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
- Soft & Thick 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*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 and 2/3 cups (209g) 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 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made these with chopped prunes and apricots soaked in chai tea concentrate and then drained to replace the raisins. They are fantastic and a great source of fiber! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
My family voiced a lot of opposition when I said I was making oatmeal raisin cookies instead of chocolate chip. But one try of this recipe, and they are only asking for these and claim this is the best home-made cookie they’ve had. I didn’t have molasses so skipped it and upped the cinnamon with a sprinkle of nutmeg and cloves, as well. Would add just a dash more sugar or raisins, but that could just be my most recent batch as the first time I made them, they seemed just fine on sweetness. Thank you for this!
I’ve been making oatmeal cookies for years and tried different recipes but these by far are the best I’ve ever made. I use craisins instead of raisins and my family loves them!
As the title says- these are moist and chewy! I make these for my grown sons, and other family members! They tell me that they keep them in the freezer and love to grab one on the run for a quick breakfast when time is short. I make them big- and I add coconut (handful!), dried cranberries and the raisins. With all that dried fruit, I don’t use as much sugar. Making a batch of dough today and will bake tomorrow early morning. This is NOT a crispy cookie! The little kids love when I use them for Ice-Cream Sandwiches. We enjoy them.
Love this recipe the chilling time took a while
Made this recipe and it was great!!
I made these but I doubled the amount of raisins and walnuts because that felt like a better proportion.
These are my hubby’s all time favorite cookies!! I have to make them at least once a month, usually more often then that.
Made these cookies yesterday and today making a double batch today! A new family favorite. Thanks
I make a lot of oatmeal cookies using recipes from many pastry chefs, these were by far the best!! Chewy & moist on the inside a nice crunch on the outside. THANK you for sharing!
disappointing texture and taste….the chocolate chip cookies turned out great when i followed sally’s recipe to the ‘T’ but this one was way off mark….i’ve make oatmeal raisin cookies with the same ingredients but in different proportion and they turned out great. these are cakey rather than chewy and not firm like the other batch i made with a different recipe.
Had the same issue. Usually love her recipes but this was way off the mark.
Wow… I’ve made these a dozen times. They are always perfect. This is not meant to be a “firm “ cookie. It’s as described “chewy”. If you are looking for a hard , firm recipe, try using the one on the box of Oatmeal. Perhaps you used too much flour. The best way to measure your flour is to fill your measuring cup with a spoon, do not shake it to redistribute the flour, then scrape the top of the filled cup with a knife or spatula. If you’re dipping your cup into the bag or canister, you are over filling your cup.
i use weights for measurements, so that there’s no ambiguity. i like only the chewy cookies so not looking for a recipe for hard cookies. on comparing this recipe of sally’s to other cookie recipes of sally’s i found the ratio of flour-egg-sugar is off in this one alone.
The first time I made these, I didn’t have great results. I didn’t use the molasses and didn’t measure the flour as advised. I make them all the time now. They are amazing! Everyone loves them.
i used the molasses, followed the recipe to the ‘T’, measurements, method, rest time, temp ., all of it….i’m a perfectionist to the core in every sense. i’ve also tried the chocolate chip cookie recipe and the chocolate cake and it turned out great….so i know there’s no misunderstanding…. i compared the recipe to other recipes i successfully tried out and found that the ingredients were the same but ratio was the only difference. i also compared this recipe to the other cookie recipe i tried (both sally’s) and found that the ratio in this one is off.
I’ve made two batches of these to send to out of town family. Since I can’t go visit them, I was looking for something to send them to remind them of me. I’m the baker in the family. These are wonderful! I got rave reviews. Orders to make more!
Loved this recipe, my daughter, over this recipe. She kept tasting the butter said it tasted a magazine. She herself quite an acomplished baker herself.
These are pretty amazing. I subbed in pumpkin spice for half the amount of the cinnamon and opted for the walnuts. Will definitely be making these a staple of the house!
Best recipe out there for oatmeal raisin cookie lovers! My mom who tries to avoid sweets happily munched on these. My husband and son adore them. And of course I hide my stash. They come out perfectly chewy, soft, with just the perfect texture of chewy and crunch. The molasses really is that secret ingredient to create a mesmerizing softness that you really crave in a good cookie. This is now my go to recipe, as with pretty much all my baking needs in general. This site is pretty much my favorite for sweets.
I make cookies all the time but never oatmeal raisin. I made these by request for my grandfathers birthday and they were absolutely perfect and chewy. This recipe is going in my keep pile!
I thought you would like to know that on one of your numerous raisin and molasses cookies recipes, it calls for 1/2 c of flour not 1 1/2 as is printed elsewhere. I am an experienced baker and I re read the recipe with the 1/2 cup several times before I decided to go for it even though it did not sound right.It wasn’t until I threw them out that I started to investigate. Just thought you would like to know so some other baker doesn’t experience this. I made them with the correct amount of flour and they were delicious!
Best recipe ever. I added coconut instead of nuts and it was over the top. Crunchy on the bottom and chewy on the top. Thank you!
Delicious!!
Thank you, I made these with whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup Stevie sweetener for the granulated sugar. next’s time guess i’ll try 1/2 and 1/2 with whole wheat and regular unbleached flour. these were very good and not dry . they were so good my son ask for the recipe so he could make them.
Followed the recipe except I only had quick oats. Would that be why the texture was more like cake texture than chewy?
Hi Tina! Yes, quick oats will absorb more liquid which drys out the cookies more.
My family LOVES the oatmeal raisin cookies from Costco and these are a great copy cat!! Baked the first batch for 14 mins and it was completely dry and I had lost hope, but after trying the second batch for only 11 mins it was perfect! It looked slightly raw upon taking them out of the oven, but they set very nicely and were really moist! Will be making these very often (-;
The BEST cookie ever! I added pecan pieces, yum!
Thanks for the recipe! Could I sub whole grain oat flour for the white flour? I’m guessing I could, but maybe use a little less?
Also, I didn’t rate the recipe since I haven’t tried it yet, but I will once I have.
Hi Anna, We haven’t tested this recipe with whole grain flour. If you decided to try it just keep in mind that because of the general nature of whole grain flour, the oatmeal raisin cookies will taste heavier and heartier.
These cookies are the best oatmeal raisin I’ve made!! Can’t wait to make more! Dried cranberries may taste really good in this batter/dough also!!
I don’t have parchment paper!! And the stores are already closed. Is that a desk breaker and I shouldn’t bake until I have some?
I first made these cookies during the coronavirus stay-at-home orders for a break from banana bread and chocolate chip cookies, and they immediately became a quarantine necessity! I made sure to always have raisins and old fashioned oats on hand. I gave some away ( my husband and son told me not to give away TOO many;) and the recipient told me I could sell them. Definitely a recipe for soft, chewy cookie fans. I also get the big bags of raisins from Costco which are reliably moist and soft.
Bomb-a$$ cookies
I add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon to give them a bit more depth of flavor. It’s a tip I got from an old Betty Crocker cookbook. The cookies bake quickly so keep an eye on them.
OMG! The best oatmeal cookie recipe yet. I only had quick oats, but they still came out fantastic. I added the molasses as suggested and used 1 cup chocolate chips and 3/4 cup raisins. Baked for 13 minutes and they came out perfect. The slight crunch on the edges and sort chewy center. I have made oatmeal cookies for over 60 years and these are hands down the most delicious!
Best oatmeal raisin with walnuts cookies ever! My family loved them. They came out perfect! I used gluten free flour (Gluten Free Flax & Ancient Grains All-Purpose Flour) with coconut sugar. Thank you for the recipe!