Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe – soft and chewy, buttery cookies, made with simple ingredients in 30 minutes.

Original recipe posted in August 2014. Photos updated in January 2019.

This Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe makes chewy and thick cookies full of flavor.

I love oatmeal raisin cookies but most of the time they bake pretty flat and I have to take the time and experiment on how to have them not spread too much.

I tested a few different options and found out that the amount of oats to flour does matter a lot.

This is a great way to enjoy your oats, which we all know are rich in fiber and low in fat. Another favorite way to prepare oats is to make overnight oats, like these Chia Almond Overnight Oats.

What ingredients do I need to make this Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe?

• flour
• rolled oats
• butter
• egg
• salt
• raisins
• vanilla extract
• baking soda
• cinnamon
• brown sugar
• regular sugar

Full amounts of ingredients in the recipe carb below.

How to make oatmeal raisin cookies?

All ingredients need to be at room temperature.

Line two baking sheets  with parchment paper or Silpat and set aside.

Soak raisins in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain. (optional)

1. Beat together butter, brown and white sugar in a bowl for 2 minutes.
2. Add vanilla and egg and beat to combine.
3. In a bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
4. Add dry ingredients to the butter and beat to combine. Stir in the oats, then raisins.
5. Chill the batter for 15-30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
7. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out dough and roll into balls.
8. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 11-12 minutes, until the edges are golden.
9. Let the cookies cool down for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
10. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 5 days.

Why do oatmeal raisin cookies spread?

You may  have experienced this issue with oatmeal raisin cookies – spreading. Not fun and in fact I prefer thick and chewy cookies anytime to flat and crunchy.

There are 2 main reasons:

1. Not chilling the dough.
2. The batter has too much oats in it and not enough flour.

The only time when my old cookies wouldn’t spread is when I chill the dough for at least for a day.

Well one day, I didn’t have the time to chill my dough for more than 30 minutes. This is how this recipe was created.

What kind of raisins to use in this Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe? Do you need to soak them?

Any raisins would work. If they are moist out of the package, there is no need to soak them. If the raisins are very dry, soak in hot water for 10 minutes and then drain well, before adding to the cookie dough.

These cookies are buttery, with vanilla and cinnamon undertones. Raisins are sweet and moist. Talking about raisins, you can soaking yours in a cup of rum of whisky for 10 minutes, to add extra flavor to the cookies.

The recipe is simple and easy to adapt. You can use golden or regular raisins, or if you don’t like raisins substitute them with cranberries or dried cherries or even add chocolate chips. You can also add chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans for example, but only up to 1/2 cup, because the texture of the cookies will be totally different.

How to store baked oatmeal raisin cookies?

Store these cookies in a cookie jar at room temperature and they should be good for at least 4-5 days.

More recipes with rolled oats:

• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• These Oatmeal Cookies Without Butter from Food Doodles can be made with different types of oil. They’re mixed together by hand, without a mixer, and the dough doesn’t need to be chilled. Super delicious and I recommend that you try them.
• Easy Chewy Apple Oatmeal Cookies
• 3 Ingredient No-Bake Peanut Butter Oat Squares