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.
Followed the exact recipe but these are dry and bland. Very disappointing. They did smell good while baking though.
Can I substitute the raisins with dried cranberries?
Sure can!
I also only have two cups of old-fashioned oats. Is that okay or can I also had one cup of steel cut oats?
I baked these using raisins and Craisins, plus 2 handfuls of flaked coconut and baked for 11 min. They were delicious. My 94 year old Mom has been hungry for oatmeal/raisin cookies, so she’ll love these. Who’s got the milk?
When we moved to India, we all craved for the perfectly textured oatmeal raisin cookie. We love how our home is filled with the warm spices and how absolutely delicious these cookies turn out every time. Thank you also for the detailed tips like soaking the raisins in warm water.
I’ve made this recipe twice and had trouble with the cookies firming. The first time they firmed well overnight, but the second time they still tried to crumble apart the next day. Cooked them for 12 minutes and the edges were golden, so I know they’re cooked all the way through. I left them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing them, but most of them fall apart when I use a spatula or put them on a wire rack. Anyone have a suggestion as to what I’m doing wrong?
You may find the cookies easier to handle if you allow them to set (finish baking) on the cookie sheets before moving them. Do you use Silpat?
If you are baking them on parchment, an easy trick after they have finished their time on the cookie sheet is to slide the whole parchment onto your rack and then wait until they are completely cool before handling.
Surprised! I make them often and ‘dry and ‘bland’ are not things anyone has called them! Give them another try and see if maybe something wasn’t quite as exact as you thought…
Amazing oatmeal raisin cookies!
I used golden raisins and left out the molasses since I never have that in my kitchen. Perfect! My family usually likes desserts on the less-sweet side but they gobbled these cookies up. Yum! My dad’s favorite cookies so far!
Delicious cookies, they came out perfectly! Does anyone by any chance have an estimate of about how many calories per cookie this is? Thank you!! ❤
This recipe for chewy oatmeal and raisin cookies is awesome. I have tried this recipe on two different occasions and they always come out great. My family love these cookies . I have shared the recipe with my daughters and my 10 year old granddaughter who loves to bake. Thank you Sally
I gave this recipe 3 stars for the healthful ingredients and I was able to make these cookies as instructed. I took off two stars and was tempted to take off three stars because the cookies were way too sweet. I was not able to taste the goodness of the butter and the oats with my taste buds are assaulted with sugar. This was totally unnecessary as the raisins and chocolate (which I did bit use) added enough sweetness. The cookies were also very sticky. If I use the recipe again I will cut the sugar in half or by one third.
Second time making this recipe! They disappeared in one day.
Soft and packed with flavour. I had been looking for the these results for a long time…..my search is over. I don’t even like raisins and I love these cookies. Simple and quick! My Husband and I make these cookies together, team effort.
My Husbands quest for a raisin oatmeal cookie is over.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
Hi Sally! I followed this recipe and I loved the way the taste came out buy my cousin wanted it sweeter a bit. Do I add more sugar? And by how much if so?
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Tiffany! You can try adding a bit more sugar but keep in mind that this may cause them to spread more. You can also add up to a half up of chocolate chips or sprinkle the tops with course/sparkling sugar without changing the recipe.
Should I maintain the ratio if brown sugar and granulated sugar? Or only the granulated sugar? Thank you!
Hands down the best oatmeal cookie I have ever made thanks to the tips! Can’t stress enough that you need to have eggs and butter at room temperature and must soak the raisins and add the molassas. Thank you for sharing!!!!
Absolutely delicious! I love this recipe, it’s quick, it always works. Crispy edges with soft inside- it’s a dream.
Made the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and they are awesome. I’ve made them many times but not with the molasses. It definitely added flavor. I cooked them for 11 minutes and they turned out perfect. This is an excellent recipe and I have added them to my favorites.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Soft. Chewy. Delicious. Amazing! Didn’t change a thing. The molasses sends an old-fashioned usually blah oatmeal-raisin cookie over the top. Hubby loves these (as do I). They were long gone in three days. Definitely adding to favorites. Thank you, Sally!
Didn’t work out as well for me, I followed it to a T but not the type of cookie I was expecting. More like a breakfast cookie. They weren’t that nice chewy type. I used an organic flour but never had an issue with other cookie recipes.
I use room temperature eggs and butter and followed the directions, but my cookies always turn out flat. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Jodi, cookies will overspread if there’s too much fat and not enough flour to soak it up. Did you make any changes to the recipe? I use this base recipe in a lot of cookies and haven’t experienced quite as much spread. Regardless, if you decide to try the recipe again, adding another 2-3 Tbsp of flour will help. Make sure you chill the cookie dough too and, if you’re interested, I have a blog post all about ways to prevent cookies from over-spreading.
Excellent. I don’t like to change the recipe the first time but I had no brown sugar so used a combination of honey and maple syrup. They were great!
Do you happen to know the nutritional information? My son would make trays of these if the #s are good for his training…
I made these cookies and they are crispie on the outside and soft in the middle. They are delicious!! They were a lot easier than i thought they were going to be. I used small chunks of chocolate ( didn’t have any chock chips ) instead of raisins
Great recipe that our family loves. I have made a few changes:
1) I soak the raisins in vanilla water overnight (1/2 c. water + 2 Tbs vanilla). I actually have this vanilla water in a container in my fridge.
2) I don’t use the molasses but instead add an extra 1/2 tsp vanilla in the recipe (I’m diabetic).
3) I substitute a banana for one egg and because of this, I use 1 3/4 c. flour (the banana makes the dough extra creamy).
My kids love the light banana taste and the cookies turn out fabulous! Thanks!
We loved these delicious cookies. I followed the recipe exactly except I prefer smaller cookies so I used my tablespoon scoop and baked for only 9 minutes. Thank you for sharing this recipe they turned out moist and flavorful.
I’ve made these cookies twice in the past month and happy to see that they were great both times. Family has really enjoyed them and gave me the thumbs up! It’s a keeper now for our recipe box. They are soft and chewy, with a great balance of flavors. I found the tips to be quite helpful as well. Will certainly check out more of your recipes going forward!
These cookies are amazingly delicious. Moist, chewy and full of raisins and walnuts. I followed your recipe exactly.
These are just so so so good, and chewy. For me they are perfect and I know that I will be making these in the future.
I Love the recipe, it was the best cookie I’ve had and I bake a lot of cookies. I subsutitued tiny chocolate chips since my son does not like raisins. I was very pleased with the flavor and the texture.
I have made this recipe to a T, several times. But they come out almost greasy and flat. Wish I knew what would fix this.
Hi Lorelei, cookies will overspread if there’s too much fat and not enough flour to soak it up. Did you make any changes to the recipe? I use this base recipe in a lot of cookies and haven’t experienced quite as much spread. Regardless, if you decide to try the recipe again, adding another 2-3 Tbsp of flour will help. Make sure you chill the cookie dough too and, if you’re interested, I have a blog post all about ways to prevent cookies from over-spreading.
First try in a cookie baking world and it was amazing! Thank you for this great recipe and all extra tips!
Love this recipe. Another trick for those who aren’t constant bakers; it makes a huge difference when your butter is room temperature. Don’t cheat and defrost in the microwave. Same with your eggs, room temp and make sure when you mix butter and sugar that you whisk well and make Sure it’s light and creamy. Then add eggs one at a time again making sure it’s light and creamy before adding dry. Baking takes time and patience more than cooking food. You’ll see the difference in your cookies. I promise!
These were really great and will be my go to oatmeal cookie from now on. Wondering how to get them to spread a bit more and maybe crisp up the edges more. Overall super delicious!
I’ve made these oatmeal raisin cookies several times, we love them! But for some reason they tend to get crumbly . I did add an extra half cup of raisins, and now that I’m thinking about it, I didn’t blot them real good either! Could that be my problem? Other than that, follow to a tee!! Help. Would like a whole cookie, one that doesn’t fall apart .. love your site!
Thanks
Hi Darlyn! Raisins are pretty moist so that amount (and without drying) could create a dough that’s a little too wet and fragile. I recommend following the recipe and patting them a little dry before adding. An extra minute or 2 in the oven should help as well.
I’m eating them right now. They are sweet but not too sweet. They are chewy with a tiny crunch on the outside. The raisins are noticeably juicier due to the soaking. This could be the best oatmeal raisin recipe I’ve ever tried.
The best oatmeal raisin cookies and you’re right about the molasses making a difference. I’ve never used it in oatmeal raisin cookies before. Bakes for 12 minutes and left on the cookie sheets for 5 min. So moist and chewy!