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
Love these. The molasses is the “thing” that was missing from other recipes I’ve tried.
This the best oatmeal raisin I ever made!! Thank you sooo much for sharing this!
I added 1 tsp of nutmeg, and 1/4 cup flour. Cos of the high altitude it goes flat if I don’t add extra flour!
I made these, but substituted Gluten Free flour in and kept everything else the same, I submitted them into a baking contest and won! Thanks Sally! I only baked them for about 11 minutes and they came out perfect, people didnt even know they were gluten free
Best oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve ever had…and I’m a huge oatmeal raisin cookie fan!
V good….. but why soak your raisins in water overnight when you could soak them in BOURBON instead? I bet spiced rum would also be delish!
Great soft cookies with fantastic flavor!
Amazing! As soon as I saw molasses as an ingredient I knew it would be goooood!
Delicious!! You have to follow the recipe as it instructs
This is the third time I have baked these cookies and unlike the first 2 times when I made them to the letter of your recipe, I made a few changes that I wanted to share with you. So a friend of mine has a blood orange tree and gave me a few of her beauties because she knows how much I love them. Well, with this last one, I decided to soak the raisins in blood orange juice and added the grated zest in with the flour. I ran out of regular molasses, so I used pomegranate molasses instead. And because my husband is allergic to cinnamon, I just omitted it. (Have you any idea how difficult it is for me to not have cinnamon when I love it so? The holidays are not the same without it!) Well let me tell you, these oatmeal cookies were IT! Soft, chewy, moist nuggets of deliciousness! I am so glad I sacrificed my last blood orange to the culinary cause that is the best addition to an oatmeal raisin cookie ever! So good that I didn’t miss the cinnamon at all! I just wanted to share this with you and thank you for an outstanding oatmeal raisin cookie recipe!
The most remarkable thing about these cookies is how long they stay fresh. I made these for my husband for Valentine’s Day (oatmeal raisin cookies are his favorite), which was four days ago, and they are STILL soft and chewy. They tasted as good this afternoon as they did the day I baked them!
I bake a lot and I found these cookies to be anything but soft and chewy. I followed the instructions to the letter and was disappointment. I baked them for the minimum time required, so I don’t believe they were overdone. They also never flattened out at all.
Hi Melody, What type of oats did you use? I use old-fashioned whole oats, if you use quick oats they will absorb more liquid leaving your cookies harder and drier.
They were quick oats. I had no idea they would absorb the liquid so fast. Thanks for the response and the lesson. It is sincerely appreciated. I will try them again with old fashioned oats(not quick).
SO DAMN GOOD!
Delicious cookies! I substituted the molasses with Maple syrup and they went great! I cut all ingredients by half and it worked perfectly! The only thing is that once baked the oats could not be noticed in the outside part of the cookies. Any idea why this might have happened? Otherwise, they were delicious!
These cookies were a hit! Very good taste and texture, thanks for the recipe! What do you recommend for storing cookies? I have a nice jar with an air tight lid, but the cookies got too soft. The next batch I put in my cookie monster cookie jar and they got too soft also. Is there a way to keep that little crispy edge?
Hi Judy, I’m so happy you enjoy these cookies! To keep your cookies crisp be sure that they are 100% cool before storing them. Then store them in an airtight container that’s not completely sealed. This will allow some air to sneak in and keep your cookies away from humidity and moisture.
Fantastic cookie recipe. I use all your recipes, they never fail! Thank you for sharing !
I made these with Country Crock Plant Butter and they spread out way too thin, despite following instructions here. Although they still tasted great, I would not try it with that substitution again.
I’ve made these twice now and they came out great both times. It is my husband’s favorite cookie. I used whole wheat flour because it was the only one I had in the house and it worked well. The second time the dough stayed in the fridge a little longer and I rolled it into big balls before baking and it really helped to have an evenly thick and chewy cookie. Looks like I’ll be making them again soon! Thanks for a winning recipe.
The best oatmeal cookies I have ever made. They remind me of what my mom used to make for us. Thank you so much! Even my husband said that these are the best cookies I’ve ever made and he is the Cookie Monster!
These are delicious, made them exactly as the post days. Best oatmeal raisin with pecans ever.
Perfect cookies. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re right, these are very soft and chewy oatmeal cookies! I made a double batch all in the same mixing bowl and I can’t believe how quickly all of those cookies disappeared in this household. My son claims he doesn’t like raisins either! Thanks Sally, great recipe as always.
Delicious cookies. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I will definitely make them again!
I tried these and absolutely love them!! I actually made a half batch and it made 24-30, so I must have used a much smaller scoop (I used a size 50 scoop). Do you scoop or just eyeball? Mine still baked for about 12 minutes even though they were probably smaller, so I wonder if I should shorten the baking time too?
Hi Camille, I’m so happy you love them! I do use a cookie scoop. There is a link to the exact one I use in the recipe instructions in step 4. For the bake time I recommend using your eyes more than your timer – you want to remove them when they are lightly browned on the sides but the centers still look very soft (they will continue to set as they cool on the baking sheet!)
Just made these and they are delicious. My first batch spread more than the rest and I chilled the dough for the 30 mins. Really weird as it seems the warmer the dough, the more they spread?
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Deb! Yes – the warmer the cookie dough the more they will spread and the colder the dough the more they maintain their shape.
These cookies were crisp at the edges and beyond delicious, but spread too much for my liking, even after chilling per the recipe. Next time I will refrigerate the dough until I can roll it into balls then freeze the dough balls before baking. No other changes necessary!
Just baked these! First time making oatmeal raisin cookies and they are delicious and toddler approved!
I made these with one stick of butter by accident (calls for two). The cookies were a just bit dry but there are none left. They were thick, flavorful and chewy and delicious, but I am going to try 1-1/2 sticks of butter next time. I think that will be enough for me. I am also going to try soaking the raisins in warm brandy or rum, which will add a bit of moistness. We[ll see if the flavor comes through. I am also tempted to cut the cinnamon a bit (1/4 tsp.) and substitute a bit of dry cloves for a flavor kick. These might be subtle refinements to a very good and delicious recipe. I’ll try to report back soon. Thank you, Mike
I did just that and it works fine.
I made these today and they are the most delicious and chewy oatmeal raisin walnut cookies I have ever had, and I have quite high standards. I made them exactly as directed, except I did not have regular molasses. I only had blackstrap. Since I used light brown sugar and not dark brown, I felt OK using the blackstrap, but used only half the amount of molasses called for. I can’t imagine that did anything but good. Honestly, I can’t imagine my cookies being more perfect!
I made 27 cookies in total. Mine look bigger than those pictured on this page. I did refrigerate the batter for 40 minutes. Then put the balls on the lined cookie sheets and refrigerated again (on the cookie sheets) while the oven preheated. My raw dough looked less dry than the uncooked balls pictured here. I have no explanation for that.
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! It is now my only oatmeal raisin walnut recipe! And yes, presoaked raisins and roasted walnuts make a difference!
I made this recipe but substituted regular flour for a gluten free version which usually doesn’t make too much of a difference but for some reason this batch came out extremely dry! The flavor is great by the way so I know it’s user error. Any suggestions?
Hi Jen, Assuming you are using gluten free oats too? If so are they more like the whole rolled oats or like quick oats? I don’t recommend quick oats as they absorb more liquid and will dry the cookies out.