Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe
Our all-time favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. These are big, soft, and chewy with melty chocolate morsels. There’s one simple trick that will keep your cookies and raisins moist for days.
Oatmeal cookies are healthier than traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies because they are packed with 2 cups of oats which is the main ingredient here.
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These are a nice way to round out your holiday cookie platter along with classic Sugar Cookies, our irresistible Russian Tea Cakes, and if you haven’t tried them, Candied Pecans are a fun addition.
Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
You’ll love the texture of these oatmeal cookies – they are the perfect balance of thick, chewy, gooey, and soft. They also keep well and stay soft for days. All you need to go with these is a tall glass of milk.
Ingredients for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- All-purpose flour – helps the cookie hold together
- Baking soda and baking powder – combining 2 leavenings gives these rise and a softer texture
- Cinnamon and salt – add flavor and balance the sweetness
- Butter – use unsalted and softened at room temperature.
- Sugar – combining packed brown sugar and granulated sugar gives these just the right amount of sweetness and golden color.
- Egg – adds moisture and helps to bind the cookie dough together
- Vanilla extract – adds flavor and aroma to the cookies
- Rolled oats (also called “old-fashioned” oats) – give the cookies their signature chewy texture.
- Raisins – add moisture and a tangy sweetness
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – make the cookies gooey and irresistible without being too sweet.
Our Best Tip for Soft & Moist Oatmeal Cookies
Presoak your raisins! It’s a quick step and doesn’t add extra time – I usually do that first while I’m measuring out my other ingredients and preheating the oven. It will make all the difference in how your cookies turn out. Raisins can get really tough and chewy in the oven but pre-soaking ensures they will come out plump and soft. They also keep more moisture in your cookie.
Also, as with any cookie recipe, if you love a soft cookie, make sure you don’t over-bake.
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Prep – line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and pre-soak raisins in warm water for 15 minutes then drain and pat dry.
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
- Add oats, raisins and chocolate – mix until combined.
- Scoop dough – Make 2-inch cookie dough balls and place dough balls on prepared baking sheets. Press them down slightly with the back of a measuring cup.
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 12-14 minutes at 350˚F. Do not overbake. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Pro Tip: for easier and even portioning, use a 3 Tbsp or 2 oz cookie scoop to portion and make cookie dough balls.
To Store Cookies
Once cookies are at room temperature, store them in a sealed airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Oatmeal Cookie Variations
We love the addition of chocolate chips and raisins, but this oatmeal cookie dough is a great base for a variety of oatmeal cookies. These variations will produce a sweeter cookie compared to using semisweet chocolate, but they are tasty:
- White chocolate chips and dried cranberries
- Dried Cherries and white chocolate chunks
- M&M’s – use colorful M&M chocolate candy and try seasonal colors to make these festive instead of using chocolate chips.
- Raisins with toasted and chopped pecans
Common Questions
You can substitute with quick-cooking oats instead of old-fashioned rolled oats if that is what you have on hand. We prefer rolled oats because they are thicker and have more texture. I have even used extra-thick rolled oats with these cookies.
As long as you’ve measured the ingredients correctly, you should have very thick cookie dough and there is no chilling required with this recipe.
As far as cookies go, this is one of the healthier cookie options because it has a lot of oats and fiber, but it is still a cookie and should be enjoyed in moderation.
All-Time Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love fresh home-baked cookies, then you won’t want to miss these top-rated cookie recipes:
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Russian Tea Cakes
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Almond Snowball Cookies
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are definitely a worthy contender for the Christmas cookie platter. I hope this becomes a new favorite cookie recipe for you.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe
Big, soft and chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with melty chocolate morsels. If you soak the raisins and don’t overbake, these will stay soft for days.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
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Prep: Preheat the oven to 350˚F with a rack in the center of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Set raisins in a bowl of warm water and soak for 15 minutes then drain well and pat dry with paper towels.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
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In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (2 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla, mixing to fully incorporate. With the mixer on, gradually beat in flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
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Add oats, raisins, and chocolate and mix until just incorporated. The dough will be thick.
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Divide into 16 (2-inch diameter) dough balls (use a 3-Tbsp or 2 oz cookie scoop for even portioned cookies). Flatten each ball slightly with the back of a measuring cup.
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Bake one baking sheet at a time for 12-14 minutes or until edges are slightly golden then remove from the oven right away. Do not over-bake. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
This is a family favorite recipe – the best oatmeal raisin cookies we’ve ever made! Can I make the dough ahead, and refrigerate overnight to bake the next day or day after?
Thank you for all the fabulous recipes!
Hi Laura! I’m glad your family loves this. I haven’t tried making this recipe ahead and refrigerating the dough. I think that will work. Please share with us how it goes if you try it! 🙂
I am a devoted FAN of yours. And thank you.
I want to TOAST the raw oatmeal. Will that make the cookies more chunchy?
dianna
Hi Dianna, I haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
it says light brown sugar can you use dark brown sugar honestly I don’t know what the different is between them lol i’m feel so stupid at times. can’t wait to try them everything I tried had been awesome now when I want to try something I check here first and if I don’t find it I will look somewhere else but your my number 1 go to site
Hi Tanya! Here is an article you may find helpful to explain the difference between light brown and dark brown sugar.
Yes, you can use dark brown sugar. It can affect the texture and make them more chewy.
Do you have any tips for those of us who do not have a stand mixer?
Hi Jane, I have made this with a hand mixer. The dough gets quite thick, so you will need to fold in raisins and chocolate chips using a firm spatula at the end, but you can get it to combine with the oatmeal using an electric hand mixer.
Do your oatmeal raisin cookies come out correctly even without the chocolate chips? I know some recipes you can change due to it needing something from each ingredient to make it work.
Hi Natasha! We love the addition of chocolate chips and raisins, but this oatmeal cookie dough is a great base for a variety of oatmeal cookies so it should be just fine.
Hi Natasha-
Love, love this recipe!! My cookies were beautiful! I used 1 full cup of the chocolate covered Raisins…and they were perfect.
*I have made a few other of your recipes and never disappoint.
Thank you for sharing.
Aaaw, thank you for sharing that with us! I’m so glad you love them.
Can I substitute Stevia for sugar? Can I use Eggbeaters for no cholesterol?
Hi Robyn, I haven’t tried a sugar or egg substitute in this recipe to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
If you substitute with dry cranberries do those need to soak as well?
Hi Jessica, I would to make them more tender and the cookie will be easier to chew if they are soaked. It’s not 100% necessary but we think it’s better.
I made a batch today and flavor wise are amazing just what an oatmeal must taste, used craisins, chocolate chips and pecans bake them about 13 min but they did not spread out, not sure were i went wrong
Hi Carmen, it’s hard to say without being there, but I would ensure there were no alterations or substitutions to the recipe.
Hi Natasha, I agree! Soaking the raisins is the trick. I soak mine in the beaten egg with the vanilla. My recipe is larger though and calls for 3 beaten eggs. Thank you for all of your recipes. They are fantastic.
You’re welcome, Carol! 🙂 Thank you.
Natasha’s recipes are ALWAYS on point!! When I want to make something that doesn’t intimidate me I look here first! I had a few apples left from picking so I substituted apples for the raisins and they are perfect! Thank you for always having “Anyone can do it!” Recipes!
That’s great, Samantha! Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad you love my recipes and find them easy to follow.
Can I leave the raisins out and the cookies still be moist? I’m not a fan of raisins.
Hi Mary. I have not made them without but I think that could work fine. Some of my readers use Craisins in their place, so that could be an option as well.
Excellent tasting cookies. I added chopped walnuts to the raisins and choc. Chips. My cookies fell apart the next day. Do i need to adjust the recipe? I baked each baked for 13 minutes.
Hi John! I’m glad you loved these cookies. One of my readers reported making these with walnuts successfully but I have not made them using chocolate chips and walnuts to advise. You may have to experiment with the ingredient amounts to see about getting a better result.
I made these cookies today, and they came out absolutely incredible. So delicious and tasty! Natasha your recipes never fail me. I can’t wait for your cookbook to be released!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Ashley!
I had a request for Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I made these today and OMG, can I say delicious?! I used dried cranberries in place of raisins b/c I also whipped up 2 loaves of your yummy banana bread and used up all my raisins for that recipe. This is a winner!
Love it! Thanks a lot for sharing that with us, I’m happy to see your review!
I have been baking for years and years but believe it or not I have never made Oatmeal Raisin. So when a coworker said oatmeal raisin was his fav, I turned to you. I almost doubled the raisins and did not do the chocolate chips. They turned out great. Love all you do!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that great review with us, Sally!
I haven’t made oatmeal cookies in years – these are very delicious!! I used raisins and pecans
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Audrey! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I really wanted to give these five stars but mine did not turn out as well as I’d hoped and certainly do not look like the picture. I found the dough dry and therefore used my hands to form the cookies. While they taste very good, they did not spread and stayed in ball form.
Hi Kathy! I’m sorry you had that experience. Did you make any substitutions? It sounds like it could be a result of too much flour. I would look over the recipe to ensure you did not miss any steps or ingredients. Also, check out this tutorial on how to measure ingredients correctly. I hope this helps troubleshoot.
I made these once before and absolutely love them! Question though. I want to make these for a bake sale, but I am making more than one type of cookie so I’m thinking to prep and refrigerate the doughs the night before and bake them the day of. Can that be done with these? Will it change anything? Thanks
Hi Rebeca, I haven’t tried making this recipe ahead. I think that will work. please share with us how it goes if you try that!
Where is the video????
So many times I look for the video and it’s not there I’m a bad learner reading or watching pictures I can watch a video and I got it nailed, or am I missing something if there is a way to click on something to obtain a video please tell me, and thanks Natasha you need to be on TV.
Hi Fredrick! Thank you! Not all of my recipes have videos, this one does not. If a recipe includes a video, you will see (VIDEO) in the title of the recipe otherwise it is like this one, a written and picture format.
Made these today. I used splenda
brown sugar and splenda white sugar to cut down on the sweetness. They were delicious!
Hi Joann, great to hear that splenda worked well! Thank you for sharing that with us.
I baked these today for my husband, he said( they are wonderful you can’t buy cookies that Good,) followed the recipe to a T Thank You
Thank you for the review, Barb! So happy they were a hit.
I made those cookies. I only had mini chocolate chips and used them. My all time favorite recipe for oatmeal cookies. So delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Carol!
Made these cookies today, they turned out amazing! Thank-you for all your recipes , All your recipes are fantastic, thank-you Natasha, you are my go to for all my recipes!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Judy!
These are great! I used cranberries instead of raisins and added some walnuts. Hubby loved them!
Great to hear that, Terrie! I hope that your family will love all the recipes that you will try for them.
I want to make these today, but we aren’t fans of raisins in our cookies. Would I need to add more chocolate chips or can I leave it the same and just omit the raisins?
Hi Nicole, I bet that could work! Have you tried our Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe?
Delicious! I didn’t have chocolate chips on hand, but I added raisins to half the dough and Heath toffee bits to the other half. Both kinds were perfect!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Delie!
Just made this for the first time. We are eating them off the cooling rack as fast as I take them out of the oven. Simply delish!
Aren’t they so good! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I loved these cookies. I’m a definite oatmeal cookie kinda gal! I want to try the cranberry/white chocolate, do i just substitute using the same amount? Thanks and keep on cooking. I use a lot of your recipes. 😉
Hi Vivien, I’m so glad you loved it! I bet that could work! If you experiment, I’d love to know how you like this recipe!
Do you think extra raisins could be added instead of chocolate chips or pecans?
Hi Dana, yes. I imagine that will work just fine!
I’m wondering the same thing because I do not like chocolate chips in my oatmeal raisin cookies so I’m wondering if I should double the raisins if I don’t use chips.
Hi Angie! This oatmeal cookie dough is an excellent base for various oatmeal cookies so I don’t think it would be necessary to double the raisins unless you want more.
I soak my raisins in beaten egg(s) and vanilla for about and hour. This seems to make them even tastier.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Carol! I’m happy you enjoyed it!
I have a grandson allergic to eggs? Can you recommend a substitute?
Hi Kathy, I haven’t tested this without egg so I’m not sure. I wish I had a good answer for you.
I tried this recipe yesterday and it is definitely one I am going to try again. When mixing the ingredients, I was a bit sceptical about the amount of oats that was required as the butter/sugar-dry ingredients mixture was not sizeable in comparison. I however went with the recipe as is and it turned out brilliant. The first batch did not brown as much, although the oven had reached the required temperature before they were baked. I however stuck to the indicated 14 minutes baking time and they turned out great! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m glad you followed the recipe and loved it!
These are delicious. I was looking for something different to try and they turned out amazing. Definitely adding to my repoitraire
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Jill!
Can I make this cookie recipe in a standard held mixer or would I need a heavy mixer? I was always told when it came to oatmeal raisin cookie that dough is very thick needs a heavy mixer then standard. Thought I ask cause I really want to make your recipe!
Hi Angela, I have made this with a hand mixer. The dough gets quite thick so you will need to fold in raisins and chocolate chips using a firm spatula at the end, but you can get it to combine with the oatmeal using an electric hand mixer.
Has anyone made these and frozen them? I am thinking of making them for company in a few days time and would like to bake them now and freeze for later.
I haven’t tried freezing them to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
hey there everyone :), question: do I have to add the chocolate chips? can I just make them with the oatmeal/ raisins – or do I need to add chips or nuts to it as well..I am looking for a nice soft chewy plain oatmeal/raisin cookie
Hi Jenn, this oatmeal cookie dough is an excellent base for various oatmeal cookies, and I bet that could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I have read if you leave out the chocolate chips (or nuts or any listed add in…) to add 2 Tb. flour to the dry mix.
Thanks for asking this. My son doesn’t like choc chips or nuts (I’m not sure how he’s even related to me lol), so I wondered the same thing. 🙂
Is there a way this could be made without dairy? These look fantastic but my son is allergic to dairy so looking for the best way to make these without butter.
Hi Bryan, I wish I had an answer for a dairy-free substitution, but I haven’t tested that to advise. If you happen to experiment, I’d love to know how you like this recipe!
Made these yesterday so good. Turn great. Hopefully they will last until Christmas. Lol
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Annette!
Loved these. I don’t care for chocolate so used the pecans. Also made a batch of the cranberry vanilla chips – only added a bit of orange zest. I was so impressed at the soft moistness of these gems. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Linda! Good to know that you enjoyed this recipe with pecans too!
NICE recipe..Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome, thanks for the review!
I haven’t made oatmeal cookies in years but your post inspired me to bring them back to our lives 😊. They came out delicious! Thank you for sharing 😊
I’m so glad you loved them, Anna! Thank you for sharing your awesome review with me!
I soak the raisins in the egg and always double the batch as 16 cookies old last long in our family
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Nana!
It’s cookie season and I have been baking different cookies almost every day! These are a huge hit with my family! Chewy, delicious – just like we like them!
Hi Anna, great to hear that these cookies are always a hit! Thank you for the review.
These look delicious! Thinking of changing the raisins to craisins and chocolate chips to white chips. Don’t think it’ll change the texture or anything, do you? TIA
Hi Tammy, I haven’t tried both of those substitutions, but I bet it could work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are so delicious! Everyone loved them!
HI Katerina, I’m so happy to hear that!
Whipped up a batch of these this afternoon and they did not disappoint! Perfectly moist and flavorful; delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sara!
Natasha, I buy oatmeal/ raisin cookies from walmart, the no added sugar ones stay soft much longer than regular. I thought if anyone would know; you would. They taste the same, only O/R does this, other kinds don’t. Something to ponder on.
Hi Jerry, I haven’t tried the ones at Walmart but great to know!