These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are perfectly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, exactly the way you would want them to be.
These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies hold a place near and dear to my heart. They were first published in 2020 when I made the announcement that my wonderful husband, Nathan, had left his left his position as a CTO to help me run my business and see where we can take it together. Since that announcement, my business has grown in the most beautiful way, and a huge piece of that is because of Nathan’s support.
These cookies really were the perfect way to make such an important announcement, because they are his favorite cookie. These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies went through a lot of rigorous testing until I got a cookie that as crisp on the outside, had the perfect amount of spread, and was buttery soft on the inside. I know that these are going to be perfect for celebrating in your house as well.
Oh My Word!!! Look no further. The best oatmeal raisin cookie receipe I’ve ever made. Followed receipe exactly. I’ll never use another receipe. Thank you soooo much.
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
This is a brief overview of how simple it is to make these perfect classic cookies. For the full recipe, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Mix together the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Don’t miss my instructions for measuring flour below.
- Cream the butter and sugar together. This should be done with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Read below why this is such an important step.
- Add the eggs and vanilla.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Do this all at once to ensure that you don’t over-mix the flour.
- Mix in the raisins in and oats. I like to do this step with a spatula.
- Form into cookies and bake.
Using White and Brown Sugar in Cookies
The crispy exterior, perfect spread, and delicious chewiness of this cookie is due to one main thing: the perfect balance of white and brown sugar.
The brown sugar gives it the chewiness, while the white sugar helps them spread and form their crispy exterior. The result is a perfect cookie.
Cookie Making Tips
These are great tips to follow for any type of cookie.
- Measure the flour correctly. This is such an important step that I have a whole section below about it. If the recipe doesn’t turn out, this is most likely the reason.
- Use room temperature butter. This ensures the cookies spread the right amount. You should be able to push a finger in to dent the butter but not all the way through. The butter should still feel cold to the touch.
- Ensure your baking soda is fresh. Test it by dropping a little in vinegar; it should bubble immediately.
- Thoroughly cream together the butter and sugar. During this process, the sugar adds air to the butter. This is and is essential for a good chewy cookie but it also expands the dough and makes for a recipe that yields more cookies.
- Use a good baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The baking surface changes how they bake. I love these sheets for Nordic Ware.
- Pour in all the flour at once. Mix on low just enough to get most of it into the batter, and then turn to high for a few seconds to incorporate the rest. This prevents over beating the dough.
- Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop. Not only does this make quick work of scooping cookies, it creates uniform sized cookies that will bake evenly.
Baking Sheets
Measuring Flour
As mentioned above, it is critical to this recipe that you measure flour correctly for this recipe to turn out correctly. We want to avoid scooping the flour from the container with the measuring cup as this can result in 25% too much flour.
Your best bet with flour and baking is always to weigh it. That being said, if you don’t have a kitchen scale, this measuring technique works great.
- Whisk the flour in the container you store it in. Whether that is a glass jar, a Tupperware, or the bag the flour came in, you want to whisk it in the container to help loosen it up.
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour out of your flour container. Scoop it into a dry measuring cup. That is a plastic or metal measuring cup that come together in sets of 1, 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 cups. Do not use a glass measuring cup meant for liquids.
- Level off the flour. Once the flour is in the dry measuring cup, level it off with the flat edge of a spatula.
How to Measure Flour
Quick Cooking vs. Old Fashioned Oats
You will notice that these call for old fashioned oats. The difference between old fashioned and quick cooking oats is the size of the oat piece. Old fashioned oats are whole while quick cooking are broken down. I prefer the chewiness that old fashioned oats adds to this recipe, but the recipe will work just fine with quick cooking oats.
Freezing the Dough
You can bake these cookies right away without chilling or you can freeze the dough balls for later. Follow the steps below for freezing this as cookie dough.
- Form the dough into balls as instructed in the recipe card.
- Place the dough balls on a piece of wax paper in the freezer and freeze for 1 hour.
- Then transfer to an air tight container until you want to bake them.
- When ready to bake, place directly from the freezer onto a parchment lined baking sheet and into the hot preheated oven.
- Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.
Storing
Eat these cookies warm from the oven or store in an air tight container for up to one week. This is a pretty solid cookie and would work for shipping if you are a sweet soul who does that sort of thing.
These can also be frozen as baked cookies. Simply freeze them in a single layer for a few hours before stacking them in an air-tight container and returning them to the freezer. They can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.
FAQ
In all likelihood there was too much flour in the recipe. Please be sure to follow the instructions above for measuring flour.
Absolutely! I do that in my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they are delicious.
I prefer to use unsalted butter because the amount of salt in butter varies greatly from brand to brand. Using unsalted butter allows you to control for saltiness. That being said, yes! You can use salted butter and omit the salt.
Yes! Please find my freezing instructions above.
Other Delicious Cookies
If you make these soft oatmeal raisin cookies or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour see note (240 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (197.8 grams)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (148.5 grams)
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed (159.8 grams)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups old fashioned oats (178 grams)
- 1 cup raisins (149 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat to oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, until compltely mixed.2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, with a hand held mixer or using a stand mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will take between 3 and 6 minutes.14 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time. Then add in the vanilla. Be sure to scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula before each addition.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add in the flour mixture. With the mixer on it's lowest setting, beat the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until it just begins to combine. Then turn the mixture up and finish combinging it until it is just combined. Be careful not to continue mixing after the flour is combined in.
- Mix in the oats and then the raisins.2 cups old fashioned oats, 1 cup raisins
- Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookies and roll them into balls. Place 2 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. For best results, rotate the pan half way through. Remove fro the oven, let cool on the baking sheet for two minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
Sarah W says
I’m going to try this tomorrow with mini chocolate chips instead of raisins. I needed an oatmeal cookie recipe to use up all my old fashioned oats – this sounds perfect! Thanks!!
Joanne Marie says
These cookies would be perfect if margarine & Crisco was used instead of butter
Butter always upsets my stomach…plus Crisco in cookies makes them extra crisp.
I roll out a few pecans also for extra chewiness. Used this receipted for over 50 years. Just a small amount of Crisco does wonders. Just a regular cookie sheet.
I’m glad that you found a fix for your upset stomach! But I couldn’t disagree with you more. The taste of butter always trumps the taste of margarine & Crisco in my opinion. That said, I always believe that people should do what works for them in their own kitchens.
Melissa Kline says
Joanne I agree whole heartedly with YOU. Crisco is a tried a true crowd pleaser. Every recipe that calls for Crisco is AMAZING, whether it’s buttercream frosting or cookies. I took a baking class taught by a professional and when she told us to mix butter and crisco in our buttercream I turned my nose up, but she was right, WAY better recipe with the shortening!!!! My mother and grandmother always baked with it and they are phenomenal bakers!
We’re going to have to agree to disagree, Melissa. I think cookies taste so much better with butter. Additionally, if its the spread you are frustrated about, Crisco isn’t going to fix that. Cookies with Crisco actually spread less than those with butter.
Kathy Carpenter says
I only have quick oats sew
Hi Kathy, I’m worried that if you make it with quick cooking oats you are going to be disappointed. I actually think these cookies are worth a trip to the grocery store.
Claire says
First time making oatmeal raisin cookies and these are the best! This will be my go-to recipe
I’m so glad to hear that, Claire! Thank you for taking the time to come back and tell me!
Mariea says
I made these cookies at work in an ALF, so I quadrupled the receipt and they turned out perfect. I will use this one again.
So happy to hear this Mariea!
Mary says
Yum! And Congratulations!!
Thank you so much Mary!
Kate Whale says
I mad these and although the taste is good, they didn’t spread and don’t look like the picture at all. Perhaps I mixed them too much? I was a little disappointed but might try again.
I’m so sorry you are disappointed. I always want people to love my recipes. Without me being in the kitchen with you, it is so hard to know what happened. I would urge you to double check the tips section of the post, and say that most of the time cookie recipes don’t work is because the flour was over measured or the butter wasn’t the right temperature. It is also really important that the butter was beat into the sugar for long enough to be really fluffy.
Lindsay says
Same here- they didn’t spread. Butter was room temperature and I mixed it within time limits. Hmm.
Lindsay, I’m really sorry these didn’t work for you. I just had my 12 year old son test out this recipe and they spread just like in the photos. The only other thing I can think of is the flour. Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and then level it off?
Teri says
Kate, I had the same problem. Mine look like half baseballs. I baked a test cookie first and you’re right … it doesn’t spread. Then I added 2 tbsp water … still didn’t spread. Then I added 2 more tbsp of water … still didn’t spread. Then I added 2 tbsp butter … the dough spread a little and I finally gave up and just baked all of them. Tried pampered chef stone. Tried metal cookie sheet. Tried metal cookie sheet with parchment paper. Did not like this recipe at all.
Again, I’m not sure what happened Teri. What was your butter like when you started baking?
Pam Young says
Best oatmeal raisin cookies ever!! I’ve made them twice in the
Last month . I had to bake mine longer. I’ll never use another ripe!! Thank you so much!!
Lorrie says
Just want to make sure I’m reading the recipe correctly- 14 Tbsp of butter?
You are.
Tracy Smith says
I am making these today and thought the same. Isn’t there an alternative to having to measure out 14 spoonfuls of butter?
You can certainly try making them with less, but I don’t think they will turn out very good. Fourteen tablespoons is the amount I use in a lot of my great cookie recipes.
Blake says
These are deeeeeeliciooooous. To everyone that disliked the recipe because the cookies didn’t spread, did you taste them?! My family cant stay away from them. I’ll definitely be saving this recipe.
So glad you liked them Blake!
Melissa Kline says
I found this recipe to be good on taste and HORRIBLE on appearance. They looked absolutely NOTHING like the photograph and I followed the recipe to the letter.
Melissa, I’m so sorry that you had such a bad exerpience with these cookies. As mentioned, I watched my 12 year old make these and they turned out just like the photos, so I’m not sure what went wrong. Can you tell me how you measured your flour?
Bree says
I have recently started liking oatmeal raisin cookies and wanted to try them out myself. This recipe is SO GOOD. Oh my goodness I need to stop myself from eating all of these in one day!! I had no issue with the cookies not spreading but did cook them much longer than recommended to get them nice and crispy but still chewy in the middle! I cooked for 18 minutes, flipping halfway through and they are perfection!
Bree! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know! I really appreciate it!
Cindi Koehler says
Just now, hot out of the oven. They are PERFECT! Butter gives them wonderful flavor and texture is perfect. I can’t imagine why other people had difficulty with their cookies turning out right. These spread just perfectly. I followed your instructions exactly. They spread just right. I cooked them exactly 14 minutes after turning them around at 10 minutes. I let them sit for 5 minutes after they were done. This is now a fave recipe!!
So happy you liked these, Cindi! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and tell me!
Barbara Waters says
Just about to try these but cup sizes in the U.K. are invariably different to those in the USA. Would it be possible for you to add the measurements in grams please? Every time I’ve tried a recipe using cups it’s been disastrous!
It should be 256 grams, Barbara.