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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

4.82 from 44 votes
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posted: 01/26/20

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy
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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are perfectly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, exactly the way you would want them to be.

stack of oatmeal raisin cookies on a marble countertop with more on a cooling rack in the background

I have a SUPER excited announcement. Nathan has come to work with me full time! After more than 15 years with the same company, he left his position as CTO there to help me run my business and see where we can take it together.

This is exciting for so so SO many different reasons. It is providing more freedom for our family, it is allowing him to pursue some of his passions, and it is a huge help to me.

I will also say that it is a pleasant surprise to find that after all this time with one person, I not only like spending my days working with him, I really love it.

Hard to believe that something that started as a fun little hobby 8 years ago is now able to support our family. It is incredible and in no small way thanks to all of you. We can’t say enough how much we appreciate you following along.

In order to celebrate, I made you Nathan’s very favorite, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.

And you will be happy to know that Nathan is already working on quality control. These cookies are the result of lots of taste testing on his part until I made the perfect cookie. He’s already hard at work.

READER REVIEW

Oh My Word!!! Look no further. The best oatmeal raisin cookie receipe I’ve ever made. Followed receipe exactly. I’ll never use another receipe. Thank you soooo much.

What Makes this Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Perfect

The crispy exterieor, perfect spread, and delicious chewiness of this cookie is due to one main thing: the perfect balance of white and brown sugar.

The brown sugar gives it the chewiness, while the white sugar helps them spread and form their crispy exterior. The result is a perfect cookie.

overhead view of six oatmeal raisin cookies on a wire cooling rack on a marble countertop

Cookie Making Tips

  1. Use a good baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The baking surface changes how they bake. I love these sheets for Nordic Ware.
  2. Measure the flour by scooping it into the measuring cup and then leveling it off. Do not scoop directly from the container with the measuring cup. This avoids packing the flour and using too much.
  3. Use fresh baking soda. Test it by dropping a little in vinegar; it should bubble immediately.
  4. Room temperature butter helps the cookies spread the right amount. You should be able to push a finger in to dent the butter but not all the way through. And the butter will actually feel cold still.
  5. Make sure you cream your butter and sugar together enough. The sugar adds air to the butter and is essential for a good cookie.
  6. Pour in all the flour at once. Mix on low just enough to get most of it into the batter, and then turn to high for a few seconds to incorporate the rest. This prevents over beating the dough.
  7. Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop to get uniform sized cookies that will bake evenly.

Additionally the cinnamon in this recipe is an easy indication of how well the dry ingredients are mixed. You don’t want to see any patches or clumps of brown cinnamon.

Measuring Flour

PLEASE NOTE: I’ve received several comments about these cookies not spreading. After having them tested by several people and watching my 12 year old make them, I think the issue is in the measuring of the flour.

As mentioned above, it is critical to this recipe that you use a spoon to scoop your flour from whatever container you keep it in.

  1. Use a spoon to scoop the flour out of your flour container.
  2. Scoop it into a dry measuring cup. (A measuring cup meant for dry goods.)
  3. Level it off with something that has a straight edge – like a spatula.

If you use the measuring cup to scoop out the flour you will end up with up to 25% more flour, which will greatly impact this recipe, and likely will result in cookies that don’t spread.

close up of an oatmeal raisin cookie on a marble surface with a bite missing

Freezing the Dough

You can bake these cookies right away without chilling or you can freeze the dough balls for later.

To freeze, form the dough into balls as instructed in the recipe card. Place the dough balls on a piece of wax paper in the freezer and freeze for 1 hour. Then transfer to an air tight container until you want to bake them.

When ready to bake, place directly from the freezer onto a parchment lined baking sheet and into the hot preheated oven. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Please note that the frozen dough balls won’t spread quite as much as when baked immediately, but they will still be delicious.

Storing

Eat these cookies warm from the oven or store in an air tight container for up to one week.

This is a pretty solid cookie and would work for shipping if you are a sweet soul who does that sort of thing.

Other Delicious Cookies

If you make these soft oatmeal raisin cookies or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know how it went!

close up overhead view of a chewy oatmeal raisin cookie on a wire cooling rack
overhead view of six oatmeal raisin cookies on a wire cooling rack on a marble countertop
4.82 from 44 votes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Serves: 32 cookies
(tap # to scale)
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 11 minutes
Total: 31 minutes
These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are perfectly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, exactly the way you would want them to be.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour see note
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1 cup raisins

Instructions

  • Preheat to oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, until compltely mixed.
  • In a large bowl, with a hand held mixer or using a stand mixer, beat together the butter brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will take between 3 and 6 minutes.
  • Add the eggs one at a time. Then add in the vanilla. Be sure to scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula before each addition.
  • Add in the flour mixture. With the mixer on it's lowest setting, beat the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until it just begins to combine. Then turn the mixture up and finish combinging it until it is just combined. Be careful not to continue mixing after the flour is combined in.
  • Mix in the oats and then the raisins.
  • Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookies and roll them into balls. Place 2 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. For best results, rotate the pan half way through. Remove fro the oven, let cool on the baking sheet for two minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Notes

Make sure to measure the flour by scooping it with a large spoon from the container into a 1 cup dry measuring cup and then leveling off. If you use your measuring cup to scoop from the container, you will get as much as 25% more flour which will result in the cookies not spreading.
Serving: 1cookie Calories: 147kcal (7%) Carbohydrates: 23g (8%) Protein: 2g (4%) Fat: 6g (9%) Saturated Fat: 3g (19%) Cholesterol: 23mg (8%) Sodium: 78mg (3%) Potassium: 76mg (2%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 10g (11%) Vitamin A: 168IU (3%) Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) Calcium: 13mg (1%) Iron: 1mg (6%)
Author: Lisa Longley
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
overhead view of six oatmeal raisin cookies on a wire cooling rack on a marble countertop

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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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Hi! I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here.

Reader Interactions

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  1. Sarah W says

    I’m going to try this tomorrow with mini chocolate chips instead of raisins. I needed an oatmeal cookie recipe to use up all my old fashioned oats – this sounds perfect! Thanks!!

    • Joanne Marie says

      These cookies would be perfect if margarine & Crisco was used instead of butter
      Butter always upsets my stomach…plus Crisco in cookies makes them extra crisp.
      I roll out a few pecans also for extra chewiness. Used this receipted for over 50 years. Just a small amount of Crisco does wonders. Just a regular cookie sheet.

      • Lisa Longley says

        I’m glad that you found a fix for your upset stomach! But I couldn’t disagree with you more. The taste of butter always trumps the taste of margarine & Crisco in my opinion. That said, I always believe that people should do what works for them in their own kitchens.

        • Melissa Kline says

          Joanne I agree whole heartedly with YOU. Crisco is a tried a true crowd pleaser. Every recipe that calls for Crisco is AMAZING, whether it’s buttercream frosting or cookies. I took a baking class taught by a professional and when she told us to mix butter and crisco in our buttercream I turned my nose up, but she was right, WAY better recipe with the shortening!!!! My mother and grandmother always baked with it and they are phenomenal bakers!

          • Lisa Longley says

            We’re going to have to agree to disagree, Melissa. I think cookies taste so much better with butter. Additionally, if its the spread you are frustrated about, Crisco isn’t going to fix that. Cookies with Crisco actually spread less than those with butter.

        • Kathy Carpenter says

          I only have quick oats sew

          • Lisa Longley says

            Hi Kathy, I’m worried that if you make it with quick cooking oats you are going to be disappointed. I actually think these cookies are worth a trip to the grocery store.

    • Claire says

      5 stars
      First time making oatmeal raisin cookies and these are the best! This will be my go-to recipe

      • Lisa Longley says

        I’m so glad to hear that, Claire! Thank you for taking the time to come back and tell me!

        • Mariea says

          5 stars
          I made these cookies at work in an ALF, so I quadrupled the receipt and they turned out perfect. I will use this one again.

          • Lisa Longley says

            So happy to hear this Mariea!

  2. Mary says

    Yum! And Congratulations!!

    • Lisa Longley says

      Thank you so much Mary!

  3. Kate Whale says

    I mad these and although the taste is good, they didn’t spread and don’t look like the picture at all. Perhaps I mixed them too much? I was a little disappointed but might try again.

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so sorry you are disappointed. I always want people to love my recipes. Without me being in the kitchen with you, it is so hard to know what happened. I would urge you to double check the tips section of the post, and say that most of the time cookie recipes don’t work is because the flour was over measured or the butter wasn’t the right temperature. It is also really important that the butter was beat into the sugar for long enough to be really fluffy.

      • Lindsay says

        Same here- they didn’t spread. Butter was room temperature and I mixed it within time limits. Hmm.

        • Lisa Longley says

          Lindsay, I’m really sorry these didn’t work for you. I just had my 12 year old son test out this recipe and they spread just like in the photos. The only other thing I can think of is the flour. Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and then level it off?

    • Teri says

      Kate, I had the same problem. Mine look like half baseballs. I baked a test cookie first and you’re right … it doesn’t spread. Then I added 2 tbsp water … still didn’t spread. Then I added 2 more tbsp of water … still didn’t spread. Then I added 2 tbsp butter … the dough spread a little and I finally gave up and just baked all of them. Tried pampered chef stone. Tried metal cookie sheet. Tried metal cookie sheet with parchment paper. Did not like this recipe at all.

      • Lisa Longley says

        Again, I’m not sure what happened Teri. What was your butter like when you started baking?

  4. Pam Young says

    Best oatmeal raisin cookies ever!! I’ve made them twice in the
    Last month . I had to bake mine longer. I’ll never use another ripe!! Thank you so much!!

  5. Lorrie says

    Just want to make sure I’m reading the recipe correctly- 14 Tbsp of butter?

    • Lisa Longley says

      You are.

    • Tracy Smith says

      I am making these today and thought the same. Isn’t there an alternative to having to measure out 14 spoonfuls of butter?

      • Lisa Longley says

        You can certainly try making them with less, but I don’t think they will turn out very good. Fourteen tablespoons is the amount I use in a lot of my great cookie recipes.

  6. Blake says

    5 stars
    These are deeeeeeliciooooous. To everyone that disliked the recipe because the cookies didn’t spread, did you taste them?! My family cant stay away from them. I’ll definitely be saving this recipe.

    • Lisa Longley says

      So glad you liked them Blake!

  7. Melissa Kline says

    3 stars
    I found this recipe to be good on taste and HORRIBLE on appearance. They looked absolutely NOTHING like the photograph and I followed the recipe to the letter.

    • Lisa Longley says

      Melissa, I’m so sorry that you had such a bad exerpience with these cookies. As mentioned, I watched my 12 year old make these and they turned out just like the photos, so I’m not sure what went wrong. Can you tell me how you measured your flour?

  8. Bree says

    5 stars
    I have recently started liking oatmeal raisin cookies and wanted to try them out myself. This recipe is SO GOOD. Oh my goodness I need to stop myself from eating all of these in one day!! I had no issue with the cookies not spreading but did cook them much longer than recommended to get them nice and crispy but still chewy in the middle! I cooked for 18 minutes, flipping halfway through and they are perfection!

    • Lisa Longley says

      Bree! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know! I really appreciate it!

  9. Cindi Koehler says

    5 stars
    Just now, hot out of the oven. They are PERFECT! Butter gives them wonderful flavor and texture is perfect. I can’t imagine why other people had difficulty with their cookies turning out right. These spread just perfectly. I followed your instructions exactly. They spread just right. I cooked them exactly 14 minutes after turning them around at 10 minutes. I let them sit for 5 minutes after they were done. This is now a fave recipe!!

    • Lisa Longley says

      So happy you liked these, Cindi! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and tell me!

  10. Barbara Waters says

    Just about to try these but cup sizes in the U.K. are invariably different to those in the USA. Would it be possible for you to add the measurements in grams please? Every time I’ve tried a recipe using cups it’s been disastrous!

    • Lisa Longley says

      It should be 256 grams, Barbara.

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