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 and you don’t even have to chill the cookie dough.
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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.
Oatmeal cookies are a teensy bit healthier than traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies because they are packed with 2 cups of oats which is the main ingredient here.
These are a nice way to round out your holiday cookie platter along with classic Christmas Sugar Cookies, our irresistible Tea Cakes, and if you haven’t tried them, Candied Pecans are a fun addition.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ingredients
- Baking Basics – All-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soday (combining both improves the texture), also cinnamon, salt and Vanilla extract for flavor.
- 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
- Rolled oats (also called “old-fashioned” oats) – give the cookies their signature chewy texture. 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.
- Raisins – add moisture and a tangy sweetness. See my tip below on how to keep them moist.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – make gooey cookies without being too sweet
The Secret to 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. There’s no need to chill the cookie dough.
- 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.
Natasha’s Tip for Even Cookies
For easier and even portioning, use a 3 Tbsp or 2 oz cookie scoop to portion and make cookie dough balls.
To Store Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Once cookies are at room temperature, store them in a sealed airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for longer storage.
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 – similar to Cranberry Cookies
- 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
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
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp 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 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- 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.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- 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.
- Add oats, raisins, and chocolate and mix until just incorporated. The dough will be thick.
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
- Refrigerate Dough: You can make the cookie dough ahead and refrigerate it for up to 2 days (cover tightly). When you’re ready, scoop and bake as directed.
- To Freeze Dough: scoop the dough into balls, freeze until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake the cookie dough straight from frozen — no thawing needed — just add 1–2 extra minutes to the bake time.
- To Store Cookies: once cookies are at room temperature, store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
All-Time Favorite Cookie Recipes
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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!