This recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies is a complex combination of oats, flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and raisins. The oats provide a hearty flavor and texture to the cookies. While the raisins and flour give them sweetness and structure, the butter and light brown sugar contribute richness and moisture. At the same time, the eggs add leavening and help bind the ingredients together to create oatmeal raisin cookies that are perfect for any occasion! For more Oatmeal Inspired Cookies, check these recipes: Oatmeal Cookies with Coconut and Perfect Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips.
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What are Oatmeal Raisin Cookies?
Oatmeal raisin cookies consist of raisins, oats, sugar, and spices in the dough. Traditional oatmeal is most commonly used in oatmeal cookies, as the oat flakes are robust and hold their shape in the cookie dough. Another option is quick oats, which are thinner, more tender, and break down more easily with liquid and heat.
As for the sugar in the recipe, brown sugar results in a chewy cookie, while white sugar produces a crispier cookie. Half brown sugar and half white sugar result in crispy edges and a moist, chewy interior. Your ingredients are up to you, as the best oatmeal raisin cookies ultimately come down to personal preference.
Ingredients
Note: The full ingredients list is provided in the recipe card below.
- Unsalted Butter: It gives richness, tenderness, and structure to cookies.
- Light Brown Sugar: It functions as a sweetener and provides flavor. It also helps to create a tender and chewy texture.
- Pure vanilla extract: It enhances the flavor.
- All-purpose flour: It creates structure and helps bind the other ingredients together, creating a more consistent cookie.
- Oats: It provides texture, structure, and flavor.
- Raisins: They add texture, sweetness, and flavor.
- Nuts: Toasted pecans or walnuts add texture and a nutty flavor.
Tools You'll Need
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Note: The full instruction is provided in the recipe card below.
Whisk together the flour, oats, cinnamon, raisins, pecans, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, light brown sugar, and salt until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until fully combined. Add the flour mixture and continue mixing until just combined; make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Cover the cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Once the dough is chilled, remove it from the refrigerator. Next, scoop out 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough balls and drop them onto the prepared baking sheets; make sure to leave a little room between each cookie dough ball as they will spread a little while they bake. Bake in separate batches for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the top is set. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Substitutions
- Sugar: You can swap the light brown sugar for a dark brown for a richer flavor. For crispier Oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips, use granulated sugar and bake them a little longer. For sweeter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips cookies, increase sugar to 1 cup.
- Dried Fruit: Instead of using raisins, you can use other dried fruit, such as dried shredded coconut, dried cranberries, dried cherries, or chopped dried dates
- All-Purpose Flour: You can substitute whole wheat flour or a gluten-free blend.
- Ground Cinnamon: Feel free to adjust it or substitute it with spices like nutmeg or pumpkin spice.
- Baking Powder: If you don't have baking powder, you can use an equal amount of baking soda, but keep in mind that the texture of the cookies might be slightly different.
- Unsalted Butter: You can use salted butter instead of unsalted butter, but reduce the amount of salt in the recipe accordingly.
- Large Egg: You can use a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water) or applesauce (¼ cup) as an egg substitute for a vegan option.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: No direct substitute, but you can try using other extracts like almond or maple for a different flavor.
Variations
- Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips: The sweetness of the chocolate chips combines well with the tartness of the raisins in the cookie dough. Chocolate chips have a different texture than raisins and are silky and smooth when warm or a little rough when cooled, compared to the chewiness of raisins. Use milk chocolate, white chocolate, or dark chocolate for chocolate oatmeal raisin cookies.
- Oatmeal with Coconut: Augment the cookie dough with other dried fruit, such as dried shredded coconut, dried cranberries, dried cherries, or chopped dried dates. Each dried fruit has a sweetness and tartness that balances the cookie dough. Remember that adding volume to the cookie dough will add a couple of minutes of baking time.
- Peanut butter: Substitute peanut butter for half of the butter in the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe to combine the flavors of a peanut butter cookie with the flavors and textures of an oatmeal raisin cookie. The addition of peanut butter also ensures chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.
How to Serve
Once cooled, serve the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies as a delightful snack or sweet accompaniment to tea or coffee. They can also be enjoyed with ice cream, a cookie platter, or a thoughtful gift.
How to Store & Re-Heat
To store: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, cool them completely and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To reheat: Briefly warm them in the oven or microwave and enjoy.
Make-Ahead
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies dough can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies dough can be frozen for up to 3 months: Drop the cookie dough in heaping tablespoons onto a sheet pan, let them set in the freezer until solid, then place them in a freezer bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake directly from frozen, as directed in the recipe, but add 1 to 2 extra minutes to the baking time.
Tips for Making The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- These versatile Oatmeal Raisin Cookies can be modified to suit your taste preferences; swap Light brown sugar for a dark brown for a richer brown sugar flavor or granulated sugar for a crispier texture.
- Incorporate warming spices, such as nutmeg, cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice, for a more autumnal flavor. Or add chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, chocolate or butterscotch chips, or a dollop of peanut butter to the cookie dough.
- If the dough feels too sticky or wet to hold its shape, add a tablespoon or two of flour at a time until the dough has reached a manageable texture.
- Remove the cookies from the oven when the center is set but still slightly moist to ensure a soft, pliable final product. The cookies will continue to harden on the tray as they cool, resulting in a perfectly chewy texture.
- Chill the cookie dough to prevent overspreading.
- Once the cookie dough has been chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable, about 5 to 10 minutes; letting it get too warm will ruin the purpose of chilling.
- If, at any moment, the dough becomes too soft, return to the freezer until firm.
- Arrange cookies ½ inch apart.
- When making cookies, freeze and bake them frozen to help them keep their shape.
- Remember, the cookies will keep cooking once removed from the oven. Let them cool completely on a rack before decorating, and store them in an airtight container.
- The butter should be left at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour until it's pliable but still cool; it should hold a thumbprint with some resistance.
FAQ
Can you freeze Baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookies?
Baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, freeze well for up to 3 months. Allow the cookies to cool completely before layering them between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months: Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Can I double the recipe?
Absolutely! You can double the ingredients accordingly to make a larger batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Remember that you may need to adjust the baking time slightly, as larger batches may require a few additional minutes in the oven.
Can I omit the raisins or nuts?
Yes, if you prefer cookies without raisins or nuts, you can omit them from the recipe. The cookies will still turn out delicious with the oats and other ingredients.
Can I use quick oats instead of rolled oats?
In this recipe, you can use quick oats as a substitute for rolled oats. Just be aware that quick oats may have a slightly different texture as they are more finely cut.
Can I add chocolate chips to the recipe?
If you'd like to add chocolate chips to your Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, you can mix them into the dough along with the raisins and nuts. It will add a delicious chocolatey twist to the cookies.
Why Are My Cookies Flat?
Here are the 4 most common reasons why cookies spread so much.
- The Butter Is Too Soft: Butter is the foundation of delectable cookies. The butter should be left at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour until it's pliable but still cool. (It should hold a thumbprint with a bit of resistance). When creamed with sugar, room-temperature butter has the right consistency to incorporate air. Because of the trapped air pockets, the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies rise and become fluffy. If the butter is too warm, it will not incorporate enough air, resulting in a lower rise in your cookies. Furthermore, butter that is warmer than room temperature melts in the oven instantly, encouraging the dough to spread quickly with it. A quick fix is to chill the Dough. Refrigerate the remaining dough for one to two hours or until it feels firm. This chills the butter, preventing it from spreading too quickly in the oven. Although your cookies will not be as fluffy as they once were, they will not turn into pancakes.
- You're Baking on Hot Baking Sheets: After the first batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies has been baked, a new batch of dough is transferred to the baking sheet. While the first batch was perfect, the second batch spread a lot, possibly to the point where the cookies fused. What happened? Everything comes back to the butter. Hot baking sheets cause the butter to melt really quickly, bringing the dough with it. A quick fix is to Cool the Baking Sheets Under Running Water for a few minutes so they're warm, not screaming hot. Then rinse them off under room temperature water until they're no longer hot to the touch. Then, dry them off and place your Oatmeal Raisin Cookies on the cool sheets.
- Your Oven Is Too Hot: If your Oatmeal Raisin Cookies consistently come out flat, no matter what recipe you use, your oven is probably too hot. Here's what's going on. In an overheated oven, the butter melts quickly before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure. As a result, as the butter spreads, the entire liquid cookie spreads. A quick fix is to reduce the temperature of your oven and increase the baking time. In the long run, consider purchasing an oven thermometer and keeping it in your oven so you know the exact temperature of your oven. Then you can adjust the heat as needed, or consult the oven's manual to learn how to calibrate it.
- Incorrectly Measured Ingredients: If your flour, butter, and sugar ratios are off, the cookie might spread too quickly. This can occur if you aren't precise with your measurements. If your recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, for example, and you add a slightly heaping cup instead of leveling off the cup precisely, you'll end up with too much. This is because sugar sucks up liquid, and when those cookies bake, it'll release the liquid and cause the cookies to spread out. Likewise, if you use too much butter, the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies will end up flat and greasy. And if you use too little flour, the amount of butter and sugar will be proportionally too high, meaning the cookies will spread for the reasons mentioned above. A quick fix is to bulk it up a Little. If you used too little flour, stir a couple more tablespoons into the batter. Otherwise, shape your Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and freeze them on the baking sheet until they're solid. Although the cookies might still spread some, the frozen butter will counteract the action. If all else fails, consider repurposing your flattened cookies: crumble them up like ice cream toppings or mix-ins, or stir them into cake batter for a decadent treat.
Related Recipe:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oats
- Snickerdoodles Cookies
- Pecan Snowball Cookies
- Fig Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe
Easy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour , spooned & leveled
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick , of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup light brown sugar , firmly packed
- 1 large egg , cold
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts , chopped
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, oats, cinnamon, raisins, pecans, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, light brown sugar, and salt until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until fully combined.
- Add the flour mixture and continue mixing until just combined; make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Cover the cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Once the dough is chilled, remove it from the refrigerator. Next, scoop out 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough balls and drop them onto the prepared baking sheets; make sure to leave a little room between each cookie dough ball as they will spread a little while they bake.
- Bake in separate batches for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the top is set. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.