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 used dried cherries instead of raisins because my husband doesn’t like raisins. Rave reviews. A friend asked for more. A neighborkid came over and said his mom asked me to make more. Fantastic recioe! Thank you!
OMG! This is the Best cookie I have ever tasted! Now I will admit that I used extra raisins and extra walnuts but, these are AMAZING! I have made no less than 8 batches since Memorial Day weekend (I did not eat all of them myself). Everyone that has tasted them has loved them.
this recipe is amazing. I’m not sure where I went wrong though. Although the cookies were delicious, the cookies didn’t come out looking anything like the photos on the site. They came out looking odd and almost too spread out on the sheet after baking-even a little too chewy (chilled for 40 minutes). I thought I did everything perfectly but I know I messed up along the way-just can’t figure out what it is. Any suggestions?
Hi Ali! Thanks so much for giving these cookies a try. It sounds like the cookies may have had some troubles with over spreading. This post on 5 cookie baking tips and how to prevent cookies from over spreading will be helpful to review. Let us know if we can help to troubleshoot further!
I was initially a bit sceptical of this recipe due to the secret ingredient but the taste and texture of the cookies wowed me. Absolutely delicious! This is now a bookmarked favourite cookie recipe.
I have made this recipe three times with various add-ins and they never failed to make a perfect cookie. Today it’s just raisins because they are for a dear elderly woman that loves raisins and cinnamon.
The dough is chilling right now and I am confident it will be delicious.
All of your recipes I have tried are a hit. Thank you.
By far the best oatmeal cookie recipe. The molasses is the hidden key
My husband was asking for oatmeal raisin cookies and I made him these. Absolutely delicious! I follow all of your recipes. My family loves them.
I love this!
Thank You!
I just baked these and “OMG”
They are the best! Thanks so much for this recipe!!
A fabulous recipe. When I watch baking shows, the flour is often weighed. Should I have weighed the flour? I did the spoon and level technique as your recipe instructed, however I’m not a confident baker.
Hi Pamela, So glad you loved this recipe! We recommend to use the spoon and level method or weigh measurements to measure flour. You can learn more about both in this post on how to properly measure baking ingredients.
Great recipe, although I omit the molasses and use quick oats. The molasses has a strong taste even though it is a small amount. Quick oats are just as chewy as the other. Rich butter/caramel flavor to these cookies. I also use dried cherries and dark chocolate for an interesting twist.
I followed the recipe exactly and the cookies were excellent
Thanks
I tried these, even chilled for the 30 minutes, well it was more 40 minutes, the mixture was still like batter, so messy, couldn’t roll I to balls, I followed the ingredients and method exactly, there currently in the oven, so hopefully they still come out tasting OK
These sound delicious and I am going to bake them. Do they freeze well?
Hi June, yes, they do! Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well, too. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough.
what size cookie scoop do you use to make these?
Hi Sherri, we recommend a medium size cookie scoop for these cookies. Your dough balls should be about 1.5-2 Tablespoons in size.
I only have salted butter. Should I omit the 1/2 teaspoon of salt or do I still need to add some salt?
Hi Diane! If salted butter is all you have you can use it and cut the salt back to 1/4 tsp. Enjoy!
I’ve made this recipe twice! The addition of the molasses was a game changer. I didn’t have raisin so substituted cranrasins . Hubby loved the cookies!
Hi. You probably won’t get this in time, but I’m making these at a friend’s house, and he doesn’t have a hand or stand mixer, only an immersion blender. Can I make these with an immersion blender or beat by hand in a pinch?
Hi Susan, you can mix this dough by hand if necessary, but it will take quite a bit of arm muscle! Particularly when it comes to properly creaming the butter and sugars. We find a sturdy wooden spoon works best. Let us know how they turn out for you.
Question regarding the volume of flour. The recipe calls for one and a half cups or 188 grams but one and a half cups of ap flour in grams is 225.
Hi Candice! One cup all-purpose flour weighs 125 grams when properly measured, so the above weight is correct. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients here!
I’m not a very good baker but, I made these this morning and they turned out FANTASTIC! They really are soft & chewy as stated. Far be it from me to change anything in this recipe. Thanks so much for a great recipe. (I think I’ll go have another, lol)
“Mom…these are the best cookies you’ve ever made.” My kids approve—so do I! Easy and baked beautifully after chilling for an hour. I opted to be extra and just pressed a few chocolate chips into the tops after they were done baking.
I have the quick cook oats, will that work just as good?
Hi Ginni, if you use quick oats your cookies won’t be as chewy since they absorb more liquid.
Can i use fresh blackberries in place of raisins?
I’ve been wanting to use blackberries in an oatmeal cookie recipe
Hi Meg! We haven’t tested it so can’t say for sure. Other readers have used blueberries with good results, but blackberries are a bit more wet. Let us know if you give it a try!
What about the flour? Why is it crossed out in the list of of ingredients?
Hi Mary! The ingredients list has check boxes next to each item that you can check off as you bake – did you maybe check that box on accident?
These look so delicious! I want to make these but I don’t have molasses. Could I use honey instead?
Hi Lydia, you can simply omit the molasses if you don’t have any on hand.
Great recipe. I made these for a sick friend and he loved them. I put my cookie dough in the fridge over night. I believe it must be chilled and chilled well before baking. I do the something with all my cookie dough. It really works for me. These cookies were so delicious and buttery. Thank you so much for the lovely recipe…
Would I be able to soak the raisins in a spiced rum to make “rum and raisin” oatmeal cookies? In the notes you mentioned soaking them in water for 10 minutes but what about soaking them in spiced rum for a month!?
Roni, of course you could soak them in rum. The fun part of baking is to try different things and see how it goes. Soak in water, soak in rum, no difference in the end product except flavor.
what is the minimum time that the dough needs to chill ?
We recommend 30-60 minutes.
Is letting the cookie dough chill necessary?
Hi Jx, this cookie dough does require some chilling, otherwise the cookies will over-spread into cookie puddles. Hope this helps!
My adult daughter has been asking for oatmeal raisin cookies so I found this recipe.
We only added a1/2 cup of dried cranberries & pecans and these were amazing! Thank you for this wonderful cookie recipe! We will definitely be making these again.
can i add chocolate chips too?
Hi Alisha, absolutely. You could replace the the optional walnuts with chocolate chips or swap some of the raisins with chocolate chips. Just keep the total amount of add-ins to 1.5 cups. Enjoy!
Any advice for the person who didn’t read the part about only leaving the dough to chill for 30-60 & has left it in the fridge overnight? Have I wasted my dough?
Hi Lucy, not a waste at all! Simply let the dough sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to soften a bit before rolling and baking (see the end of step 2). Enjoy!