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
Can you freeze this dough and make later?
You bet! See recipe Notes.
Why should I not use blackstrap molasses? It’s all I have..
Hi Christina, blackstrap has an extra-strong flavor. You can use it if you’d like, or cut the amount in half, or leave it out altogether. The cookies should still taste good!
Aww I have made this recipe many times and it comes out great.
Or you messed up. Since everyone else had no issues whatsoever. ♀️
Can you double cookie recipes?
Hi Ginny, we always recommend making two batches instead of doubling for best results.
This was perfect for my family tradition to bake cookies for the holiday season. It was a real big hit. We had fun eating and just as fun to eat. So good. Thank you for this recipe
I plan to use this recipe, l wanted to know if I can use a stand mixer. Thank you
Yes, we use a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
Just made these with cranberries and pecans because that’s all I had. They are delicious!
I just made these for a friend. OMG, so delicious! Your recipes never disappoint.
Love this cookies
Do you think this recipe would work if I substituted cranberries and pistachios for the raisins and walnuts? Would the molasses work with those flavors?
Yes, definitely!
Sally,
I added cranberries instead of the raisin and they are delicious.
I have made your cookies and several scones–also delicious. My family loves everything I make from your website. Thank you for bring out my passion for baking again and for sharing all of your wonderful recipes with the world!!
I put cranberries instead of raisins and it turned out soooo good! So soft and the spices work so well.
Love this recipe! I substituted homemade apple sauce for eggs and added 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ground cloves to round out the sweetness. I made the cookies a little smaller so I don’t feel guilty about eating 10.
Could I leave the molasses out if I don’t have any?
Hi Pilar, yes you can, with no other changes needed.
Can you substitute chocolate chips for raisins in this recipe?
Feel free! We also have an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe.
These disappeared in 2 days at my house. So easy to make, heavenly texture and flavor! Just follow Sally’s directions for Oatmeal bliss.
First time baking these coolies and they were a hit even among my raisins haters…I just halved the sugar amount, soaked the raisins overnight ( not intentionnally) and forgot the dough in the fridge so they were chilled for more than 30 min.
These are the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever eaten! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
Can you use salted butter?
Hi Maryann, we recommend unsalted butter for baking in general so you can better control the amount of salt in the recipe; however, if salted butter is what you have on hand, go ahead and use it here and omit the added salt.
I made these last night and they were great, but today the texture is ruined! They’re now completely uniform throughout and quite dry, despite being very soft and moist with crispy edges last night. Is this normal? They have been stored at room temperature in an air tight container, so I don’t think it could be related to improper storage.
Hi Alice! Soft and moist cookies can lost their crisp quickly – try storing them with the lid of the container cracked, or with a slice of sandwich bread in the container to help absorb some of the extra moisture.
Is 140g of raisins the weight prior to soaking?
Yes, that’s correct.
Could I replace the old fashion rolled oats for quick oats?
Hi Ivette, quick/instant oats will work in a pinch (same amount), but your cookies won’t be as chewy since they absorb more liquid.
Hi! I made these today, but my cookies turned out SO chunky! But the taste was perfect. Just wanted to ask what can I do to flatten them or have them spread?
Hi Camille, if cookies aren’t spreading, it usually means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. Make sure you are properly measuring your flour (weighing it or spoon & level). It could also be that the dough was too cold. If chilling the dough for longer than an hour, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking. If you’re in the middle of baking a batch and the cookies still aren’t spreading, remove them from the oven, and bang the pan on the counter 2-3x before returning them to the oven. Hope these tips help for next time!
First time I made oatmeal rasin cookies and they were great
Im not a huge fan of molasses, Could you eliminate it?
Hi Jamie, yes, you can omit the molasses with no other changes. Enjoy the cookies!
Yield of this recipe?
Hi Ellen, about 26-30 cookies
They turned out perfect. Made them for my grandchildren, already had 5.
I was wondering if there’s a big difference with not adding cinnamon due to allergies
Hi Ali, you can leave out the cinnamon with no other changes needed.
They tasted great, but they spread out too much. I chilled them for about an hour before baking.
The second batch came out like the first and the dough rested in the fridge while I baked the first batch. The third batch I had the same result. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Evelyne! Here’s our best tips to prevent cookies from spreading – the most common culprit is starting with butter that’s too warm!
I make these every year. The Grandma’s molasses is the secret weapon. Don’t skip this ingredient. ❤️
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Hi Joan, this recipe makes between 26-30 cookies.