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.
This is more a questions than a comment, am I able to use quick oats? I apologize if this is a dumb questions! 🙂
Hi Allison, not a dumb question at all! If you use quick oats your cookies won’t be as chewy since they absorb more liquid. If you do, use the same amount as old-fashioned oats.
I’ve made 10 of Sally’s recipes so far and they are fail proof IMO. I used 1 and 1/2 cups fine chopped dates and 1 cup mini semi sweet chocolate morsels for my add ins. These cookies were awesome and I will use this as a base for other add ins. Thanks again Sally for sharing your wisdom. I made two chubs of cookie dough from this recipe, wrapped them in plastic and stored them in the fridge, I just slice off how many cookies I want to bake so I can have warm fresh ones nightly.
As always your recipe has simply blown me away.. I have yet to use one that hasnt been amazing. I DID increase the raisins from 1 cup to 1.5 cups, but I wasnt using walnuts. I also found that my dough wasnt nearly as sticky as you said it might be so I skipped the chill time completely(after doing a one cookie test run and finding that my cookies werent spreading much at all) and they still turnt out amazing!! Thank you so much for continuing to share such awesome recipes
Hi Walt, this post about how to keep cookies from spreading will be helpful for you!
Thanks. I did have to use baking spray because no parchment. And also only had a 1 tbsp cookie scoop, so had to double up…..hard to imagine to that little bit would ruin cookies, but maybe so.
Oatmeal raisin cookies have been my favorite for my entire life (over 50 years). Rarely have I marveled at the splendor with which someone has elevated the oatmeal raisin cookie to the heights at which it was truly meant to be enjoyed, that is to say……its heavenly form! THis is such a cookie, and made in my own kitchen….which is nothing other than heaven on earth ….in cookie terms that is. THanks.
These have good flavor but my cookies are so dark they look burnt! Did anyone else have this problem? I followed the recipe exactly.
Perfect every time I make these! They are the best oatmeal cookies ever!!
Hi sally one more question, how many calories in these? And how many grams of sugar in one cookie?
Hi Sara, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients, and many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients. However, there are many great online calculators where you can plug in your exact ingredients like this one: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076.
Question, I want to make these for work but some don’t like raisins, would I need to change anything if I omit the raisins?
Hi Rebecca, you certainly can — or you might like these oatmeal cookies instead!
Will the recipe work using quick oats?
Hi JA, If you use quick oats your cookies won’t be as chewy since they absorb more liquid. Use the same amount as old-fashioned oats.
Quick, easy and delicious. I can’t wait to try it with nuts next time!!
Absolutely the best! I softened the raisins and added 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels. Just follow the recipe, you can’t go wrong!
I just made 2 batches and also added 1/2 tsp ea of cloves . Deliciousos!!
Amazing recipe! Just a few suggestions to maximize the recipe potential. I would add maybe a 1/4 more of brown sugar they kinda have a healthy taste without the extra sugar. I added extra cinnamon about a tablespoon. Also the key to a good texture in any cookie is making sure the butter and sugar is mixed enough, be sure to mix until it is light and fluffy.
Absolutely delicious! My boyfriend, who does not like raisins, has fallen for these cookies! Only change I made was to use Splenda brown sugar to reduce the sugar count. Thank you for the recipe!
These are great, thank you so much for sharing! I replaced the brown sugar with coconut sugar (equal parts) and added 2 tablespoons of ground flax. Turned out amazing when baked for 14 mins.
How long can I keep these cookies wrapped in room temperature? How long will they last?
Hi Sara, Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
I’ve made these cookies probably once every 3/4 months for the past year and a half because my boyfriend is OBSESSED with them, and he doesn’t even like cookies/cakes/sweets! I started making them for family gatherings and they are always a favorite! Also just want to say i’ve never chilled the dough before baking and they always come out perfect! Thanks so much for this recipe I will literally use it forever
I used salted butter and omitted the salt to recipe, I hydrated raisins and did not towel dry, I still had to add a bit of water even after cutting the oats back a 1/4 cup, I did not add molasses however , added Chinese five spice 1/4 teaspoon and did go with the roasted walnuts.
Appreciate they are epic.
Happy baking !!
How do I get oatmeal cookies to stay together in storage?
Hi Sandra, to keep your cookies crisp be sure that they are 100% cool before storing them. Then store them in an airtight container that’s not completely sealed. This will allow some air to sneak in and keep your cookies away from humidity and moisture.
Hi Sally,
Can I use cranberries instead of raisins? Will that be very weird tasting?
Hi Sudipta, you can use dried cranberries here — no other changes needed!
I have made several different recipes but I always put in fresh cranberries cut in half. The flavor of the cooked cranberry goes very well in oatmeal cookies (for me they do, JMO).
These are my favorite oatmeal cookies! I’ve made them several times. I’ve recently changed to plant based eating, so today I made them substituting chia eggs for eggs, plant based butter for the butter, and chickpea flour for the wheat flour. Still amazing and delicious!
Just a question for future baking…How long should I soak the raisins?
Hi Mae, You can soak them for about 10 minutes. See the recipe notes for details.
these were crazy
This is my new keeper cookie recipe! Thank you! Made these with my 10 year old grandson. We followed your recipe as written, and the result was DELCIOUS! Soft, chewy, and amazingly tasty. Everyone loved them!
They came out perfect! This is my favorite type of cookie but while I am a good baker, cookies don’t seem to always work well for me……they usually seem to spread flat an I am left with crunchy flat disc.
I did everything , as the recipe stated. I even refrigerated and rolled the balls into small towers. They came out perfect!! Thanks for the tips too. Theses will be made again…I’m thinking cranberries with white chocolate, ooh the possibilities
Hi Sally,
My balls in the oven are not spreading. I put the oven rack third from the bottom should it be lower?
Thanks
Mark
Hi Mark, you can try moving the cookies closer to the heating element. You can also try gently pressing down on the cookies with the back of a spoon to help encourage spreading. If you’re interested, this post on how to improve your next batch of cookies (see #2 — what to do if your cookies aren’t spreading) might also be helpful.
These cookies are excellent! The only change I made is adding 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves to the recipe. Oatmeal cookies are always better with this spice!
I never have molasses- I have honey, would that work or should I just omit that and make without?
Hi LuAnn, many readers have reported success using honey, but you can simply omit the molasses if you don’t have any on hand.
Sally I left out the molasses, did not add honey. This is the best recipe, hands down! My husband absolutely loves them! Thank you so much!
Didn’t work well for me. I probably should have used light brown sugar not dark brown sugar and molasses. I followed recipe to the tee. Maybe even chilling again after rolling out, they would hold their shape better.
My cookies seem to melt in the oven and I end up with one huge cookie that’s super thin…what am I doing wrong??
Hi Heather, this post about how to keep cookies from spreading will be helpful for you!
Add another egg for binder, maybe a bit more oats too, mixture should be very thick before putting it into the fridge. Chill the dough for about an hour, things should stay together nicely.
Happy baking.
Agreed. Most recipes for this cookie are all calling for too much butter and not enough flour. The flavor of this particular recipe is amazing – even flat as they are. Next time, I am reducing the butter to 1 1/2 sticks, not 2 full sticks. It should help with spreading. Or even adding another 1/2 cup of flour. Good luck!
Swap butter flavored shortening for butter and you will have to flatten cookies with a spatula.