Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Whenever I need an easy cookie recipe for any occasion, I make oatmeal cookies. From old-fashioned iced oatmeal cookies to peanut butter oatmeal cookies and oatmeal butterscotch cookies, they’re a bit of a specialty around here. Holidays, bake sales, baby showers… oatmeal cookies are the ultimate crowd-pleaser. And these are the BEST oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve tasted. It’s one of my most requested homemade cookie recipes, and also one of the first desserts I feel I’ve ever perfected.

These oatmeal raisin cookies are soft in the middle, with just the right amount of chew, and crisp edges that get buttery and caramelized in the oven. You’ll know as soon as you sink your teeth into a warm cookie that you’ll be making these again and again. Get ready to pass along the recipe, too!

What Makes This the Best Ever Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe?

• Tried and tested. I’ve been making these classic oatmeal raisin cookies for ages, and I’ve picked up so much cookie-baking wisdom along the way! The right oats, chilling the dough, and a few more tricks will give you perfect cookies every time.
• Soft-baked goodness. Let’s be honest, the best oatmeal raisin cookies are the soft-baked kind. These use plenty of brown sugar, with a pinch of cinnamon, and the best cookie dough-to-raisin ratio to ensure that each cookie is tender, moist, and full of flavor.
• Studded with raisins AND chocolate. In my kitchen, an oatmeal cookie without white chocolate chips is unheard of. So, I include them in this recipe. Oatmeal raisin purists can leave out the chocolate chips and stick to raisins only, if you’d like!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here are the ingredients needed to make this soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies recipe. Find the full amounts in the recipe card below.

• Butter – Brought to room temperature for easy mixing and even baking.
• Dark Brown Sugar – Secret #1, I love using dark brown sugar in oatmeal cookies for the depth of caramelized flavor it brings. Light brown sugar will also work in a pinch.
• Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract is the best in terms of flavor compared to imitation vanilla.
• Flour – Ideally, use a kitchen scale to avoid overmeasuring the flour. If you don’t have one, use the spoon and level method and spoon the flour into your cup measure, and then level off the top. Don’t scoop directly from the bag (too much flour = dry, crumbly cookies).
• Baking Soda – Make sure it’s fresh and not past its expiration date.
• Cinnamon – Cinnamon spice brings all the warm fuzzies to a batch of homemade oatmeal cookies. I’m partial to the roasted Saigon cinnamon from McCormick. You could also use a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice.
• Sea Salt – Secret #2! Like my favorite chocolate chip cookies, I add crunchy sea salt to my oatmeal cookies to enhance the flavor. It has to be flaky salt or coarse salt, and not table salt. A little goes a long way, and it truly makes them extra special.
• Oats – I’ve always used old-fashioned rolled oats for the best oatmeal cookies.
• Raisins – It is an oatmeal raisin cookie, after all. Any raisins you prefer, either regular black raisins, golden raisins, sultanas, or currants. 
• White Chocolate Chips – I even found mini ones that are perfect for these cookies! But you can absolutely use regular or dark chocolate chips in their place or leave the chocolate out entirely; it’s up to you.

The Best Oats for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The oats you use will depend on the texture you’re after in your oatmeal cookies.

• Old-fashioned rolled oats are, hands down, my favorite oats for cookies and baking in general. They’re just chewy enough and yield soft oatmeal cookies with a hearty texture.
• Quick oats will also work. These are coarsely chopped, so they cook more quickly. Some people prefer quick oats in baking as they tend to have a less rustic, more uniform look.

I don’t recommend instant oats, as they tend to become mushy, and steel-cut oats are too hard. So stick with old-fashioned or quick oats for the best results.

How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

It’s so easy, and these oatmeal raisin cookies turn out perfect every time! Follow these short steps.

1. Mix the cookie dough. Start by creaming the butter and sugar together, and adding the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and dry ingredients, then slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients. Fold in the oats, followed by the raisins and white chocolate chips as the dough comes together.
2. Chill the dough. Next, wrap and place the dough in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. I’ll often prepare my cookie dough the day before and let it chill in there overnight.
3. Scoop the cookies. I swear by my cookie scoop when portioning out the oatmeal raisin cookie dough. However, if your dough is still quite chilled out of the fridge, you can use your hands to form it into lightly packed balls. Don’t pack the dough too densely.
4. Bake. Bake these oatmeal raisin cookies on a lined baking sheet at 350ºF until the edges are golden, and the centers are still soft. Whatever you do, don’t overbake! Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, and then move them to a wire rack.

Chill the Dough for Perfect Cookies

One thing I will say about this recipe is that these cookies are very forgiving. They’ll bake up fine whether the dough is chilled or not. However, if you have time, chilling the dough is always recommended. Overall, chilling the dough results in a nicer-baking, nicer-tasting cookie. Here’s why:

• Deeper flavors. When you let the dough chill overnight, it gives the flavors time to develop. The dough gets a little richer, and the gluten in the dough relaxes, resulting in crispier edges. I learned the impact of chilling the dough on cookie flavor when making the famous Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies!
• Less spreading. Cold dough spreads less when baking. This leaves the cookies with thicker, softer centers and less chance of the cookies melding into each other while they bake.
• Softens the oats. When it comes to these oatmeal raisin cookies, chilling the dough also softens up the rolled oats a bit. 

Variations

These cookies are perfect just as they are, but if you’re in the mood to mix things up a little, there are easy ways to do it.

• Skip the raisins. Not a fan of raisins? You can absolutely swap out raisins in these cookies for craisins, dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or currants.
• Add nuts. Toss in a handful of chopped nuts, like pecans, walnuts, peanuts, or pistachios, for extra crunch.
• Toast the oats. For a deeper oatmeal flavor, try toasted oatmeal raisin cookies. Pop your oats into a shallow saucepan on the stove and lightly toast them beforehand, like you’d toast coconut.
• More cookie add-in ideas. Try stirring chocolate chunks, M&Ms, toffee bits, or butterscotch morsels into the oatmeal cookie dough.

Make Ahead and Storage

• Store at room temperature. The cookies will stay fresh and tender at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. The raisins help lock in moisture and keep these oatmeal raisin cookies soft. Be sure to store the cookies in an airtight container or bag.
• Freezing baked cookies. Make sure the cookies are completely cool before placing them in a zip-top bag. They will freeze well for up to 30 days. Whenever you’re ready, thaw and enjoy. You can also reheat these oatmeal raisin cookies in the oven for a warm, cozy treat. Bake them at 350°F for 3-4 minutes, and they’ll be warm and delicious again.
• Freeze the cookie dough. Following my guide on freezing cookie dough, I like to portion the oatmeal raisin cookie dough out onto the lined baking sheet as usual, and then place the whole thing into the freezer to pre-freeze. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a zip-top bag to store in the freezer for up to a month. Bake the cookie dough straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time.

More Classic Cookies Recipes

• Cake Mix Cookies
• Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Triple Chocolate Cookies
• White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
• Kitchen Sink Cookies
• Snickerdoodles 
• Sugar Cookies