Sink your teeth into these thick, soft, and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. They’re loaded with warm cinnamon, sweet raisins, and plenty of hearty oats. Plus, these cookies rea easy to make, and stay fresh for days.
Are you team raisin or team chocolate chip? This classic oatmeal cookie recipe makes soft and chewy cookies. I can’t even count the number of times I made these, then stacked them high on a plate and settled in to enjoy homemade cookies with a cup of tea. They stay good for days and bring back lunchbox memories of when we were kids!
I love oatmeal cookies so much I have a dozen variations. My favorites are the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, oatmeal butterscotch cookies, and peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
What Makes These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies So Darn Good?
- The perfect blend of sugars. I use both brown sugar and granulated sugar to make these cookies soft and chewy with just the right amount of crisp around the edges.
- Cold butter for thick, chewy cookies. Starting with slightly cold butter helps keep the cookies thick and gives them the best chewy texture.
- Plenty of hearty oats. Old-fashioned oats give these cookies that classic, chewy bite.
- Sweet, chewy raisins in every bite. There’s just the right amount of raisins to add flavor without overpowering the cookies.
- No chilling needed! You can scoop and bake the dough right away, so you’re only minutes away from warm, fresh cookies.
Important Notes!
- Start with cold butter. I use cold butter that’s been softened just slightly in the microwave. It’s still cooler than room temperature but soft enough to cream with the sugar. If your butter is too warm, your cookies will spread more.
- Why are my cookies spreading? If your first batch spreads too much, try adding an extra ¼ cup of flour and chilling the dough for 30 minutes before baking the next round.
- Use old-fashioned oats. This recipe is written for old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats absorb more moisture and can make the cookies mushy—and that can lead to more spreading.
- Measure flour correctly. For best results, use a kitchen scale to follow the weight measurements listed in the recipe. Too much or too little flour can affect both texture and spread.
- Double check your ingredients. Make sure the ingredients are listed in the order you’ll use them, and that you’re using what’s called for—especially the type of oats and butter temperature.
More Tips for Success
- Mix dry ingredients separately. Combine all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl so they are evenly incorporated.
- Don’t over-mix. Before the dry ingredients are fully mixed in, add the raisins so you don’t have to over-mix the dough.
- Use a cookie scoop. This helps to keep the cookies the same size and ensure they bake evenly.
- Line your baking sheets with silicone baking mats. These are game changers for cookie baking. It helps the cookies from burning on the bottom or edges.
- I recommend baking one pan at a time on the middle rack of your oven for even baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Know When the Cookies Are Done?
You will pull them out of the oven before the centers are fully baked through. But they should not be too glossy. At that point even 30-60 seconds more can make a difference. Leave them on your baking sheet for several minutes and they will continue to finish baking as they cool.
What to Do If Your Cookies Spread Too Much
If you find the cookies are spreading, take an angled spatula, a cookie spatula or knife and push the edges of the cookies back towards the center of the cookie right when you pull them out of the oven. This makes a nice round shape and also helps keep the center nice and puffy.
How to Store
- Store at Room Temp: Store them in an airtight container as soon as they are cooled. You can store them for 3-5 days but I usually like to freeze them if it’s going to be longer than 3 days.
- Can I Freeze These Cookies? Yes! These freeze nicely, making them a great option to make ahead of time ! I prefer to place them in an airtight container. If you’re like me, and can’t stay away, thaw one in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before eating.
More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes
Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sink your teeth into these thick, soft & chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. These cookies are loaded with spiced cinnamon, raisins and chewy oats.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 ½ cups (320g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (95 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (120 g) old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon (7g) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (5g) salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups (approximately 10 oz) Raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Soften the cold butter in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. The butter temperature should be around 70°F. Combine the softened butter with the brown and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes, resembling a thick sand texture.
- Next, add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue beating until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Stir to combine and slowly add the dry ingredients into the dough, mixing on low speed until the dough starts to form.
- Before the dough thickens, add the raisins. Beat a couple of times just until the flour incorporates.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Scoop the dough using a large cookie scoop and place on a sheet pan, 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes. The center of the cookie should be slightly underbaked but not too gooey. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Flour measurements: This recipe is based on 140g/1 cup of flour. Weighing the flour is the most accurate way to follow the recipe.
- Rolled oats are best for cookies as they make for the best nice texture and they also give them more chewiness but if you only have quick oats, you can still use them. Quick oats tends to absorb more moisture and get a little mushier. Weighing the oats in important because scooping oats gives you different measurements every time.
- Freezing instructions: Once baked, these can be kept frozen. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
- Make ahead: If you’d like to prepare the dough ahead of time, I recommend scooping the finished dough onto cookie sheets and keeping in the fridge or freezer. Thaw to room temperature prior to baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 224
- Sugar: 21.7g
- Sodium: 132.8mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 4.9g
- Carbohydrates: 36.1g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 2.5g
- Cholesterol: 28.1mg
This is my go to recipe for Raisin Oatmeal Cookies they’re THE BEST?! I always get request for them! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Love to hear that Vicky, thank you!
Are there any changes to the recipe for high altitude?
I have never lived at a high elevation, so I can’t really weigh in on the changes required.
My cookies turned out flat and hard. I baked them for 11 minutes for the 1st batch. Lowered the temperature on the oven for the 2nd batch. Refrigerated the 3rd batch. They all came out flat and hard.
Hi Eva, did you weigh your dry ingredients? There’s a lot of factors in a recipe that could make your turn out differently than mine. For instance, margarine and butter would produce very different results. Next time I would try baking 2 cookies as a test batch. If the cookies are spreading flat and thin, then that’s as issue with the liquid vs dry ingredients, try adding 1/4 cup more flour or oats to see if that helps, bake another 2. Also make sure the butter is not too warm.
Something is very off with this recipe. I weighed the measurements out and I’m convinced this is what is incorrect. Very salty and very sweet and very flat.
Hi Briana, I’d be curious to know if you followed the measurements I provided or if you went off different measurements, specifically the flour. 1tsp of salt is pretty standard in a cookie recipe such as this.
Great recipe, they come out perfect every time!!
I am so happy to hear that!! Thank you!
Feed 25 people today. The first cookie devoured out of 5 choices was the warmth and comfort of home. #1 everybody’s favorite. Perfect. BTW I plumped the raisins.
Amazing Betty! I will have to try soaking my raisins first, I’ve never done this before!
Since there’s only two of us, I cut the recipe in half… They were very good!
Thank you Barbara!
The flavor was great but I also had cookies that spread way too much! No, the butter wasn’t overly soft and baking soda was fresh.
I will likely be modifying this recipe to have results come out more of a thicker raised cookie while still maintaining soft chewy texture.
Hi there, did you weigh the dry ingredients? I just made these again over the weekend and I do not have an issue with spreading at all. I use this recipe across multiple oatmeal cookies on my site and they don’t spread. I do find that if I measure the oats with a measuring cup, it doesn’t match up with the weights and it’s usually under measured with would contribute to some spreading.
So sad because I followed everything to a T, ingredients, timing, measurements and I have rocks with middles that aren’t done and are flatter than pancakes. The flavors are good but I feel like I wasted my ingredients.
I don’t understand exactly what you mean. Rocks with underdone middles would indicate the cookies didn’t spread at all, but then you mentioned they were flatter than pancakes. Did you weigh the ingredients? I am finding that the weighing the oats in particular is very helpful. When I use a measuring cup and then weight it, it can be a couple tablespoons up to 1/4 cup off.
This cookie completely spread thin. I weighed ingredients, pulled butter straight from the fridge and only did 10 seconds in the microwave. I have an oven thermometer so I know my temp was correct. Flavor is good though. Just wish they wouldn’t have spread.
Hi Amber, did you also weight the oats? I sent you an email to confirm if you used the flour measurements in the recipe, which is based on 140g/cup
I browned my butter, and weighed my dry ingredients which I had never done before, it really does make a difference! They are delicious! Only added 1 cup raisins and 1/2cup walnuts!!! A keeper for sure!!
Now I have to try these with brown butter!