Perfectly soft in the center and crisp on the outside, these Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are made with just a handful of ingredients and require no chill time. Quick, easy, and SO good!
Of all the great cookies in the world, oatmeal raisin cookies are always a top favorite. They’re so simple, sweet, soft, and chewy–total comfort food cookie! We’re big fans of them in this house, even the few who aren’t huge raisin fans, and I’m pretty confident in saying these chewy oatmeal raisin cookies are some of the best I’ve ever had!
Why You’ll Love These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
What makes these cookies the best? Here are a few reasons!
- Perfect texture. It’s hard to go wrong with any baked oatmeal raisin cookie but the ones that are soft and chewy on the inside with slightly crisp edges? Oh, those are the absolute best – especially when enjoyed with a glass of milk!
- Quick & easy. This easy cookie recipe is made with simple ingredients and requires 0 chill time. Just 30 minutes stand between you and warm, gooey oatmeal raisin cookies!
- Store well. These oatmeal raisin cookies rarely last for more than a day or two in my house but they do stay soft and chewy for several days. They also freeze well for up to 3 months. I like to keep some in the freezer so I can just pop one in the microwave whenever the craving hits. (Full storage instructions can be found below!)
Love a great cookie recipe? We do too, which is why we totally have you covered with all of the best recipes: S’mores Stuffed Cookies | Best Sugar Cookies (Soft and Chewy) | Lemon Snowball Cookies | Vanilla Melt Away Cookies | Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
What You’ll Need
Most of the ingredients you’ll need for these chewy cookies are likely already in the cupboard. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure the flour properly to ensure the consistency of the cookies.
- Baking powder – Helps achieve the chewy texture in the cookie.
- Salt – Enhances the other flavors.
- Spices – Ground cinnamon & nutmeg give these cookies a warm base flavor.
- Butter – Softened but not melted.
- Sugar – Using a combination of brown sugar + granulated sugar helps keep the cookies moist and chewy (brown sugar has more moisture).
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Old-fashioned rolled oats – See notes below.
- Raisins
What Kinds of Oats to Use?
Homemade oatmeal raisin cookies are best made with old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats will get too soft and mushy while steel-cut oats will not often enough. Rolled oats give you that perfectly soft and chewy texture.
Variation Ideas
Want to switch up your oatmeal raisin cookies a bit? Here are a few ideas!
- No raisins. Not a fan of raisins? You can just leave them out and make simple oatmeal cookies.
- Cranberry white chocolate. Instead of raisins, use dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
- Chocolate chips – Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are delicious! You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks.
- Nuts – Chopped walnuts or pecans make a great complement to the oatmeal and raisin flavors while add a little crunch to the cookie.
- Sea salt – For a sweet and salty combo, sprinkle the cookies with some coarse sea salt when they come out of the oven.
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
These soft and chewy oatmeal cookies come together with a few easy steps. You can find the printable version of the instructions in the recipe card.
- Cream the butter. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and eggs.
- Add the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Slowly add to the butter mixture, beating on low speed. Fold in the oats and raisins.
- Bake. Scoop balls of cookie dough 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
My Cookies Spread Too Much! What Do I Do?
First, to prevent this from happening, be sure to carefully measure the ingredients – especially the flour. Also, be sure to that the butter is just room temperature, not overly softened. Too soft butter is the main reason cookies spread too much.
But, if you pull the oatmeal and raisin cookies from the oven and realize they’re spread too much, don’t worry! Just take a knife or spatula and push the edges back into the center. It’ll make the center nice and puffy while also giving the edges a nice clean shape.
Tips for the Best Cookies
For the best oatmeal raisin cookies, keep the following things in mind.
- Measure the ingredients correctly. As noted above, this is super important with both the flour and sugars. Too little flour can mean the cookies spread too much while using extra flour will mean they don’t spread enough. And the sugar gives the moist and soft texture, so be sure to use enough.
- Allow room for spreading. These cookies will spread on the pan so be sure to leave plenty of room. I recommend at least 2 inches between balls of dough.
- Don’t overbake. While the outsides will begin to brown, the centers should still appear slightly underbaked when you remove them from the oven.
- Use rolled oats. Using the correct oats is important when making these oatmeal raisin cookies. Be sure to grab old fashioned rolled oats, not instant oats or steel cut oats.
Proper Storage
- Room temperature. These oatmeal raisin cookies will stay soft and chewy for up to 5 days at room temperature. Just be sure to store them in either a food storage container or ziptop bag.
- Freezer. Oatmeal raisin cookies freeze very well! Allow them to cool completely then transfer to a freezer-safe storage container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or pop an individual cookie into the microwave for 30 seconds or so.
More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Best Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Christmas Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups 3 sticks butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats not quick oats
- 1 1/2 cups raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together with an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and eggs.
- While mixing on low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture. Fold in the oats and raisins until fully incorporated.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough into 1 1/2-inch dough balls and place two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes until slightly golden around the edges. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
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45 comments on “Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies”
Excellent!
Thanks Julie!
I’m a 58 year old guy making cookies first time ever. Used this recipe and man are these cookies delish!
Glad you liked them Mark! Thanks!
Hi Jill and boys,
I am a long time baker and noticed on your video that you didn’t include the Eggs or Vanilla. Just thought I would mention it. One of my daughters-in-love is a new baker and follows a lot of videos.
I love all your posts!
Thanks Charlene! Yes, we missed a few ingredients on this video. Thanks for letting us know!
Add a tablespoon of corn starch to your flour mixture. Prevents cookies from spreading every time.
Add 1/2 to 1 cup of sour cream to the dough!
Loved it. Subbed out the butter for ghee (1:1 ratio of water to ghee to total the amount of butter. So 3/4c ghee, 3/4c=water instead of 1 1/2 c butter) and added white chocolate with white raisins. IT WAS FIRE
Yay! Thanks Louise!
Can I use oat flour in this recipe to make it gluten free? If so, what measurement? Thanks!
Hi Laura. I would try a 1:1 substitute ratio on the out flour to start.
A great cookie!! Turned out wonderfully good!!!
Thank you Carolyn!
These cookies came out absolutely fantastic! Great flavor, crispy around the edges and chewy in the center. This will definitely be my go to recipe. I wish I can attach pictures to this review because they came out beautiful
That’s great Jasmine! Thank you!
I have two suggestions that I always include in my cookies. First I hydrate my raisins, you can use bourbon or warm water. Next I always toast the nuts.
Do you drink the Bourbon before or after you put the raisins in?