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
Great recipe. I used Demerara sugar instead of brown but followed everything else exactly. I used a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and it made 24 cookies. Chilled the dough for 30 minutes and they spread out just the right amount. Flavour was good old fashioned yummy and texture was great. I would make these again.
Hi! How do you get the surface a bit more rough and bumpy? I rolled them to balls before I put them onto the baking sheet as described, maybe that’s why they turned out a bit too neat on top.
Hi Matthias, did you add walnuts to your cookies? They definitely can help with a bumpier texture.
I love this recipe and make it almost weekly. I make the following mods: increase cinnamon to 1.5 Tablespoons, add 1 heaping teaspoon cloves, omit granulated sugar and molasses, decrease brown sugar to 130 grams. Always soak the raisins! It makes a difference. I bake at 350 for exactly 12 minutes, let rest on pan 5 minutes, then cool on wire rack.
But you’re not really making “these” with all the recipe changes.
Made these for a birthday party and they were AMAZING ! Added just a little extra cinnamon a few extra raisins and let them sit in the fridge over night. Every one loved them fresh out of the oven. Thank you for the recipe.
This was my second time in two weeks making oatmeal raisin cookies. The first recipe I found, the cookies turned out crispy and were fine but not great. Then I made these, which are amazing! Chewy and delicious. I jumped to the recipe and missed the instructions to soak the raisins (which is under the recipe in the actual recipe), but even without that these were perfect! Even my daughter, who generally doesn’t like oatmeal raisin, loves them. Thank you!
Not terrible but not sweet enough. They were kinda bland. I’m going to try again with some chopped apples and maybe a little more sugar. They set up nicely and Bake beautifully
Definitely not making this recipe again. They remained hard little balls. I followed the recipe to a T. But the were not good at all.
Thank you for the best oatmeal raisin cookie recipe EVER!!!! I usually have to adjust for altitude as I live in Colorado, but I didn’t change anything and these cookies are just the perfect amount of crispy chewy goodness!
Just made these for the first time and…. Mmmmmm!! Super easy recipe to follow! I also added about a 1/4 cup of miniature chocolate chips to the mix. Definitely will make these again!!
Loved this recipe. The cookies turned out soft and chewy. Thank you!
Great cookies put in half a cup of gluten free flour with 1 cup of regular flour, pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon even some leftover marshmallows, cooked them one sheet at a time @ 375 F oops! about 11 minutes ONE complaint These cookies disappear off the sheet before they get to cooling rack
This is by far one of my favourite recipes EVER! I have always loved Sally’s recipes, but was looking for a copy cat recipe to Starbucks Oatmeal Raisin Cookie and this recipe is by far the closest in texture and taste I have found! I add in 1/4 dried apricots and 1/4 cup dried cranberries (the cranberries i soak like the raisins in Sally’s). I cut these up by using a pair of scissors so they are more raisin sized. SO soft and SO chewy and delicious! I forgo the walnuts to make them more Starbucks like, but used the measurements of the walnuts to determine how much apricot and cranberry to put in. I’m drooling just thinking about them! I’m often asked to make these for people and am happy to do so!
Thanks so much for your review …I am also looking for that exact type of oatmeal cookie from Starbucks ! so I’m glad to hear before making yet another recipe…so appreciate your comment and subs as they would be most like what I would use too. Cheers.
I’m really trying to find a recipe That stays as soft as the day they are made (in airtight container of course) and doesn’t end up hard on day 2.
These cookies were incredible!! I added a little more vanilla extract ( French vanilla) and roughly chopped semi sweet chocolate, definitely add the walnuts, I added a full cup . I chilled the dough for 30 min and baked them for 16 minutes for a crispier edge. The molasses really made a difference here and I added some pumpkin pie spice with the cinnamon. Very delicious!
You might want to double check your oven with an oven thermometer and make sure it is the right temperature,, might have been red 350 but when I read the actual temperature it was wasn’t even 300, so I have to adjust the temperature..
Appreciative of all the information provided. SAHD with Two little ones and the type that loves more info. Especially, things like “spoon and level”. Baking skills leveled up from this.
Followed instructions and recipe, only minus reduced sugars, honey, and good dash of coffee…came out amazing!
I agree with Kristy S. My bottom pan didn’t spread and the top one did. Gas oven so uneven. Not much taste to these. No remakes.
I think is recipe is an absolute winner! I love all the helpful hints and tips. I have never made cookies this good in all my life. Thank you so much!
We loved this recipe and it turned out excellent! This is now my go to oatmeal cookies. By the way I followed the suggestion to soak the raisins.
This recipe was amazing!! I followed it to a T minus the molasses, which I did not have. They came out soft and yet kept their shape nicely. This recipe will be my go to from now on, no need to look any further! My husband absolutely loved them! Thank you for this awesome recipe what a blessing!!!
Favorite oatmeal raisin cookie! Send them to college kids for their halloween treat. They love them! I do reduce the sugar a bit but that’s just a preference because I put a cinnamon drizzle on top for some frosting.
These are the best oatmeal raisin cookies ever. I’ve made them a few times and always get many compliments!
I agree
I made these cookies last week and they were AMAZING!!! So soft and chewy and flavorful. I did use quick outa and they were just fine, I also really don’t like cinnamon so I used 1 tsp of nutmeg and 1/2 tsp of cloves. I didn’t have any raisins so I used dried cranberries instead. Made them again today because I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Used all the same substitutions as above and also added a cup of finely diced Granny Smith apple. SO AMAZING!!!! This is seriously my go to recipe from now on. Thank you for posting it!
Love that You added Apple did this keep them nice and moist? Lots of cookies are moist when you first make them but the next day harden up. …. I need to make my 80-year-old dad a cookie that stays soft!
I was a little skeptical when I saw one TABLESPOON vanilla in the recipe, but I followed the recipe and notes exactly. This lady knows what she’s talking about!! The cookies came out crispy around the edges and chewy inside, just as I’d hoped for. And delicious! Now I can finally throw out the plethora of oatmeal raisin cookie recipes that were never quite right. Thank you! Two thumbs up!
These turned out perfect!
I give it a A+. The cookies are absolutely wonderful. So glad I made them.
I made these cookies for my older neighbors since she fell and broke her hip. He just came over and told me they were the best cookies he ever had! I liked them too, ha ha!
Can I use the One Minute Oats? The Original Oat’s flakes are so big.
Hi Lawana, If you use quick oats your cookies won’t be as chewy since they absorb more liquid.
This recipe is great. I have had trouble with many recipes that cookies didn’t spread or turn out even textured etc. These answered all of that. I love the little touch of molasses it made them more like gramma’s. I love them. I’ll make them with nuts too next time!
Very soft and chewy and so tasty! I doubled the cinnamon and loved the extra spice. My only change would be to add a handful or two more raisins.
Best Oatmeal cookies ever!!!! I’ve made these several times now & they are soft, chewy, flavorful & fantastic. The only problem is, I can’t seem to keep them around. They disappear to quickly!
I have the same “problem” – they disappear quickly! I have shared these cookies with friends and they too give them rave reviews. These are one of my top favorite cookies and that says a lot coming from this chocolate lover!
I loved these — I’ve made them several times and they are always delicious. Most recently, I added butterscotch chips, which was a huge hit with the family. I’ve also soaked the raisins in rum, which adds a little zing.
I just made these cookies, and they are delicious! I only made one change. I didn’t have molasses, so I added pure Maple syrup instead. Your tip about how to shape cookies so they would remain thick rather then spread, worked perfectly. I shaped in a round and then made them more oblong like the picture you posted.
I love your recipes. Now I want to find your recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
Thank you.
I made these this afternoon. Turned out fine. I thought they were excellent. I will be making these again. Sorry yours were not successful.
Awsome. I shared with 3 neighbors. 15 cookies each warm right from the oven. They ate them until they were gone. They all commented on the soft raisins. Will be great Christmas gift. Thanks.