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
Nice recipe. But they lack moisture. They were tasty but a bit crumbly. Could have to do with altitude. But they taste good and smelled amazing while baking. Thank you
These are Perfection! I used salted butter, but did not add salt. Subbed 1 teas of maple syrup ( didn’t have the molasses) and added a pinch of nutmeg. They tasted great!
My cookies turned out on the dry side. Maybe the molasses would have helped – there is no molasses in the country I live in. Or it could be the type of oats. Still they’re pretty good.
Excellent recipe. I veganised it by using Bob’s Redmill Egg Replacer instead of eggs, and a vegan butter instead of butter. It worked great.
Raisin Lover Forever
Starting cookies while wife is out, shhh!
delicious cookies! i didn’t have molasses and put a half measure of maple syrup. turned out yummy, will try again when i have molasses
These turned out amaaaaaazing. Totally making another batch STAT. I went with salted butter, dark brown sugar, and a cup of finely chopped walnuts. I omitted the raisins this time (it was a request from the person I made them for). Chilled overnight and made them as small drop cookies (dough size of walnuts) and baked for 10 mins (convection). It’s an understatement saying that they were perfection.
Amazing ! No need for any other recipe
Did not care for this recipe. I/we did not like the texture of the cookies and I did everything just like the recipe instructed.
Can applesauce be substituted for some or all of the butter
Hi Loretta! You can certainly give it a try, but the outcome of the cookies will be different.
Can u add more then 1 cup of raisins to the recipe
Hi Lizz, Yes you can add more if you wish without making any other changes. Enjoy!
Best chewy oatmeal raisin cookie recipe I’ve ever tried!
Unfortunately, they are rather tasteless. But I think all they need is salt – use 1 tsp instead of the 1/2 tap in the recipe
I’ve never liked oatmeal raisin cookies but this recipe changed that for sure! So dang good. Must try!
These are fabulous, these will definitely be my go to from now on.
I make these cookies at work all the time, my coworkers love them. They stay soft for days, Not like sore bought or any other recipes you would make.
Will this recipe work with quick cooking oats? Also, can I cut the recipe in half without compromising result?
Hi Ellen, if you use quick oats your cookies won’t be as chewy since they absorb more liquid. Yes, you can halve all the ingredients for a half batch. Enjoy!
I have been looking for the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie recipe for years. Look no more. It doesn’t get any better than this recipe. If you like a chewy cookie bake about 9 min., longer for a crisp interior.
I only had quick oats. I didn’t have molasses or baking soda so I added an extra tablespoon of brown sugar and a tablespoon of baking powder instead.
I made 18 cookies and as I expected, they looked nothing like the pictures. They aren’t as dark or thin but they’re huge, super thick, really fluffy and super delicious.
I’m gonna try it again with all the ingredients listed in the recipe but I still give them a 10/10. Thank you.
My husband loves oatmeal raisin cookies but can’t find boughten ones that he approves of. So I found your recipe and tried it. Not only does he love them so do I. And I really appreciate the extra notes. Thank you.
Absolutely the best homemade oatmeal raisin cookie. I’m 70, a baker and lots of oatmeal cookies over the decades. I use the best butter (European), flour and salt (seasalt), eggs (free range organic).
Went by the recipe except using salted butter. OMG I am not even going to try any other recipe, these were absolutely what I was craving.
OMG
This recipe was absolutely amazing. The cookies tasted and looked perfect. Best cookies I have made thus far. Thank you Sally for posting!
My god those are good cookies.. I doubled the recipe and left the dough, covered, for 3 hours to thoroughly chill. that is definitely the trick. I even put the dough back in the frig in-between baking the cookies. For the last few cookies I left the dough on the counter before baking the cookies and the dough warmed up enough that the cookies spread and were fairly flat. I did use a cookie scoop. I took most of the cookies to work and they were gone in no time. Will definitely make them again.
It was good ! It was a little sweet for my taste so I might try to use 1/4cuo white and 3/4cup brown sugar. Also my cookies didnt flatten enough on their own so I did so manually. Cookie were good.
My beautiful thoughtfuldaughter made me a batch of these cookies ( since she knew oatmeal cookies are my all time favorite, and they are the best!!! She hooked me up with your sight and I’m so glad she did.! Thank you for sharing your recipes.
I haven’t tried the Oatmeal Raisins cookie yet and I put 2 recipes together to find the baking time and temperature. I also used a plumping time and dusting of 1 Tablespoon flour to have soft raisins that do not sink to the bottom. I poured 1cup boiling water over 1 cup raisins and let set for 10 minutes—then drained and dusted 1TBS reserved flour over them and mixed. I got this idea from an applesauce cake recipe that I made years ago.
I made this cookie twice, first time – perfection! I made them again yesterday and not so successful. I goofed up and accidently beat egg #1 into the butter. When I realized my mistake, I beat in the sugars, then added egg #2. The batter looked kind of weird and separated at that point. The cookies turned out very flat and spread out and kind of oily (still yummy though!). Do you think my mistake could have caused the cookies to misbehave?
Hi Kathy, If you didn’t cream the butter and sugar together first, that certainly could have impacted the texture of the cookies, especially if they turned out perfectly the first time!
How many calories per cookie would you say?
Hi Sam, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Best oatmeal
Unbelievably delicious!!!!Thank you for sharing this recipe!