Best Recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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These oatmeal raisin cookies are ultra chewy, extra buttery, and spiced with bold molasses flavor. This recipe has been tested and perfected over nearly a decade and is sure to rival any gooey bakery style oatmeal raisin cookie you can get your hands on! You can also find this recipe on page 31 of my cookbook.

Why? Because out of all of the classic cookies in the world and all of the eccentric and extra cookies that exist alongside them, I will always be an oatmeal raisin gal through and through. 

They’re my absolute favorite. They’re jam packed with texture, full of warm spices, filled with plump raisins, and when done right, can leave you with that eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-your-head, can’t help but “mmmm” feeling.

And that’s what this new and improved and better-than-ever recipe is. A perfected version of my already pretty darn awesome original recipe, influenced by years of learning how to make a great recipe. 

MORE MOLASSES: I am a huge fan of molasses, and just a touch more of it in these cookies amped up the flavor just the right amount. I didn’t want to add more cinnamon but was rather looking for that deep bold almost burned (in a good way!) caramel flavor. 

DOUBLE THE SIZE: I wanted the updated recipe to be like the gooey bakery oatmeal raisin cookies I recognize when I see them. They almost flop over when you pick them up without falling apart, and you just know one bite is going to be soft and cushy. There are still instructions for making standard size cookies, but I will say that the larger size is most definitely a superior cookie. 

For the cookie dough, you will need:
• raisins
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• ground cinnamon
• salt
• unsalted butter
• light brown sugar
• granulated sugar
• egg 
• vanilla extract
• molasses
• old-fashioned oats 

RAISINS: I am a huge raisin lover, so of course, I wouldn’t suggest you leave them out of these cookies! If you don’t love them as much as I do, you can always use dried cranberries or golden raisins if you like those better than regular raisins. If you are going to omit them completely, you’ll just have some really delicious chewy oatmeal cookies. 

OTHER ADD-INS: you can add chocolate chips and/or nuts to this cookie recipe without much issue. I’d use about ½ cup of chocolate chips and/or ¼ cup of chopped nuts. See my chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with walnuts recipe if you’re interested in this combo!

DOUBLE THE RECIPE: you’ll see in the recipe card that this recipe yields 8 large cookies. The recipe doubles beautifully, so you can have 16 large cookies without issue. Again, you can make these cookies standard size, which will give you 16 standard size cookies by just using one standard scoop. Pay close attention to the bake time! I cannot stress enough that overbaking them will dry them out. 

SOAK THE RAISINS: I’ve said it already and I will say it again… Do not skip this step! Soaking the raisins will ensure they are as plump and hydrated as possible. This is especially helpful if you are using sad raisins (no shame!) that need some life brought back to them. Even if you’re using fresh raisins, you still want to soak them.

WEIGH THE FLOUR: I mention in all of my cookie recipes that weighing flour is one guaranteed way to get the exact results you want time after time. The consistency of weighing ingredients is unmatched when it comes to baking. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, I urge you to get one, and in the meantime, learn how to measure properly.

DO NOT USE INSTANT OATS OR STEEL CUT OATS: not all oats are equal. Instant oats are far too fine for chewy oatmeal cookies, and using them runs the risk that you lose all of your moisture to the oats and not the flour. Steel cut oats are far too rigid and will not hydrate without being cooked. Old fashioned rolled oats only!

CHILL IF NEEDED: while my testing did not require chilling of the dough for a successful cookie, your mileage may vary. If you find that your cookies are spreading in the oven, chill the cookie dough for about 1 hour, and then try again.

DO NOT OVERBAKE: I cannot stress to you enough that overbaking this oatmeal cookie recipe will result in crunchy cookies, which is not what we’re aiming for here. Be sure to pull them out of the oven just when the edges are set. You’ll still want to see some gooeyness on the tops and you may even be able to spot some bubbles from the baking soda doing its thing.  

These cookies are just the right amount of sweetness with a touch of saltiness, they have at least a couple juicy raisins in each bite, and they really do rock my I-could-eat-these-for-the-rest-of-my-life world.

This recipe is a great version of a classic and the result is a really really good oatmeal raisin cookie, which can be hard to come by. Follow my recipe exactly and you’re all set for success. 

Storing this Recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal raisin cookies stay soft and fresh stored tightly at room temperature for about 5 days. If they start to lose their moisture, popping them in the microwave for 6-8 seconds does wonders for the texture!