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
Absolutely perfect recipe. I am a serious HOBBY baker, and have been for years. This recipe is perfect as is, I tend to tweak a recipe to perfection. No need on this one. In addition making the uncooked cookie balls in freezer, works. I see you have a cook book coming out, I do intend to purchase.
I made these and they were delicious. I am making them again, they are my grandsons’ favorite cookie and he will be coming over tomorrow to do some painting for us.
Tried making those 3 times. The cookies refuse to flatten. Tried everything: adjust oven temp, adjust the amount of butter, adjust the amount of flour, chill the dough a little longer, not chill the dough at all, etc, nothing works. Cookies go in as balls and come out stay as balls.
Hi Nickel, 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!
These are delicious! I’ve made them twice in the last couple of weeks. The second time I used dried cranberries instead of raisins. Sooooo good! Thank you!
Love those recipe. It’s now my go to favorite. I added a 1/2 cup chocolate chips to my 2nd batch. It was a huge it with myfamily and friends .
Came out soft, chewy and just right. I figured that 1 cup raisins was probably not going to be enough but that’s all I had. I’d definitely make it again, just add a lot more raisins.
If I may make a comment…. these are superior to America’s Test Kitchen’s highly touted, thoroughly reviewed, including home-tested by 40,000+ volunteer recipe testers. Both recipe’s ingredients are similar, but you include molasses – theirs has none. That ingredient has got to be the silver bullet. Thank you for sharing this with others. Greg [garden grove, CA usa]
I made these cookies as a double batch. They are so good! I baked half immediately and froze the dough in balls for the other half. My oven baked the first half a little more crispy, but still chewy inside. I baked the second half from frozen, and they were very soft and chewy. Both batches were great! I prefer the from frozen baked cookies.
I am disappointed that you do not have the nutritional value for these cookies!
Hi Jennifer! 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
Love this recipe! Only thing I do differently is 2 cups of raisins and no nuts.
These raisin oatmeal cookies are awesome! I did soak the raisins in warm water for ten minutes and I think this is an important step. Thanks Sally!
This recipe for raisin walnut oatmeal cookies is great! They are so good. I did soak the raisins for 10 minutes in warm water and I think this was an important step. Thank you Sally!
thanks for getting back to me so quickly (about the craisins). Asking for a friend …can she spray the baking tins instead of parchment paper?
Hi Barbara, parchment paper or silicone baking mats are always recommended over non-stick spray for cookie because they help prevent the bottoms cooking/browning too quickly and help prevent excess spreading. That being said, non stick spray can work in a pinch.
I made these once before to rave reviews. Just about to make them again and discovered I have no raisins. Craisins ok?
Hi Barbara, absolutely!
Quite possibly the best oatmeal raisin recipe out there. That molasses adds the perfect flavor that take these from very good to amazing. Holy yum!
Best oatmeal raisin cookie! I even threw in a few chocolate chips (Ghirardelli Semi Sweet). Absolute 10! I couldn’t resist 1 for breakfast with my coffee. Thank you Sally, always the BEST!
will whole wheat flour work in this recipe?
Hi Jeanie, we recommend sticking with AP flour here, as whole wheat flour could leave the cookies tasting a bit dry and heavy.
Hi Sally! Would substituting blueberries for the raisins work in this recipe?
Hi Nicole, dried blueberries would work best here in place of the raisins. Let us know if you try it!
Absolutely the best oatmeal raisin cookies EVER! Will be making again and again…
I don’t have molasses or dark brown sugar. Will they still turn out ok?
Hi Amanda, you can omit the molasses if needed, but we do not recommend omitting the brown sugar. They are key to taste, texture, and spread of these cookies.
Omg…. Fabulous!
Perfect recipe. Used dark brown sugar and didn’t bother soaking raisins. Kids were skeptical about baking anything that doesn’t contain chocolate, but they are converts, so we’ll be doing these again.
Hi Sally,
I made these cookies and they are very yummy! How can I find out the nutritional info?
Sandra
Hi Sandra, 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
Mine turned out thick and cakey. They didn’t look like these at all.
Not what I was looking for. The hunt continues.
Mine were dry and like biscuits. Taste is fine. Perhaps in the fridge too long?
Hi Holly! Dry cookies are usually caused by over-baking or too much flour or oats in the cookie dough. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
If you like spice cake, you might like these. I’d rather have the spice cake. Didn’t really like these at all. Weird flavor for oatmeal raisin cookie. Trying to make something different for the sake of posting something different is silly. I felt I wasted a Tablespoon of vanilla and who can afford that today? Will try another recipe. Just make a plain old-fashion oatmeal raisin cookie and be happy.
Hi, sorry you had trouble with these. Cinnamon is a pretty common ingredient in oatmeal raisin cookies. I wonder if you used a brand of high quality cinnamon with a pronounced flavor? Thanks for your feedback.
Great texture. Great cookies! Thanks.
Oatmeal raisin cookies are my all-time favorite and this recipe definitely doesn’t disappoint! The dough is a lot easier to work with after chilling overnight; I used a cookie scoop and the stiff dough stayed compact while baking. The taste was divine!
These cookies are the best I’ve ver had is rpther any way I can make them better
OK first of all,YUM these are so good! I ruined my diet! The only thing I didn’t have was molasses. I used dark brown sugar so maybe that helped. I also melt my butter, Let them chill for the whole hour. Seriously delicious!
Fantastic recipe. The molasses add great flavor and the cookies are outstanding.