of these buttery, cinnamon-sweet oatmeal raisin cookies.
- Flour: Flour is the structure of the cookies.
- Oats: There are a ton of oats in this recipe! Oats provide a fabulously chewy texture. I use and recommend old fashioned whole oats here—just like I do for flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
- Raisins: I love to soak the raisins in warm water before using. This step is optional, but it guarantees they are plump and soft. Blot dry before adding to cookie dough. (You can also use this cookie dough to make my white chocolate chip cherry oatmeal cookies.)
I like to add chopped walnuts. Nuts are totally optional but highly recommended. These simple ingredients combine to make the best oatmeal raisin cookies!
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
There’s only a few steps between now and a batch of warm oatmeal cookies. 🙂
- Cream butter + sugars: Use a hand or stand mixer to cream the softened butter with both sugars until smooth, about 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Add eggs, vanilla, + molasses: Add eggs, then mix on high for about 1 minute until incorporated. Add vanilla and molasses, mix until combined.
- Dry ingredients: Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a separate bowl. Pour this into the wet ingredients. Combine together on low.
- Add the extras: Beat in the oats and raisins on low speed. Dough will be thick and sticky.
- Chill: Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30-60 minutes.
- Roll: Roll cookie dough into balls and place on a lined baking sheet. I love using these baking mats.
- Bake: Bake the cookies at 350°F (177°C) for 12-13 minutes until lightly browned. The cookies might look under-baked, but they will continue to set as they cool. This is the secret to a soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookie!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough is Sticky
This oatmeal raisin cookie dough is sticky, so don’t be alarmed. The cookie dough needs to chill for about 30 minutes before baking. I don’t recommend keeping this cookie dough in the refrigerator for much longer because your cookies won’t spread. The oats will begin to absorb all of the wonderful moisture from the eggs, butter, and sugar and won’t expand as they bake. Sticky dough is good dough!
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these oatmeal raisin cookies, try any of these SOFT cookie recipes. You’ll wonder why you haven’t baked them sooner!
- Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Scotchies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 26-30 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and chewy with that trademark homemade flavor, these are the best soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. Your family will love these easy oatmeal raisin cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs*
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, Tablespoon!)
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
- 1 cup (140g) raisins (see Note below)
- optional: 1/2 cup (64g) chopped toasted walnuts
Instructions
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix on high until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Beat in the oats, raisins, and walnuts (if using) on low speed. Dough will be thick, yet very sticky. Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator (do the full hour if you’re afraid of the cookies spreading too much). If chilling for longer (up to 2 days), allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. I recommend using a cookie scoop since the dough can be sticky. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft and under-baked. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to “set” on the baking sheet during this time.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Baked cookies freeze well—up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well—up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Oats: For these oatmeal raisin cookies, I use old-fashioned whole oats. They provide the ultimate hearty, chewy, thick texture we love!
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs preferred. Good rule of thumb: always use room temperature eggs when using room temperature butter.
- Raisins: Soak your raisins in warm water for 10 minutes before using (blot very well to dry them) – this makes them nice and plump for your cookies.
- Adapted from Loaded Oatmeal Cookies & Oatmeal Creme Pies. Recipe originally published on Sally’s Baking Addiction in 2014.
Good flavor, and like that they aren’t too sweet, but these taste too “healthy.” They’re comparable to dry energy bars – think Cliff/Nutrigrain…
Found this recipe after searching “Oatmeal raisin cookie recipe” into Google. It had the best reviews – 4.9/5 stars and almost a thousand views, but after baking these, I think it’s appropriate to say that the reviews let me down.
I followed this recipe to a tee, and while this recipe has the perfect amount of sweetness, (not overwhelming) and warm homemade flavor from the cinnamon, the cookies are just not…indulgent enough. Personally, if I am going to put in the effort to bake something, I want it to be worth my while.
The oats sucked up all the moisture added, leaving the cookies chewy, but dry. Like one of those quaker oats chewy bars. Definitely not what I was looking for!
I am going to try this recipe again, and this time, I’ll add 1.5x more butter. I’m hoping the added butter will make the edges more crisp, and the overall flavor more like that of a freshly-baked cookie, rather than that of the squashed energy bar at the bottom of my gym bag.
Gorgeous, but I agree they need something to lift them to be indulgent, so I melted dark chocolate toblerone and added to the top, yummy
I totally agree with you! They are really great right out of the oven, but you let them sit out a bit and they’re almost biscuit like – chewy but dry. I also can see how they might have the potential of getting a bit stale faster than normal. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I am left wanting so much more from these. Theyre just too light and “oaty”. Not a bad recipe… just kind of, meh.
My first attempt to bake from scratch. I was so happy I had to share with my neighbors who have given their efforts to me for a long time. Easy to follow recipe. I leaned on the cinnamon, molasses and raisins and it was a good decision. Thanks
I whipped up this recipe tonight and are by far the best oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve had. I added 1/2 c raisins and 1/2 c dried cranberries per my husband’s request. Delicious! Thank you for sharing. I look forward to trying more from your site.
Hi Sally, followed recipe to the T unfortunately they ended up as dry flakey balls which just crumble the second you pick them up. Used correct measurements and ingredients, is there anything you could recommend for attempt #2
KR
Alex
Hi Alex, did you over-measure the flour by chance? These should be soft and chewy cookies, not hard and dry. Were they over-baked?
Made these at the weekend – delicious! Very moreish. I soaked the currents (didn’t have raisins) in rum beforehand – yum!
These were so delicious, I ate way too many. So soft and chewy. (I had no walnuts)
I’ve looked for a long time for the perfect soft, chewy oatmeal raisin cookie and this is it! The special instructions were very helpful. This has become my all-time favorite cookie.
hi Sally! I was wondering since this recipe is slightly different than the one in your cookbook, which is most “updated” that you recommend? Thank you!
Ps I’ve made so many of your recipes and have never been disappointed!
Hi Alexandra! They recipes are pretty similar. I’d say these are a bit chewier. 🙂
This recipe is awesome! The cookies are perfect, not too sweet. I included chopped walnuts in mine. I didn’t have any rolled oats on hand, so I used the 1-minute oats. Still came out soft and chewy. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hey Sally, the recipe looks amazing! However, was wondering how much refined sugar I can reduce from this recipe and I should do the substitutions? Currently, I’ve got granulated Stevia, honey, maple syrup and coconut sugar on hand. 🙂 So sorry but really need to try to lower the sugar content as it is for my elderly grandparents who do not take much sugar. Thanks in advance!
Hi Tammy, a dry sugar such as coconut sugar would be the best replacement for one or both of the sugars, but the results will be different. Feel free to slightly reduce the sugar but this could also change how much the cookies spread and how they taste as well. Let me know what you try! My healthier oatmeal raisin cookie granola bars are always a favorite if you’d like to check them out.
Thanks Sally! Was just wondering what I could replace the molasses with if I didn’t have any on hand for this recipe? (quarantine’s making it real difficult to get all these baking supplies unfortunately…)
Hi Tammy, Maple syrup works, or you can simply leave it out with no changes.
Hi, I followed your instructions exactly, I left it in the fridge for 30 mins to set as instructed, however, the dough after baking remains in a ball shape (not spread out as in the photo). This is my second attempt, with the same results. Do you have any advice?
Hi Susan, did you wait awhile to chill the dough? The oats will begin soaking up some liquid, so the cookies won’t spread as much. Make sure you’re spooning and leveling the flour as well. If you decide to try the recipe again, you can try skipping the chilling or even reducing the flour by 2-3 Tablespoons.
Can I substitute wheat flour for the white flour.
Hi, I have made 5 different cookie recipes of yours and I love them all. I wanted you to know that I used the Bob Red Mills 1 to 1 gluten free flour, equal amounts, and the cookies come out fine. Thanks for all your yummy recipes.
Hi. I was wondering if i can plump up the raisins with rum? 🙂
Definitely!
I am not a huge fan of oatmeal raisin cookies but they are my husband’s favorite and he’s been asking me to make some. I came across your recipe and tried it today. They were amazing!! Half of them are already gone! I will definitely make them again. Thank you for your recipe.
Excellent I like to add a pinch of cloves it really give the cookie more depth.
Hi Sally,
I’m excited to try this recipe! Can I use maple syrup instead of molasses?
Hi Tonya, Maple syrup works like a charm! Or you can simply leave it out with no changes.
Hi Sally… made these cookies for the 1st time yesterday. I went ahead and just used the volume measurement for the oats, 3 cups. Cookies turned out quite good but I felt I could bring down the quantity. When I weighed 1 cup of the whole rolled oats it turns out to be 113g., therefore total recipe would be around 345, basically 110g more than you call for on your recipe (240g) – would you know where the difference would come from? Should I just lessen the oats to your pegged weight? Thanks
Hi Luis, glad you tried these cookies. 1 cup of the brand of oats I use (quaker) weighs 80g. Are you using whole oats or another variety to get 30g+ more per cup?
Thanks Sally – Im using Australia Harvest whole rolled oats. Excellent but wondered why the difference in weight. I see the oat flakes are more dense, thicker. Will test with a little under a cup to see if the cookies spread a little bit more
Tried this recipe. Turned out great. It’s a Definitely a keeper. First batch of cookies disappeared in minutes!
Our new favorite Oatmeal Raisin cookie recipe! Delicious with the secret ingredient.
Baking up now,first batch already gone. My very picky teen says best I’ve ever made and I had to ration the old recipe. My old recipe was dry but these are so moist. I followed the gram version but used all the butter – 250g. Also chilled at least 30-60 minutes. I set 30 minute timer but was busy. Thanks! I’m so happy I found you, never a disappointing recipe.
I just made this recipe at high altitude and it still came out perfect. I always add a bit more sugar to all recipes that I use so they came out amazing. I refrigerated my dough overnight and baked straight from the fridge. Baking times vary by oven so I just kept an eye on the edges. Brown on the edge let me know it was done. I’m an experienced baker and this recipe was super easy and incredibly yummy.
Love this cookie!! Do you know by chance how many calories? Thanks!
I’m so happy you love them, Julie! I’m unsure of the nutritional info, but there are many great online calculators like this one: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
I just made these . first cookies ever made from scratch . im used to premade cookie dough but do not have this option in mainland china. still im very pleased with the results. thanks
I made these last night. I was amazed at the soft and chewy texture. The dough, to me, was incredibly sweet but the final baked cookies did not retain nearly the same level of sweetness. Why would this be? Did anyone else experience this?
Made these last night and my whole family loved them! Thank you!
I used quick oats and still came out with a soft, chewy cookie. Although, I felt like it could have been a tad sweeter. Still very good, though!
Wow! I’m literally eating my 2nd one as I type this up and I’m completely speechless!! Hands down the absolute BEST oatmeal cookies I’ve ever had! The molasses really makes these cookies extra delicious. Thank you Sally for such a beautiful recipe!
Made them last night for Family Movie Night treat. These were delicious and perfect! Followed directions exactly and they were not dry at all – wonderfully moist and so tasty!
I’ve made your recipe twice & love it. That molasses and the extra vanilla make magic! I added a little more salt but only because I like a bit more. Thanks so much!