Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe – perfect texture, soft, full of oats, raisins, and nuts. These are the best oatmeal raisin cookies and will surely be your new tried and true oatmeal cookie recipe. It’s a great recipe for old-fashioned oatmeal-raisin cookies with a little cinnamon and raisins.
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OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES RECIPE
I’ve been searching for the perfect chewy oatmeal raisin cookie recipe but every one I tried was either too flat or too cakey. I wanted a soft, a little chewy oatmeal cookies.
After trying probably four recipes I started thinking of my tried and true favorite chewy chocolate chip cookie and thinking about how perfectly chewy it was because of the melted butter in the dough.
So I started with the base of that dough and after several adjustments on raisins, cinnamon, and oatmeal I came up with this. This is a keeper!
INGREDIENTS IN OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
- Butter – real butter makes these delicious.
- Sugar – we use both brown sugar and white sugar here.
- Oats – believe it or not you want to use less oats rather than more oats in a cookie. This yields a chewier cookie. We use old-fashioned rolled oats here not quick oats or instant oats.
- Nuts – you can use pecans or walnuts in these or leave them out completely.
- Raisins – add that sweetness. See tips below on soaking raisins.
- Large Eggs – we use one egg and one egg yolk. This yields a chewy cookie.
- Cinnamon – adds some spice.
- Baking Soda – helps the cookies rise.
- Flour – helps hold the cookie together.
- Vanilla – always use pure vanilla extract.
- Salt – brings out all of the flavors.
HOW TO MAKE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
Instructions
- If soaking raisins in warm water, do that now. Make sure you dry them completely before using.
- Melt butter and let cool slightly.
- Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well blended with an electric mixer. Beat in the ground cinnamon, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just blended. Add the oats, nuts, and raisins. Mix on medium speed until just blended.
- Chill dough in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. If chilling longer, let dough sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes so it’s not too hard to scoop.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Place 1/4 cup balls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. Do not overbake. The edges should look brown and the centers still slightly soft. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Add a sprinkle of flaked salt if desired.
TIPS FOR THIS RECIPE
- Make sure you are measuring your flour correctly. Don’t scoop your measuring cup directly into the flour as this compacts the flour adding too much flour. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup.
- Melted butter gives the cookies their chewy texture.
- Use parchment paper. It makes your cookies turn out so much better!
- Do not overbake! Cookies will continue to bake as they cool on the baking sheet.
- Each cookie is 1/4 cup. It’s a big cookie and it’s delicious. If you want to make a smaller version, feel free. Just make sure to bake it for less time.
SHOULD I SOAK MY RAISINS?
Although this is not necessary, some bakers believe that you should always soak your raisins in warm water before using them in a recipe so that you have plump raisins. Raisins are dried and will pull moisture from your cookies when baking. If you soak them your cookies will be more moist. Make sure you dry them well after soaking.
STORAGE AND FREEZING
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week and frozen up to 3 months. I like to scoop the dough balls onto a cookie sheet to freeze. Once the balls have set you can put them in a ziploc bag up to 3 months.
OTHER CLASSIC COOKIE RECIPES:
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Best Snickerdoodle
- Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Almond Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Classic Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
- Salty Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Sugar Cookies
- Sprinkle Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
This Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe will surely be your new tried and true oatmeal cookie recipe. It's a good thick old-fashioned cookie with a little cinnamon and raisins.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats, (not quick or instant)
- 1 heaping cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, (optional)
Instructions
- If soaking raisins in warm water, do that now. Make sure you dry them completely before using.
- Melt butter and let cool slightly.
- Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the cinnamon, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy. Mix in the flour mixture until just blended. Add the oats, nuts, and raisins. Mix until just blended.
- Chill dough in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. If chilling longer, let dough sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes so it's not too hard to scoop.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Place 1/4 cup balls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. Do not overbake. The edges should look brown and the centers still slightly soft. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Add a sprinkle of flaked salt if desired.
Video
Notes
Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything
For smaller cookies: Scoop 2 tablespoon balls of dough and bake for about 10-12 minutes.
Updated October 2026: After some comments that the cookies were dry, I reduced the flour and increased the oats.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 240kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 181mg, Potassium: 74mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 283IU, Vitamin C: 0.01mg, Calcium: 24mg, Iron: 1mg
Best oatmeal raisin cookie I’ve ever had….even better than Mrs. Fields! I baked mine at 330 for 16-18 minutes and they turned out great. I did use the 2 cups of flour instead of 1.5 cups because the dough looked really sticky. I refrigerated them for a couple of hours and then baked them. Absolutely delicious and moist!!
I absolutely love these cookies. I make them exactly like your recipe calls for.
AW thank yoU!
Delicious! I made exactly per recipe and they came out perfect! Very moist and so much height on them–a definite keeper!
Aw thanks Marisa!
These turned out okay but I think I prefer my cookies a little more moist. These were soft but a bit dry for my taste, maybe due to 2c of flour instead of the 1 1/2c from the original oatmeal cookie recipe from Quaker. Still good but I will stick to my old recipe.
Anxious to try your recipes!
Chocolate covered raisins are a game changer
Ooh nice!
These are the BEST oatmeal cookies that I have ever eaten! I made my batch late last night so only baked like 6 cookies to test. Omg delicious and perfect shape. Now I am having company 10 days. Can I freeze the rest so I can cook them fresh when my friend comes over?
Thank you so much!
Yes they freeze great and can be baked from frozen just add a few minutes.
Absolutely amazing! Chewy, moist. Yum! I did leave out the 1/2 cup white sugar as we don’t like cookies too sweet. Turned out perfectly! ❤️
Thanks! So glad you liked them.
These are fantastic! My 92 year old dad, and my hubby, both loved these.
I used a quarter cup measure and my cookies took 20-22 minutes to bake.
Next time (because there will be a next time!) I’m going to also add some coconut and some chocolate chips/chunks and make it more of a “cowboy cookie”.
Thanks for the perfect cookie recipe!
Ooh yum! So glad you enjoyed them!
I want to make these and I looked forward to it. I do though have a question can you freeze the dough like roll them in balls and freeze them to make at a later date?
Yes absolutely!
This has been my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe for over 2 years. Perfect. Every. Time.
Also, idk if it’s intentional, but *NSYNC did a parody of their song for the girl who has everything… and sang, “the girl who ate everything” I’m assuming that’s where the website name came from, if not, here’s to a new fun fact for you!
Thank you for THE best oatmeal cookie recipe.
Ha it actually was derived from the book the man who ate everything but I like your reference better! And thank you!
Great recipe that made delicious cookies! I will definitely use it again and probably pull back a little on the sugars next time.
Thank you!
My sister said these were the best cookies she’s ever had. I used pecans and dried Cherries. Yum!
I made these for our weekly ski bus trip for 55 women and they were a huge hit. made them Tuesday, but them in plastic tubs, and they were still great on Wednesday.
That’s awesome!
Just made these, they came out perfectly soft and chewy. I made them extra big so they cooked a little longer. Added pecans and golden raisins.
12 large cookies. Thank you.
thank you!
This looks like an excellent recipe. I want to try it out and then give a rating. Before trying this recipe out, I have a question. Can I put this dough into a 9″X13″pan to bake instead to save time? How long should I bake it for and what temp?
Shauna,
I have not tried it in a 9×13 pan but I’m sure you could. I would bake around 15 minutes but like I said I haven’t tried it.
This review is long overdue. I have made these many times and they turn out great each time. Sometimes I use raisins, other times I use chocolate chips. Great chewy texture and very easy. And with melted butter, you can make these quickly without the need to plan ahead for room temp butter 😀
Thank you!!
I tend to think most cookie recipes will come out basically the same. However, I was surprised at the outcome of these cookies, and I used instant oats. They were the best oatmeal cookies I can recall making. My son, who is quite the connoisseur, gave them an 8-9 out of 10 and he always leaves room for improvement just as a general rule, to say that nothing ever gets a 10. Everyone enjoyed them, thank you!
Thank you!!
Have made these several times and always a hit. I also used this as a basic oatmeal cookie and have used other adding (chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc). Always a hit with family and friends.
So glad to hear that!
Really good cookies. My friends loved them and I’ve had several requests for the recipe. Definitely a keeper recipe.
Thank you Judi!
I make this recipe like 3 times a month because I always end up eating all of them! I like my cookies a little bigger and fuller, so instead of melting the butter, I only soften it. And instead of walnuts, i always use chocolate chips! They are so yummy and packed full of fillings. 1000000/10 recommend.
AW Thank you!