Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
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These oatmeal raisin cookies are chewy, buttery, and sweetened with brown sugar and molasses.
My favorite question to ask people, especially people I’m meeting for the first time is this… If you could choose one dessert to have for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I’m talking if this dessert were on a table with all the most delicious desserts you can think of, you would choose it no matter what. You love it that much. I figured this was the perfect post for my birthday, because birthdays mean desserts, yes?
Also, birthday calories don’t count, so… Bring on the sugar!
Although I have three favorite desserts, one being yellow cake with chocolate frosting and the other being carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, if I am presented with an oatmeal raisin cookie, I will choose it 12 out of 10 times.
This may seem plain Jane, unconventional, unimaginative, but it’s the truth. I’m surprised at how many of you pick “basic” desserts for the answer to this question. So while you read through this… Think about your answer, and don’t feel bad if it’s “regular.” Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a classic.
RAISIN LOVER OR HATER?
Now, let’s talk oatmeal raisin cookies. First of all, there is a time and a place for raisins in food. The time is “always” when the place is “in my oatmeal cookies,” and the time is “never” when the place is “in my carrot cake.”
Are you a raisin lover or hater?
I find most people are the latter, and it makes me sad to think that people love the crap out of grapes and then don’t love them anymore when they’re old and shriveled. Give raisins a chance!
My favorite oatmeal raisins can be many things… Loaded with raisins, containing a small amount of raisins, accompanied by chocolate chips, studded with walnuts… Like I said, many things. I’m not picky about that.
But there is one thing my oatmeal raisin cookies must be and that is CHEWY. If they are crunchy, fahgetaboutit. I want to feel like I’m eating a bowl of oatmeal that is much less healthy for me.
How do I get my oatmeal raisin cookies to stay chewy?
MY SECRET TO CHEWY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
I have a little trick– lots of brown sugar and the addition of some molasses. Ohhh my goodness, molasses. If it weren’t for the molasses in these oatmeal raisin cookies, they would just be pretty good.
The molasses makes these cookies so moist and chewy while also adding a bold, rich, hearty sweetness to the cookie’s flavor. It takes them from pretty good to pretty darn great. Do not leave it out.
You might need to make an extra run to the grocery store for it, but it will be so worth it. Plus, it lasts a long time and I promise I have a whole slew of recipes you can bake that use molasses.
I get my base cookie recipe straight from Betty herself. You’ll see I increased the amount of oats because I feel the original just needed some more oats per bite. The amount of oats in an oatmeal raisin cookie is proportionate to the amount I will enjoy it. Truth.
SOAK THE RAISINS TO KEEP THEM SOFT AND PLUMP
I also like to soak my raisins in warm water before I get to baking. This keeps them plump, beautiful, and adds to all the chewiness these cookies have going on. Just 10 minutes in a bowl of warm water and a little pat dry with some paper towels.
This cookie dough will need to be refrigerated for at least 45 minutes before it’s baked. It is quite sticky, and allowing it to harden up a bit will not only make it easier to roll into balls, but it will keep your cookies from spreading too much during baking.
You can even refrigerate your dough up to 2 days, so this is a great plan ahead cookie recipe.
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. Feel free to add some nuts or some chocolate. You may just have to up your baking time a tad to account for the extra goodies.
These cookies are a great version of a classic. Simple, easy, and an oatmeal raisin crowd pleaser. It’s a good thing I am not forced to choose one dessert to have for the rest of my life, but just know if you ever forced me to, I would single-handedly put Quaker out of business.
Love oatmeal cookies as much as I do? Try any of my oatmeal cookie variations next: oatmeal chocolate chip walnut cookies, oatmeal monster cookies, funfetti white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies.
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons molasses
- 3 cups old fashioned oats do not use quick oats
Instructions
- In a small bowl of warm water, soak raisins for 10 minutes, drain, then blot until dry.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and beat on high until combined. Add the vanilla and molasses and beat on high again until completely combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until combined. With the mixer still on low, add oats and raisins.
- Cover and chill the dough for at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days in the refrigerator. If chilling for longer than an hour, allow dough to sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before rolling and baking.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), scoop dough into your hand and roll into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies for 11-13 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and allow to rest on baking sheet for at least 3 minutes. Cookies will look underdone, and will "set" as they cool on baking sheets. Store cookies covered tightly at room temperature up to 5 days. Baked cookies freeze well, as does unbaked rolled dough (up to 2 months). Do not thaw and add an extra minute to baking time.
Notes
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Happy (belated) Birthday Lynn!! I hope you had a wonderful day 🙂
I LOVE that question. My answer? Chocolate chip cookies. Don’t give me fancy cakes, or delicate pastries, I just want cookies with big chunks of dark chocolate and soft chewy dough. Just like Mum makes….mmmmm….
When I saw these cookies I knew we were made to be friends! A chewy oatmeal cookie is a thing of true beauty! I love raisins too, and the idea of soaking the raisins before adding them to the dough – what a great way to make sure they are soft and chewy! You can be sure that a gluten free version of these will be baking in our kitchen very soon! I can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned for the rest of that molasses 🙂
Hope you had a sweet weekend 🙂
You’re a cookie girl too! I love that about you! A GF version of some oatmeal cookies would be great to add to my collection… So bring it on! Thanks again for all the the wishes, Amy! So glad to have you as a bloggy friend 🙂
I made these gluten free over the weekend, and with a little twist of my own. To be featured on the blog this week! Such an awesome recipe thanks Lynn 🙂
Also, couldn’t stop myself eating the raw cookie dough. So. Good.
I love this. I can’t wait to see your post!!
I made these cookies for my family tonight. I have done a lot of baking for Christmas but my teenagers told me tonight that the holidays were not complete yet because I had not made them Molasses Oatmeal cookies yet. I found your page when I was goggling for Molasses Oatmeal cookies. My kids did not want any raisins or nuts though. This looked to be like a recipe I had lost a few years ago that I loved. These were wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
Great, DeAnna! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Wow fantastic recipe, these cookies have everything that I love. Look very, very, tasty.
I was looking for a chewy oatmeal cookie recipe and these look perfect! However, 1 stick of butter (1/2 of a cup) doesn’t seem like enough in relation to the rest of the ingredients. Especially when compared to other recipes I was considering. Is 1/2 a cup correct or should it be 1 cup of butter? Thanks a lot!
Yep, that’s correct!
Also made these today and they were very good! Since molasses isn’t a known thing here in Belgium I had to replace it with agave syrup. Will definitely try your other oatmeal cookies
So glad you were able to find a replacement and still enjoyed them!
The molasses makes all the difference in these cookies, along with soaking the raisins! They are a family favorite!
So glad you all enjoy them!
I made a batch of these on Sunday… it’s now Thursday and I’m making another batch! So yummy, thanks lynn!
I could not love that more!