thick, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies
I have very specific tastes in oatmeal raisin cookies. A crisp edge is always welcome, but the rest of it must be thick and chewy. Just to confuse, this is unlike other oatmeal cookie recipes on this site, the crunchier chocolate chip pecan version and the thick but shattery, salty white chocolate version. Nope, my oatmeal raisin cookies demand their own texture, and one I can’t get from those other recipes.
I start with the standard recipe on every can of Quaker oats and then start making it better. I find it too sweet, so I dial back the sugar. It never has enough raisins in it, so I up them. I use only brown sugar (instead of a mix of brown and white). And sometimes, though not this one, I add chopped walnuts because they were made to go together.
And then I try not to eat them for breakfast. (It’s got oats and dried fruit, right? Like granola!) I, uh, don’t always succeed.
Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
The last trick to getting a really thick, chewy cookie is to chill the dough before you bake it. You can scoop it and then chill it, or, if you’re like us, scoop it, freeze them and store them in a freezer bag so you can bake them as you wish. I find they’re always thicker when baked from the cold — only a couple extra minutes baking is needed.
This is a half recipe. It makes a couple dozen standard-size cookies. (I get more because I make them tinier.) I always feel like I’m swimming in cookies when I make the full volume, but if you’re feeding a crowd, go ahead and double it.
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.
At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.
The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.
Those sound wonderful!!! I have always used the recipe from the Joy of Cooking but they always lacked a certain something. I will try those next time I have a craving. Thanks!!
I am seriously going to make these for my husband as they are his favorite cookie. Maybe I’ll surprise him this weekend!!
I have to disagree with you. Baked raisins just ruin a perfectly good oatmeal cookie! I’ll forgive you though, because I LOVE everything I’ve ever made from your site. Keep em’ coming!
My friend called me early this morning begging for oatmeal rasin cookies and then I hop on Smitten Kitchen and what do you post?? inspiring oatmeal rasin cookies!! I think someone’s trying to tell me something.
Ironic that I was just reading a magazine tip about how to get perfectly textured cookies. On my counter right now (waiting because I am one egg short) are the fixin’s for some awesome monster cookies. These need 4.5 cups of oats, but only .5 cup sugar. They also include MELTED butter and corn syrup. It’s the strangest cookie recipe ever, but they turn out so beautifully!
Thank you! I will use this as a base for my next reincarnation of oatmeal cookies with dried apricots and cashews which IS a match made in heaven.
These look fabulous! Oatmeal raisin are my favorite cookies and I LOVE them thick and chewy! I am going to bake a batch tonight. Yummy!
these are my favourite!! now uve got me wanting these..maybe this weekend!!
I love few things like a big bite of an oatmeal raisin cookie. Excellent pictures.
NAOmni
I’m totally with you on the texture thing. Oatmeal raisin cookies with no chew? No thank you. Those salted white chocolate oatmeal cookies are pretty stellar, though…
I can’t stop thinking about the hot fudge and now you tease us with hot, warm & gooey oatmeal cookies – you are bad! ;)
I’m with you on the thick and chewy…these look superb. I wonder how they would be with cranberries or craisins – for a little tart punch.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are my favorite!
Aaaaaaaaaand I’ve figured out what I’m doing on Saturday afternoon while my fiance is snowboarding in Tahoe. Perfect.
I agree that more raisins—or dried apricots, cranberries, or even prunes—improve cookies.
After moving to Colorado, I’m having to learn how to bake at altitude. With minor adjustments, your recipes work fine, surely a sign of great recipes.
damnit damnit damnit. now im craving oatmeal cookie….dough. ugh.
These look awesome! I can sure go for a couple with the coffee I am having now!
I see the recipe calls for rolled oats, but I’m just wondering – would quick oats work as well? Thanks! Can’t wait to give these a try!
Would this recipe work with semi or maybe bittersweet chocolate chips/chunks instead of raisins?
Why is it that whenever I visit you site I always think, “Yeah I feel like those flavours right now!”?
My husband would love these!
rolled oats? oh dear, I can see my boyfriend would *love* these! Gah, your recipes are SO hard to resist!!
My best friend makes them with chocolate covered raisins. Sooo good.
omg i had planned on baking oatmeal cookies tonight!!!
Agreed, the chilling is important. Not eating them for breakfast—less important :)
This is pretty similar to my family recipe, though ours adds unsweetened cocoa. Not enough to be chocolatey, just enough for spice.
Thick and chewy is the only way to go with oatmeal raisin cookies!
I too am a sucker for thick and chewy oatmeal cookies. I don’t make them too often because my husband isn’t a big fan, but maybe I’m looking at it backwards and the fact that he doesn’t love them means I should make them very often indeed! More for me.
mmmh. i can almost smell them. (i would personally use less raisins. or 1/4 cup raisins and 1/4 cup dried cranberries)
I like your site since it has good recipes for trying once in a while. However, I often wonder about your health. It looks like you consume too much butter, sugar and other unhealthy stuff. I hope you cook more healthy food and blog about them as well. I do not mean to offend you, am just concerned.
I saw your title on someone else’s sidebar and had to follow my internet nose over here. The recipe looks easy, this may be my cheat food this weekend! Thanks!
Funny. I have always used the Quaker recipe as well but with almost the identical modifications from the less, and all brown, sugar, to the extra salt. I also have found that mini chocolate chips (the only time I ever use them) are an excellent substitution when you aren’t pretending to be healthy. They’re so tiny that instead of being chocolate chip-y they melt and suffuse the whole cookie with chocolate goodness.
I always try to pretend they are healthy too! These look delicious.
This is one of the most appetizing cookies I have ever encountred in a blog. I wish I could reach in and grab one.
You really know how to title a post don’t you? Those look and sound so good right now!
BEST COOKIE TYPE EVER!!
I was thinking about baking chocolate chip cookies, but these look way too good to pass up. And whoever suggested chocolate covered raisins is my hero.
To hell with health, I’d eat them for breakfast. :-)
This is just the way I love oatmeal cookies; a mounded cookie of oats in a toffee base with raisins and finely chopped toasted walnuts. For a chocolate craving..I use Raisinettes. Oh, Mama! Those are nearly perfect. Oatmeal cookies need salt so don’t skimp there. You should be able to taste it..IMO.
I have some dried cherries in the pantry that would be nice in these with some chocolate chips (which I also have surprise surprise!)
Hi Andrea — Thanks for your concern. About my health. I don’t entertain conversations about healthy eating on this site because I don’t subscribe to any belief system besides moderation. Baking buttery, sugary cookies and having a couple isn’t a problem. Eating an entire pan of them is.
Less clear perhaps from a reader’s view might be that we usually bake half and quarter quantities of sweets, and then share them with friends. The foods we eat entirely on our own are the beans and vegetable-based dishes that populate the other 50 percent of this site.
Chewy oatmeal and raisin cookies are one of the first foods I ever learned to make – they’re my dad’s favorite cookie. This looks like a great recipe and I love the tip about cooking them cold. Thanks!
Phoo-D
Drool. I just baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies over the weekend– am a fan of the brown sugar-only version, and chewy texture. BF likes them slightly crispier, so I alternate between batches… or at least try. :-)
I had no idea freezing/chilling the dough would make it come out thicker – great tip!
Looks delicious! I always like a little nutmeg in my cookies, in addition to the cinnamon you’ve already got. I think we all must have favorite oatmeal raisin recipes…although I’m not vegan, my favorite recipe is…perhaps it will address some of Andrea’s concerns about your health? It is so good I swear you would never know about the lack of dairy/chicken products!
I’m not a fan of raisins, but I intend to use this recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I hope they turn out as fluffy and wonderful as yours look!
What, Deb?! You don’t eat cookies and celebration cakes every single day?! Well, that completely ruins my opinion of this site. Here I was on the Smitten Kitchen desserts-only diet wondering why I wasn’t losing any weight or feeling good.
Dernitall, I was really hoping that diet would work… ;)
Our favorite is pretty much the Quaker Oats recipe too, with dried cherries, chocolate chips and chopped pecans. We also use all brown sugar, or add some molasses if we’re out of brown sugar. I created them when our hometown hockey team, The Hurricanes, first made it to the Stanley Cup finals, in 2002. I christened the cookies Hurricane cookies: red cherries, “white” oatmeal, “black” chocolate chips, for the Hurricanes team colors, and pecans to make them Southern. The team had not long before moved here to NC from Hartford, CT. They didn’t win that year, but did in 2006. Probably can’t credit the cookies though.
I think we have the same taste in oatmeal-raisin cookies! These look scrumptious, I can’t wait to try them myself. Thanks so much for sharing!
These look so delicious, I’ve just added them to my favorites, I bet they would taste just as great with crasins.
These look fabulous!! I love your site but it makes me want to cook and eat continually:) I haven’t received the posts on my email for the last couple of days. I wondered if you have any idea why?
I make basically the same recipe except these days I’m all about adding extra nutrition for my kids. So I usually add some flaxseed meal and/or wheat germ. I find it adds some nutty flavor to boot!
I’ve heard boiling the raisins before adding them to cookies are the way to go, don’t suppose anyone’s tried this? When I think about it, it sounds good (I haaate when raisins go all burnt and shrivelly) but I’ve not had a chance to give it a go yet…
I love the Quaker recipe but I usually substitute chocolate chips for the raisins, change the light brown sugar to dark and add a wee bit of fresh nutmeg. They are spicy and melty and rich. I make a half recipe two or three times a year, feel guilty while eating them hot from the oven and then wish I had made more!
To Indigo, if my raisins are soft, I just add them. If they are on the dry/hard side, I pour boiling water over them and let them set for a few minutes.
Ahh…I’m always up for this recipe! yum yum!
My husband’s favorite cookie! Thanks for the recipe… :D
I like my oatmeal cookies just like this too! Thick, chunky, chewy, not too sweet…. perfect for breakfast! Just tell yourself: at least it’s not a Pop-tart!
I want to make these now! Maybe we can have a date night with the mixer . . .
when i saw the title of this blog post i IMMEDIATELY clicked over!! oatmeal cookies are my fave, i can’t wait to make these :)
this weekend perhaps?!!
These are my husband’s absolute favorite cookie in the solar system. I’ll have to make these for him. Thanks for sharing!
What is the point of an oatmeal cookie that is not thick and chewy, and packed full of raisins and walnuts? Don’t even call them oatmeal cookies to me.
The dough is sitting in my fridge as I type….I love how much oats this one has in it!
Oatmeal raisin cookies are meant to be chewy. Case closed.
BUT when folks decide to make them really flat and crispy, we cannot deny eating just as many.
Wow, I want some of these right now. It might be good to throw just a little bit of mini-chocolate chips in to make them like potbelly cookies! Yum.
though i am not really a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, they are my boyfriend’s favorites. and now i’m definitely going to add raisinettes, since that’s his favorite candy. i see that i’ll also have to make this recipe this weekend and surprise him.
i was only planning to try out a new banana bread recipe (with mini chocolate chips and crunchy peanut butter). maybe he’ll eat the cookies and leave the bread all to me. hmmm, i think i’ve hatched a plan. thanks, deb.
I usually use dried cranberries in my oatmeal cookies rather than raisins, dunno if you’re into such things but I thought I’d share – it’s really pretty delicious, I think, and a nice dried-fruit diversion from raisins now and then. =)
Oatmeal raisin cookies are my husband’s favorite – esp. the ones he remembers his grandmother making. Every recipe I’ve tried isn’t quite right, but I’m getting closer. I found one of Grandma’s secrets: putting the raisins through a grinder. Not having a grinder, I tried the food processor & it’s amazing how much better the cookies are with the raisins chopped up (and I’m already a raisin fan). While this helped, he said it still isn’t right. I’m going to give your recipe a try this weekend (but with the raisins chopped).
nothing wrong with a cookie for breakfast! these cookies look delicious; i love how thick they are!
Now I want cookies! Thanks for your suggestions on the Quaker recipe, I know you’ve greatly improved upon it.
these are easily my favourite biscuit (i call ‘em biscuits down here)
they’re the comfort food variety of biscuit
the one you come back to when you’re tired of your fancy variety biscuits.
I love a thick n chewy oatmeal cookie!! Thanks! :)
I just made these cookies and they came out anything but chewy and thick! they are flakey and dry! i followed everything exactly and even undercooked them buy a minute b/c my oven is fast! What did I do wrong?
I just finished making these delicious, heaven sent cookies. They were amazing! My husband at 4 of them in silence, and then uttered two words….”Oh, my!”
I told him I was taking them for the people at work tomorrow, and he got visibly upset with me… I may have created an addict.
That said… I cooked them for about 8 minutes after chilling them. My oven cooks a little hotter than normal. At the eight minute marker they came out chewy just like I like them!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. It is definitely a keeper.
Stephanie
I loved this photos the second I saw them on Flickr. I’m rather inclined towards oatmeal cookies to begin with, but these? Absolutely beautiful. Chunky and in a good way.
Oh, gosh, I hate when I write typos. Just to make it worse, I’m posting a follow-up: please excuse the “I loved this photos” and imagine “I loved these photos” instead.
Bless you.
Nicole — Sounds like they got overbaked. Dry cookies = baked too much. Or there could be a measuring mistake.
The cookies are killing me .. I can taste them, and the new Wayne Dyer movie also looks interesting … this guy does it all. Can I eat cookies while watching this new movie. Better whip a batch.
Absolutely my favorite cookie. thanks for an awesome recipe.
I hear you about baking cookies and sharing them with friends (in your comment on #39)! It is totally a win/win situation :) Except usually, I will be sitting there late at night after the cookies are gone thinking “why did I give those cookies away”??? These cookies look fab, will have to try soon . . .
Wow, I just made this same 1/2 recipe last weekend. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in chasing the best chocolate chip cookie recipe that the humble oatmeal cookie gets neglected.. For mine, I used walnuts and dried sweetened cranberries, a little more vanilla, a dash of nutmeg, and another dash of dried ginger. The dough smelled and tasted fantastic and so were the baked cookies. This is definitely a keeper.
Deb you should try simmering your raisins in coffee for about 30mins before adding them to your recipe. It plumps the raisins right up and gives them the most amazing flavor!
WOW…these cookies look absolutely perfect. Yum! And I think you’re right…oatmeal cookies a really breakfast NOT in a bowl. :-)
I make the original recipe all the time, but I use (more) dried cranberries instead of raisins. Next time I’ll only use brown sugar and see how I like that. I find that the original recipe produces a very think cookie and I like mine more full.
These sound incredible! I’m not a huge raisin fan, but dried cherries!!! I have been craving oatmeal cookies all week. Thanks!
Just finished making these. OMG they are SO good. I think I should use the quick cooking oats next time, but man alive these are tasty.
(And I will be trying these with craisins next time. I LOVE craisins.)
The. Perfect. Oatmeal. Cookie.
Nothing more to say. Thanks for the post!
Oatmeal raisin are my favorite cookies! I will definitely try your recipe. I stumbled across your website at the suggestion of a friend of mine and I am in food heaven! I have already made your Irish car bomb cupcakes and the key lime cheesecake and shared them with the good folks I work with. Their only complaint…that I didn’t make enough! Keep up the great work!
yum! We made some cookies very similar to this, great recipe!
This is my first comment after finding your blog through Not Martha a while ago. I’ve been reading your archives every night and pretty much bookmarked almost every other recipe in a new folder in my favorites called ‘dinner’. :-) These cookies are chilling now. I’ll let everyone know how they turn out. I added a bit more cinnamon and only put half the raisins in half of them because my boyfriend doesn’t like “poor pathetic used to be grapes” as he calls them. Thank you so much!
Is the recipe your own? There’s no byline. Probably a silly question.
“It’s got oats and dried fruit, right? Like granola”
Haha, that’s great. I totally told myself that EXACT same thing after having a half dozen or so at my class’s Valentine’s party.
“And then I try not to eat them for breakfast. (It’s got oats and dried fruit, right? Like granola!)”
If you used whole-wheat flour instead, you probably could eat these for breakfast without guilt.
Love the site, by the way.
Ohhh Deb – thanks so much! I was actually craving exactly these cookies, but couldn’t put my hands on a recipe I trusted. Ta-da! Deb to the rescue! I can’t make them this exact minute, since my boyfriend doesn’t like it when I bake at night (silly him… claims it keeps him up). :) But tomorrow these are being made!
I just read this blog, popped over to your link for salted white chocolate oatmeal cookies, then dragged my laptop to the kitchen and made them on the spot!! Thank you, they are delicious.
And you handled the health concern comment very gracefully. As a nutritionist whose diet makes room for something sweet and delicious every single day, I support your moderation belief system with whole-hearted, happy-bellied enthusiasm! You’ve got it right on the money!
How come all americans like their cookies soft and chewy? :)
What great looking cookies, Deb! I’m on the road for a couple of weeks without my sweetie, and I’ve been thinking about what I might bake for him to celebrate my return. He’s a tough one in that he’s not all that fond of sweets, with one exception: oatmeal cookies. We both love my family’s recipe for thin, lacy oatmeal cookies, but I’ve been on the lookout for a recipe that produces plumper, chewier little rounds. Your recipe looks like just the thing! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks so much, Deb, for helping to make my return home a little sweeter.
Try soaking the raisins in rum or brandy before adding them to the mix. Just saying! ;-)
I just made these, they are SUPER yummy and easy! I shaped the dough into small balls and put them in the fridge. I made a small batch of cookies and froze the remaining balls of dough for later. Now the real question is how am I going to resist eating all of them tonight. So glad I just a handful instead of the entire batch, also thanks for halving the recipe, I hate getting stuck with dozens of cookies to eat. Thank you! Loved this recipe.
NEVER enough raisins. It seems a bit blasphemous to change Quaker’s Ultimate Oatmeal Raisin Cookies but I think you may have won, those look outstanding.
I usually add 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg to my oatmeal raisin cookies, it gives them amazing flavor!
I made these this afternoon, I couldn’t help myself!
Ok, little change to dried cranberries since I detest baked raisins, but everyone agrees that they’re the best! So soft and chewy!
(Also made your Coq au Vin on Monday, it was fantastic. Can’t go wrong with Julia!)
I’m all for sweets and cookies populating ninety percent of this site! I also frequently wake up craving cookies and can’t trust myself with an entire batch, so contend with making just a few. I still fall back on the Smitten thick and shattery salt and white chocolate version (sans the chocolate) when the need strikes, as well as ‘healthier’ own creations such as aniseed scones and orange flower water cookies. But this looks just too good to miss, especially as I still have kilos of oats in my larder ostensibly for the purpose of making porridge…
Out of all the cookies in the world Oatmeal (ok and snickerdoodle) are my favorite! thanks for the recipe. Your recipe is a tad different and I’m going to give it a try… Yum! can’t wait.
My dear hubs has insisted that I make this tomorrow. I’m not about to refuse :)
Deb, I have to agree. Everything in moderation, life without your yummy treats would be a LOT less pleasant.
The crazy thing is I was looking for a recipe like this yesterday. They look incredible! I am going to have to restrain myself from making them today, as I have no time. I absolutely love your blog, keep it comming
Thank you for this!! My first/last attempt at making oatmeal cookies left me with the impression that they’re just not something I can bake myself.
I just whipped these up, incredibly simple. I don’t like raisins, so I used Craisins instead and my boyfriend who likes neither oatmeal cookies nor Craisins went back for seconds. You’re wonderful!
Thanks for posting this recipe – I love this blog! This recipe is one of my favorites, too. I like it with dried blueberries and apricots. Have you ever tried mixing together the egg and vanilla, then soaking your raisins (Craisins, blueberries, apricots) in it for an hour before you out the whole mix in the recipe? The fruit plumps up, takes on the vanilla flavor, and the taste is amazing!
I made these last night! They were really great. I’m especially pleased by how little flour and sugar is used. I’m making these again next week for my husband to bring to his Phd committee meeting. Thanks!
My mouth is watering…I love oatmeal raisin cookies! And you and I seem to be on the same page about the texture…yum! I think these totally qualify as a breakfast food! There’s oats and raisins in them, that’s healthy, right?
I was born to eat oatmeal raisin cookies. Some people are born to crack the human genome, some to save the world. Me? I was born to eat oatmeal raisin cookies. Must go now, to kitchen. Must bake Deb’s ORC. Must eat ORC. Bake full recipe. Eat them all. Must go now.
And what’s wrong with swimming in cookies? :)
May I just say that these cookies sound perfect??? An no guilt associated with eating them!!!!
I am so totally making these this weekend!!
I was wondering about the scoop, freeze, and bake later part. I would love to have these in my freezer ready to bake when the craving strikes. So you scoop to cookies into rounds and then freeze them separately, I assume. After they are frozen, do you store them together in the freezer? Do they stick to each other? And how long do they keep this way?
These look so delicious!! Thank you!
I have a recipe for a “breakfast” cookie made with bacon and oatmeal. I think your cookie also qualifies as “breakfast”.
The process is called flash-freezing. You scoop, spread the scoops out on a tray and then freeze them. Once they’re cold enough not to stick together, you can put them in a freezer bag. But you have to keep the bag frozen from that point, or you’ll be back to one mound of cookie dough.
what i like about oatmeal cookies is that one almost always has all the ingredients necessary sitting around ready to make them. which of course means i will probably make some today, as it is my day off.
Thank you, Deb!
I was reading The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook the other day, and it said that the secret to really chewy cookies is melted butter, not softened. What are your thoughts on that? I noticed that someone else mentioned melted butter in one of the earlier comments.
They look wonderful! Even without any chocolate…
the vanishing oatmeal cookie recipe on the lid of quaker oats has been my favorite for my entire life, they are the most delicious! i was excited when i saw your suggestions for improvement because each time i bake the original recipe my cookies turn out exteremely flat. my husband and i still loved the taste but i always knew he was longing for thick and chewy- not thin and crispy! i made your version last night and they were much better!
thank you!
deb, i meant to ask- what do you use to scoop your cookies? i have been using two spoons but there has to be something better!
Mmmmmmmmmmmm Oatmeal Raisin Cookies! These are fantabulous! Thanks Deb.
Christina — I’d disagree. I’d argue that the trick to crispy cookies is melted butter. Melted butter also makes better crisp toppings. But softened butter is able to be whipped and suspend ingredients in a lighter state and makes for cakier, more tender cookies. This is the reason cakes always have softened butter with the other ingredients slowly whipped in, too. Soft cookies = softened butter. Crisp cookies = melted butter. But, they’re the ones who test this stuff out — if anyone wants to try this recipe both ways, I am sure others would love to hear the input.
Lauren — I use a scoop. I have a few different sizes, but probably use the one linked the most.
You mentioned you use a scoop. For this oatmeal recipe, what scoop did you use? I have a 1 TBSP, 2 TBSP and 1/4 Cup scoop at home. Which one would be best for the time you listed to bake the cookies?
These look SO good! I saw these yesterday when I had a stomach ache and for some reason thought, “ya, these’ll do the trick…” and went home and made a batch.
I was pretty lazy in making these cookies… didn’t have a lot of brown sugar so I had to use some white, couldn’t be bothered waiting to chill them, etc etc, but they still turned out awesome! My flatmates are already begging for more, which I’ve promised as soon as I get more brown sugar. Thanks for the recipe!
I LOVE oatmeal raisin cookies. These look amazing!!
I, too, have very specific requirements when it comes to my oatmeal raisin cookies. Chewy and no chocolate. Chocolate in oatmeal raisin cookies is sacriligious! I am almost always disappointed in cookies that I get elsewhere.
I may try your recipe, but I am from the south and we do like our things sweet.
Also, no nuts – at all.
Thanks!
Debbie — You’d be looking for something between one and two tablespoons. However, keep in mind that baking time may vary in your oven — it’s best to use doneness, and not the timer, to let you know when your cookies are baked.
These are so good! I made a batch this afternoon with some modifications, and they’re delicious!
I swapped 1/4 c. of the oats for 1/4 c. of wheat germ (at the suggestion of a commenter)
I swapped raisins for some dried cherries (chopped) and swapped walnuts for chocolate chips
I have to say–even the half recipe made a ton of smallish cookies! I used my scoop (1 1/2 tbsp-ish) and baked 9 cookies and then froze about 30 more! Yay for tons of tasty cookies! Thanks for another winner, Deb.
These were fantastic. I plan to keep this recipe and make it often.
Thanks!
Liz
SOOO GOOOD i have been craving these! i baked some before i went to the cayman islands but this recipe looks superior to the one i used. if i had raisins i would make them right now, they just aren’t the same without raisins though!
yet again, you’ve posted a recipe about something i’ve been obsessing about recently… wish i had this recipe two batches of crunchy *the horror!* oatmeal cookies ago. i do find that even the smallest amount of white sugar just messes things up! unfortunately, i’ll have to wait til my mom comes back from overseas to make these since she is THE oatmeal cookie lover.
i agree with that melted butter thing… makes crispier cookies (and kinda greasy.. maybe that’s just me…)
what is it about oatmeal cookies? i crave them all the time!
however, i am not a fan of raisins so i usually sub in dried cranberries or cherries.
thanks for sharing this recipe!
kristin
incidentally my mom’s nickname is debbie or deb :)
These are wonderful. I added a little extra cinnamon.
Thanks again Deb for another hit. I’ve learned so much from you.
OMG, Deb we would be great friends ;) I just came across your site last week and I am a woman obsessed. Like you, I frequently take over my tiny NYC kitchen and treat my coworkers to weekly treats. Tonight, I made the Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes ($20 at Fairway! But just because I had to buy all the spices) and I almost at the entire thing myself- SO GOOD. And now, I’m softening butter to try out these oatmeal raisin guys. I also (finally! yay!) got a KitchenAid standing mixer this week so I warned friends that armed with your recipes and a free weekend, they might be receiving baked goods care packages on Sunday. :) Thanks for the great blog and amazing pictures. I’m already an addict!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article5561425.ece
A toast to your success!
I was so pleased to see #10 on the list of 50.
i am a recent smitten kitchen fan! in a matter of 24-hours i think i have fallen in love with your web site. i’m a 19 year soon to be baking student at the art institute in philadelphia, i was studying to be a photographer until i realized that i was having more fn baking the things that i was taking pictures off! do you have any suggestions for books or any tips for a newbie?
thanks! xx
I love oatmeal cookies and those look delicious.
Thick and chewy cookies are always the best!
Made this today and posted about them on my blog. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! http://nagle5.blogspot.com/2009/02/oatmeal-raisin-cookies.html
11. susan “And what’s wrong with swimming in cookies?”
Getting the crumbs out of your bathing suit afterwards.
Chomp, chomp. Chewy cookie time!
And now we’re all craving cookies! These look fab
I made these for a bake sale last night, and they were fabulous. A nice crisp outside with a chewy inside. I doubled the recipe and kept a dozen for myself!
My favorites! Congrats on the top 50 award!
I saw these on Thursday afternoon and made them Thursday night, and they are delicious. The half recipe made just the right amount of cookies (I got thirty with a small scoop). Thanks for the tip of scooping then chilling, I usually do the opposite.
Those look like the perfect breakfast to me! I plan to make them tonight.
Did you see the NY Times article a few months ago where they figured out that chilling the dough is one of the secrets of a great cookie?
I’m imagining these with ginger and butterscotch instead of raisins. I imagine they’d be pretty fantastic.
Cookies look perfect! I love the picture on the cooling rack. Congrats on making the top 50 list!
My teeth are always looking for chewy cookies to sink into… slightly visceral. Anwyas, if this promises chewiness, I am sold. I am unaware of the nuances to what makes a crispy v chewy cookie (although I have been trying to re’watch an alton brown show on the differences visavis chocolate chip cookies).
What clues or hints can I glean from recipes that will allow me to know when things are chewy or not? Egg ratio? Butter v oi?
Id love toknow!
In any case, I will make these and enjoy the sinking bitesatisfaction I am on the hunt fore!
these look so good. I love your photography. I was wondering though…is it okay to use Whole Wheat Flour instead of all purpose white flour to bake cookies? or should I just stick to AP for baking?
I like your blog because the food looks real.
I made these today! EXCELLENT! also, my mom made your chic pea salad. Unbelieveable!
these looks delicious I love oatmeal :)
MMMMMM I love that recipe from Quaker and totally love Oatmeal cookies. I admit that I rarely add the raisins though. Usually coconut or chocolate chips!
I came. I saw. I made. They were great :)
Amazing recipe; I used raisins and crancherries… thanks =)
I made these today after my “19-yr-old daughter, AKA student at Art Institute of Philly — post #140 above” told me that your blog was her new obsession. I saw the cookies and had to have them. The chilling did the trick, my friend. They were delicious. And my 10 year old even loved them, nuts and all, and normally she’d rather poke a chopstick in her eye than go near a nut. Thanks… I plan to try more of your recipes. I am also enjoying the photography!
I love oatmeal raisin cookies! They’re one of my favorites =)
This recipe looks absolutely amazing, and the photos are delish!
Hi Krista — Yes. We made those cookies too!
Allie — I don’t personally recommend a full swap of whole wheat flour unless you’ve tested it in a recipe. In baked goods, I start with 1/3 to 1/2 swap, you can dial it up from there in future batches if you feel it can handle it, as WW does not bake the same way as AP and you may find it too coarse/brittle.
omg! im in luv….. i am drooling… cannot help myself..keep the desserts coming… thank you for this awsome blog!!!!
Not sure what happened but I posted this on the wrong recipe a minute ago. You and me must be thinking on the same chewy oatmeal wavelength. I made these last night — absolutely perfect for my craving. I put in dried fruit instead of just raisins and made hazelnut ice cream sandwiches with them. The pairing is divine! Oh, and I, um, am eating more ice cream sandwiches for breakfast right now. :)
YUM! These are going to be my go-to oatmeal raisin cookies from now on. We made them last night and they were perfect. For those folks who might have wheat intolerances, I ran out of regular white flour and used spelt flour instead (leftover from the cracker recipe on this site). They turned out just like in the photo.
Made these cookies last night :) They were delicious. I did add a 1/2 tsp of both nutmeg and ground cloves though. I also put 1 cup of raisins, mmmmmm! Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Really great cookies. We had my parents for dinner last night and everyone loved them. My dad made them into cookie ice cream sandwiches. I should have made a double batch.Thanks!
These cookies are so yummy and so easy to make. I didn’t have any raisins but I did add in some Heath toffee bits because my husband loves those. Oh my word, so good!!!!
Bless you, Deb! I made them – and an entire band of musicians were made very happy last night. In fact, I believe threats of pushing each other off a cliff were made for the honor of eating the last one… :)
Not to mention, they were exactly what *I* was craving. (I saved quite a few for my own consumption.) In fact, I think it might be time for another, with some hot tea, very soon!
Thanks for the recipe, Deb! These were perfect for this week… breakfast as well as dessert. :) I confess that I baked the first batch without any chilling whatsoever, but they turned out just as thick and luscious as the next batches!
Wonderful cookies for a Sunday afternoon. The refrigeration technique really worked to make these cookies nice and chewy. From all the comments it seems like a great basic recipe that can lead to all kinds of adaptations. I used golden raisins and added a 1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder for an extra kick. Thanks for the inspiration.
just made these but with choc chips and dried cranberries instead of raisins– delicious! thanks, deb!
I just made these, they were awesome! :P I might have left them in the fridge too long though because they came out looking like little balls instead of flat cookies.
I am totally making these tonight – they look soooo good :D
I made these on friday night…so yummy…
I used butterscotch chips…Yum…
I can’t wait to make them with white chips and crasins…
I also always soak my rasins before using them too…
I’ve made oatmeal raisin cookies using the recipe on the back of the Quaker Oats can — the result: they tasted good but were flat and dry.
I made your cookies on Saturday and they turned out great! I followed your directions and chilled the cookie dough before baking and it made a huge difference! The cookies turned out chunky and chewy.
Thanks for posting all your great tips =)
I also love, love. love these cookies and being a chocolate chip lover, had to put in about 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. I too subbed cranberries for raisins.
I have also found chilling my chocolate chip cookie dough before baking also enhances their results.
Thank you thank you thank you for this tremendous recipe! I baked these last weekend and they turned out perfectly. No modifications save for adding the walnuts, which you’re right, good idea.
These cookies are just perfect! I literally just took them out of the oven moments ago, let them cool a bit and dove right in to try one! MMMM.
Oatmeal raisin are my husband’s FAVORITE cookie. I informed him yesterday that he would be coming home to these today. A couple of minutes after he walked in the door I grabbed one and stuck it towards his mouth to take a bite. Which he did. And as he walked away I heard, ummm. Another couple of steps (and chews), ummmm. And another couple of steps and chews, uuummmmmmm.
Yeah. They are that good. I changed nothing following all directions step-by-step except for tripling the recipe.
I believe Quaker Oats needs to put your recipe on their box!
I took these out of the oven about 10 minutes ago and couldn’t wait. They’re so, so delicious. And yes, they are absolutely a breakfast cookie with a big cup of tea. Thanks, Deb!
These cookies are so awesome! I actually love the Quaker oats recipe, but I’ve been looking for a new one using rolled oats since we really don’t eat Quaker oats to have them in the house. This recipe was exactly what I was looking for. I made the cookies tiny, about an inch, so I could eat lots of them and not feel guilty. And, best of all, my husband, who despises oatmeal raisin cookies LOVES these! Thanks Deb!
These look AMAZINGLY good!! By far my favorite kind of cookie.
I just made these last night and I am in LOVE. I may have overcooked them a bit since I thought when I tested them 15 mins in that they were too soft. I lightly pressed the tops and they would give too easy… maybe I should have pulled them out and let them cool which would have stiffed them up a little.
Regardless, they are amazing, I wonder how they taste with golden raisins!
As I am easily swayed by power of suggestion, I immediately set out to make these cookies. The texture is great-a little crisp and nice chewiness. However, they were way too sweet for me. What I did differently, though: I used dried sweetened cranberries instead of raisins and used brown sugar rather than light brown sugar. Would following the original recipe have yielded less sweet cookies? Is there a big difference between regular brown sugar and light brown sugar in terms of sweetness? Same with cranberries vs raisins?
I am sure you could dial back the the sugar next time — try half a cup. Let us know how it goes.
I just pulled these out of the oven. I waited the 5 minutes which was nearly impossible then dug in. OH. My. Gosh. Fantastic!!!! I’ve had 4 more since. Yikes. Must walk away from the cookies!
I’ve tried many oatmeal cookies in the past but I usually only eat one or two. The rest I give away. But with this recipe I actually ate more than two! I reduced the sugar a little bit and put the dough in the fridge. This is my first time trying a recipe from your blog. Thank you for sharing. Beautiful photos!
Have you tried Ante Anne’s oatmeal and raisin cookies? Best I’ve had.
Anyway… anyone want to make me some and send them out to Vietnam for me? Will love you forever!
THANK YOU! made these last night, using a mix of cranberries, walnuts and choc chips and have brought them in to work as an after lunch surprise. The only problem was that the batter was SO good and it was late so the chilling time got shortened as I wanted to eat one! I just started subscribing to your blog thanks to my work buddies making your great carrot cake cupcakes for my birthday this month and can’t wait to try your other stuff. Keep it coming!
I love this recipe. Who knew that the trick to thick cookies was chilling them?!? Well, obviously you. That is why I love you (platonically of course). Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies are a favorite of my Dad and I. He had a business trip out to the East Coast (from CA) and was able to stop by and visit me yesterday. I surprised him with these cookies and he LOVED them. This is my new go-to cookie recipe. Thanks!
one of my NEW ALL-TIME FAVES–for ease & taste!
the workplace concurs, as they consumed almost 5 doz cookies today!
i agree re: salt–use 1/2 teaspoon & i leave the walnuts out, though i’d be a fan of pecans or cashews.
try this variation:
instead of raisins, 3/4 c cherry-flavored dried cranberries
plus 3/4 c chopped heath bars
Hi there! Can molasses be substituted for the sugar? If so, how much? I love the richness it adds and know it makes baked goods even chewier…my favorite-YUM!
These are the best cookies I have ever baked. I chopped the walnuts into tiny little pieces, almost like sand, and it’s perfect if you don’t like a big chunk of walnut in your cookie. Mine did not spread in the oven at all. I took them out after 10 minutes, pressed them gently with the back of a spoon to flatten, then baked for another 2 minutes. This is a fantastic recipe!
first, this is the best site ever! second, do you think bread flour can substitute for all purpose with the oatmeal raisin cookies? my chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies are with bread flour because i love a chewy cakey cookie!
Hi Regan — I’ve never tried it, but I’d love to hear how it worked out. I can’t think of any reason that it wouldn’t — the only risk might be a tough cookie.
cool, i’ll try it with both then, and let you know! i worked off of your peanut butter cookie recipe and they were fantastic. i baked a half batch w/all purpose, and half batch with bread flour and the bread flour wins it! the all purpose makes them flat and crunchy. the bread flour makes them fat and chewey! same with my chocolate chip cookies.
-someone who baked in a tiny kitchen in ny but now has a bigger one and is baking alot better these days ;-)
Grrr! I was looking for an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe a week and a half ago and the one I settled on left much to be desired. If only I had waited a few days… I look forward to trying your recipe next time.
We totally loved these cookies. We did however substitute the raisins with dried cranberries. Very delicious thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Made these last night after drooling over them for days… they were everything you described and more. We loved that they aren’t too sweet – I added a few chocolate chips (not that it needed it but I couldn’t resist) and we are devouring them. Absolutely perfect – and love the hint of chilling the dough – I’ve always wondered how to get my cookies thicker. Thanks!!!
So, I just finished baking these to take them to a potluck tonight, but I seem to be eating them for breakfast, instead…. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I just made these :o) With a glass of cold rice milk, they’re really nice. Thanks for sharing :o)
xo,
Linnea
I finally made these, with no modifications at all apart from using more raisins, and they were very good.
Absolutely perfect. Thanks for a keeper of a recipe!
These were the best cookies we have ever eaten.The dough smelt amazing and we were even willing to eat it raw.. thanx alot .. will keep making it again and again..
These were so easy to make and so yummy! Everyone loved them. I looked back in your archives and I plan on trying your peanut butter cookies next. :o)
deb- I was the one asking about the way sweet taste using brown sugar rather than light brown sugar. As per your suggestion, the half cup of brown sugar did the trick for me. Thanks! Also, I followed a suggestion from a commenter who soaks the raisins (or cranberries in my case) in egg and butter for an hour before combining with other ingredients. I think they did plump up more and gave the cranberries more pop. Friends became instant fans of the cookies. Wow, over 200 comments for an oatmeal raisin cookies post!
YUM! I saw these pictures yesterday and immediately went to the store to get some raisins. After I made them I kept 4 balls in the fridge for a few hours and froze the rest. i love how thick they turn out, and i just ate the last one a few minutes ago. DELISH!
although, have you ever soaked the raisins in the egg/vanilla for an hour prior to mixing it all in like some recipes do? my mom swears this makes “the best” oatmeal raisin cookies, although i’m not sure what that step does. softens the raisins maybe? i might try it next time! :)
Can I use quick cooking oats for this recipe? Just wondering, since I already have them in the pantry. Thanks so much!
Ok…these cookies are THE cookies. Perfect, round little spheres of chewy cookie, studded with ever impressive raisins…I made a double batch the other night with the intention of saving half and sending the other half with my husband to his office. Well, after several taste tests, more than half of the cookies remained home with my husband and I and only a meager 1/4 of the cookies made it to the office….they were just to good to share…..
Just made these the other night and they are perfect. Not flat and crispy like usual oatmeal raisin cookies they are thick and chewy just like the name suggests, thanks for the great recipe.
These turned out amazingly good!
Just a side note for the adventurous. I always experiment in my cooking & baking, and thought I’d add a touch of maple syrup to the dough. Bad idea. Even a little bit makes the cookies sticky & crunchy. Good thing I tried it on just a couple cookies first.
Meg — Yes, I am sure it would work because when I made them this time, I ran out of oatmeal and had to use a packet or two of plain instant to make my measurement.
i made these, well sort of. as i didn’t have rolled oats or raisins. but what i did have was 4 packets of maple brown sugar instant oatmeal and some honey sesame cashews. so i substituted those. now i can’t stop eating them, quite a nice cooke surprise.
I made these tonight and they are great! Thank you :D
Deeeeeeb! I’ve made these like three times in the past week, we can’t stop eating them! My husband has dubbed them the Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ever. (Oatmeal raisin is his favorite type of cookie.) I normally just lurk but I had to tell you how much we lurve this recipe. Thanks!
Just made these and they’re really good! :)
hi,
these look great! will be trying them out and was just wondering- what’s the minimum amount of time i’ll need to chill them before baking? would that be in the freezer or the fridge?
thanks!
I just made these this evening with quick oats and chocolate yogurt covered raisins.
Sooo good.
I used this base recipe today, with the goal of doing some spring cleaning in my baking cupboard. Instead of raisins and walnuts, I added semi-sweet and white chips, slivered almonds and coconut. They came out great!
Thanks so much. This was amazing…my family said these were the BEST oatmeal cookies ever!! This recipe is going in my personal collection! One thing I did tweek though was the sugar. I only had about 1/3 cup brown sugar left so I substituted the other 1/3 with white sugar. Turned out just fine!
These cookies are phenomenal! I absolutely love the texture! Not overly sweet themselves but could be enhanced by the addition of some white chocolate chips if you like a sweeter cookie. I enjoyed them just as they are. A lightly crisped bottom with a chewy, yet, not undercooked center. Perfect. My new favorite cookie.
Deb, these are great!! I soaked the raisins in the vanilla-egg mixture for an hour, as some suggested and they are so juicy!
I think they TOTALLY qualify as breakfast food. If pancakes and waffles count as breakfast food, these definitely should.
Bravo.
wow. finally. thanks.
First I want to say thank you for this recipe. This was my second time making cookies in my whole life. The first time I made them was last week off the Quaker Oats Can, They came out horrible. So i did a little research and came across your recipe. I made them yesterday just like you said. They came out goooood. They are just like you said they would be. They were soft and chewy. I used quick cooking rolling oats added a little nutmeg, walnuts and pecans along with the raisin
awesome is the word. Funny when I was a kid, I did not like oatmeal cookies at all. Now I can’t get enough of them. Again thank you so much.
Came across your blog recently and I am enjoying it very much. Thanks. Your photos are beautiful with sassy comments and recipes clear and easy to follow. Inspired I made the Oatmeal cookies tonight. I didn’t have cinnamon so subed it with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. Also I didn’t have brown sugar so used 1/2 cup caster sugar. It was not that chewy maybe because I reduced sugar quantity. But the result was still very very good. I will make them again for sure. My next project is “Mom’s Apple Cake” which looks and sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes. From Jakarta
I just made these cookies today and they are amazing. Perfectly crisp on the outside, but nice and chewy on the inside. I can’t wait to take them to work tomorrow! I’m sure my office mates will love me.
I made these last night for the first time and substituted chocolate chips for the raisins.. :) They are great! Everyone loved them and they are so soft and chewy and wonderful. I made a full batch, but just baked a dozen of them. the rest are formed into balls and frozen in the freezer – perfect for hot out of the oven cookies on short notice :)
OK, so now I finally have a recipe for the perfect oat and raisin biccies. But you’ve unleashed a MONSTER. Can’t stop eating them. Or making them. Then eating them again.
We made these with craisins, white choc chips, and cashews. They are AMAZING! We made some immediately and have batter in the fridge to make more later. Thanks!
I like the sound of these cookies. I love cookies, especially oatmeal raisin cookies. The problem is that I have developed a sensitivity to sugar and cannot have anything with a high sugar content. I have substituted spenda in many recipies to varying degrees of success. Do you think using the brown sugar splenda will work in this recipe? If not, do you have any suggestions about making these cookies with some sort of sweetening substitute?
I’m really anxious to try these. My grandmother used to make chewy oatmeal cookies, sometimes kind of “cakey” in the center. Often she would use chopped dates instead of raisins, yum. All the recipes I’ve tried turn out crispy, ugh.
I live in the 4,500 ft alt range, wonder would there be any changes?
Thanks!
Yes, recipes have to be adapted for high altitudes, but I live at sea level, and haven’t practiced it. If you have a Joy of Cooking, there are tips in there, or if you Google, I am sure there are resources and advice on the Web.
I baked these tonight and they are very good. I think the best oatmeal raisin cookies i’ve ever baked. thank you for the recipe! and I love how it’s a half recipe… I got about 25 cookies~
I must tell you that since I started subscribing to your blog my cookies have greatly improved. My mom proclaimed that your oatmeal raisin cookies were great. I’ve tried several oatmeal recipes and all have failed. This recipe even though it is small was wonderful. The type of cookie everyone in my family loves. Chewy and soft and thick. Thanks for this cookie.
I can’t stop eating the cookies. It’s was chewy on the inside and perfectly crunchy on the outside. Delish…
Very very good! :)
I made these last night…they’re fabulous! The raisins I bought were a little larger than usual (they may have called them “jumbo” at my local health foods store…), and that made a huge difference. In my friend’s words, “it made the cookie!” Thanks!
I swear to god making a batch of these might save me from divorce someday. :) My wife swoons over the smell that comes from the kitchen when I make these. The recipe is perfect; wouldn’t change a thing!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this recipe! I made a batch today and they are PERFECT – just what I have been craving for weeks :) Hubby wanted chocolate chips instead of raisins so I split the batch after the oatmeal was mixed in and stirred raisins in half and chocolate chips in the other half. Interestingly, the cookies with choc. chips flattened out more than the raisin ones… same pan, cooked at the same time – weird. Both delicious though!
This recipe is wonderful! I made a double batch for my kids (8+ the grandkids) yesterday and they were gone in a flash! I’m making some now for lunch snacks and for hubby to take to work. Thanks for sharing a yummy recipe!
I am licking warm cookie crumbs off my lips as I write this. I’ve tried recipe after recipe, and no matter what I do, my cookies always turn out crunchy. Not so with this recipe! Crisp edges, chewy centers. My go-to oatmeal cookie recipe from this moment on!
Thank you! These cookies are delicious. I had made some tea for myself and decided that these cookies would go great with it. I was able to make the cookies–start to finish–by the time my tea reach the perfect temperature for drinking (even with “help” from my five-year old). I used whole wheat flour and quick oats, and not only are the kids loving them, but they even agreed to have them with the green tea, too. ; ]
I have not tried your recipe, but I am getting ready to start in less than five minutes. I have searched for the ultimate Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, and ‘girlfriend’ yours’ sounded like a winner from the very start! Thank You……….Jennifer
greetings from Scotland! I’ve always wondered how to get cookies chewy and now I know. I’m going to get my pinny on after work and make these as I’ve just eaten a store bought cookie that was not good enough. I love that so many folks here are so unashamed about baking for their man: you don’t need to be a Stepford wife to enjoy that and my hub is always so impressed and grateful.
ok i tried these and thought i had found the perfect recipe, but once again i ended up with great tasty flat lacy oatmeal cookies. i even froze them! maybe im not suppose to make oatmeal cookies.
Hi Deb,
I made these cookies this weekend, but since I had no brown or cane sugar, I just had to make do with 1 TB molasses, added to a scant 2/3c of white sugar. The result was just amazing! Thanks for sharing!
i just made these cookies – man did they smell good!!!! Unfortunately there are as flat as a board. They taste great but look silly. What did i do wrong? Would love to try again but need to figure out what happened. Any suggestions?
I just wanted to say I made my oatmeal cookies with whole wheat flour and I think they are great. Of course, I love the coarser taste of whole wheat, so there ya go. I also added cinnamon and clove, softened the raisins, and added fiber . . . cause I love fiber. :)
Great recipe. Thanks
These cookies are really amazing! Thanks for sharing these. I used whole wheat flour, added extra cinnamon and followed the chilling of the dough, and low and behold, the perfect cookie!
I just whipped up a batch of these cookies and they are refrigerating as I type this. If they taste baked ANYTHING like the batter, I am forever sold to this site. Although, to be honest, you had me at your lemon squares.
I made these last night – as cookie bars!!! The chilling overnight made it easy to take warm goodness to work in the morning. I doubled your recipe, lowered the sugar, used all brown, craisins and pecans instead of raisins.
They were fab!
These were the most delicious oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever tasted! Thank you so much for the recipe! :)
Just made these! They really ARE crispy around edges and chewy in the center. Thanks for the tweaks. I doubled the recipe but would have been happy with even more…
For those who haven’t tried them, you’ve got to make Deb’s Key Lime Meltaways. Oooo baby.
I don’t bake often. This (unusual for me) craving for oatmeal cookies appeared in my belly. I did a search and found your recipe. I went with your salt amount, and used craisins. Tres Yum!
I used dates instead of raisins. I added the lesser amount of salt. I also refrigerated the dough for about 30 minutes then took it out and rolled it into a log, placed it back in the refrigerator until I was ready for it. When I took it out to bake, all I had to do was cut the dough in about 1 1/2 inch rounds (yeah they were thick. I cut 11 total) I then tried shaping them a little round on top to make sure the center would be chewy. Hint: you don’t have to shape them. I found out after baking them that I had to press them in the middle or they would have been too thick to cook. I had to bake them longer than 12 minutes. I probably added about 6 to 7 minutes more. Yeah! That was a great heads up on cooking them until they were brown around the edges and looking a little uncooked in the center. They came out perfect. My daughter loved them! I loved them! Thanks a million.
Lovely recipe, those cookies are delicious!
I forgot to mention that I was just looking through the recipes for cookies and then I found yours! Do you have any more recipes for anything like muffins, cakes or biscuits?
Yesterday i jumped on the internet searching for a great oatmeal cookie recipe to make with my daughter, i found yours and decided to try it.
and let me tell u, this is a fabulous recipe! other cookies i have made are always flat and crunch, never chewy and plump, but this recipe was! thank you so much!
Hello again! I just can’t get over how nice your cookies are, please if you have any more recipes then please put it on here!
I was on here looking for another recipe for cookies and I came across this, I was going to make Choc. Chip raisin and oatmeal cookies, but I didn’t have choc. chips, But i found this recipe and OMG they are so good. crisp on the outside and chewy and soft in the inside, and they didn’t run at all – i used a cookie scoop (don’t know how big it was) but they came out perfect, looked like they were professionally made – fooled my fiance. Thank you for the awesome recipe, I will be forsure adding this to my collection! Thank you again!
Great cookies! I made these with bread flour bc it’s all I had, and they turned out great~! I also added 1 tbsp flaxseeds and 1 tbsp wheatgream, and 1 extra tbsp butter. Fantastic!
The is my go-to recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies.
I’ve used it so many times, and they’re always the best cookies ever.
Thanks for sharing it!
Mmmmmmmmm, can’t wait to try them:)
I gave these as a gift, and they were inhaled! Thanks for sharing the recipe. :)
Just finished making these & they were AMAZING
everyone loved them! Thanks :)
I’m totally making these on the weekend!
These were fantastic! I had never tried oatmeal raisin before, but I got a request and found this recipe. I left the dough in the fridge over night (because I started at 2 in the morning) and they were perfect the next morning. Golden brown on the edges… thick and chewy in the middle! :D Thank you!
I made a single batch of these cookies for a group my husband goes to, now I find that people are macking request for triple, sometimes six times the single batch 3 – 4 times a week. I would call that a deffinate hit.
OMG! I have never baked anything from scratch before until this afternoon. I am soooo pleased with this recipe. Everything turned out perfect, just like the pictures and the description. They’re the best cookies I’ve ever had, and oatmeal raisin isn’t even my favorite. I think next time I’ll replace the raisins with chocolate chips!
I made these this afternoon with chocolate covered raisins and they went down a real treat with my family!
I personally don’t like oatmeal raisin cookies, but they smelt so lovely when they were cooking.
I’ll definitely be baking these again; my Grandma said they were the best oatmeal raisin cookies she’s ever had!
Okay..I just made this recipe. I changed a few things that make them divine!!!
In bed the other night I was thinking..”hmmm, oatmeal cookies with dried blueberries and chocolate ships”…I used this as a base recipe. Excellent recipe. My hubby requested that I roll a few in coconut before baking..What a great idea! The coconut ones are baking now.
Try the blueberry and choco combo..mm.mm.mm
I made these adding a little mixed spice and chocolate chips, but otherwise following the recipe exactly. The flavor is very good but do not have what I would call a ‘chewy’ texture – it’s more soft and cakey. Is this the effect that was intended or did I go wrong somewhere? I’m not so much a fan of the cakey texture so will be giving these out to friends!
I heard that one secret to chewy cookies is to use golden syrup (the closest US equivalent is corn syrup) in place of some of the sugar, so maybe I will try this next time. Anyone have any more ideas?
This recipe is wonderful! I am baking these cookies as I type! I used craisins instead of raisins, and the tart flavor definitely compliments the recipe. Whoever hasn’t tried this recipe yet, I highly recommend it. Very easy and very tasty!
So good, I just made these! They are amazing!
Oooh Myyyy!!! I just took the first bite and they ARE AMAZING!!! My sweetheart is going to love them!!! Thanx for sharing!
I’ve made these twice now, and not only are they amazing, they are easy too! I think I’m gonna memorize the recipe and use it as my go-to company cookie recipe. Everyone raves about them.
Also: try pre-cooking the raisins by submersing them in water and microwaving for a minute. It makes them super soft and makes the cookie just that much better.
Yes, indeed these are delicious! I’m sending them to my husband, who is out of town for awhile on business. These are his favorite kind of cookie and I had hoped to make them for him before he left. He is going to be so happy when he bites into one of these! It made me happy too even though there was no chocolate in them.
I found this site less than 24 hours ago and I am hooked. Deb you do a great job.
I have searched high and low for a great ORC and though I have found some with great flavours they are often more tender and cake-like not so much ‘chewy’. For me ‘chewy’ has a slight stickiness to the bite. I haven’t tried this recipe yet but I want to know from those who have made these cookies if they are cakey and if that is the intended texture.
I sometimes substitute maple flavoring for the vanilla and also have used Crasins or other dried fruits like dates. It’s all great as long as it’s with Oatmeal! I love them for breakfast!
I was craving oatmeal raisin cookies and when I googled the term, your site was one of the first 4. Boy, am I glad I decided to print your recipe! I just finished baking a batch and they were really really good!!! I went with the 1/2 tsp of salt and it was perfect. Next time I will try it with the craisins, as some have suggested. Thanks for such a wonderful blog!
I made these this afternoon – very tasty! I forgot the salt (d’oh!) and they still turned out great (though a little on the sweet side). Love your site!
I am making these cookies right now, but with boiled raisins, and I hope they turn out as awesome as yours look!
Thank you for providing an oatmeal cookie recipe that isn’t loaded with sugar. Last weekend I made a batch of cookies that called for a cup of brown sugar AND a cup of white sugar. Blech! Too sweet! These are the perfect sweetness and are delightfully chewy. This will be my go-to recipe from now on!
Thank you. My kids and I are becoming addicts!
Thank you for the recipe. These cookies are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!
I baked them for the school open house last week, and they were gone in minutes while other cookie trays were still full. People came back for seconds and thirds. One woman even tucked one in her bag for later.
I made them a little bigger (doubling the recipe to make about 30 cookies), so I flatten the dough a bit before baking — they really don’t spread out much while baking. They came out thick and chewy as promised, and absolutely delicious!
I find that if you chop the raisins I can handle eating them in cookies…it’s a texture thing. I love their flavor!
Thank You! I have now made this recipe TWICE because the cookies were awesome. I took your advice and kept some in the freezer for baking off when I had a craving for a yummy cookie and they worked like a charm! Best Oatmeal Raisin cookies ever – expecially when I added pecans! Thanks again!
To no avail I have tried endlessly to make a thick and chewy oatmeal cookie worthy of gift giving. ALWAYS,they turned out flat and crispy.Finally one evening I typed in my search engine…………. HELP,I need thick and chewy oatmeal cookies. and WAH-LAH…your site popped up…Needless to say the hint about refrigerating the dough for a bit was the one step my cookies needed. I have made several batches since and can’t thank you enough…But let me try.THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ( ok, I think you get the point!!!)
Taking them out just a tad before the timer goes off seems to be a good thing also..I actually ground some walnuts and put in one of my batches for the folks who don’t like the CRUCH of the nuts..( but they loved the flavor!!!!)
I’ve made many receipes for Oatmeal cookies and these by far are the tastiest and softest to date!! Excellant flavor.
My 8-year-old came home from school and he was a bit under the weather. Got some matsoh ball soup in him and he requested some oatmeal cookies. I just made in him a batch of these and he is in cookie heaven! Thanks!
I made these yesterday and not sure what I did wrong! They turned out more “cake-y” than “cookie-y”. I did a batch chilled and straight after mixing. Chilling the dough really makes all the difference.
These cookies tasted like they dropped out of oatmeal heaven. I made them as a gift but was so tempted that I ate them and bought a gift. (Shame on me). I always pre-soak my raisins in a cup of very hot water to bloat them before using them in a recipe. This time, I heated some ginger brandy and let the raisins soak in it for approximately twenty minutes before adding them to the recipe. The result was super delicious!!!
One of the best cookie recepies ever. I can never bake anything with sugar right but these cookies came out awesome. I didnt have to search to find any of the recipies and the cookies taste better than store bought. I replaced the raisins with dried cherries for a twist and the recipe was accepting of my change. Thanks a bunch!
thank you for this recipe, I was sooooo craving oatmeal raisin cookies in this third week of flu ickiness and this came up first with google. there are two dozen wonderful chewy mouthfuls of oatmeal raisin goodness and I didn’t have to leave the house :-)
These cookies saved my evening. I came home yesterday tired and exhausted, but making these cookies and eating them afterwards saved my night. They are brilliant, super easy and oh-so-delicious. I love oatmeal, and these cookies. Heaven.
I printed off a copy of this recipe a few months ago. Just got around to making them this morning. Very easy and especially delicious. Thank you.
Thanks for this recipe! The only adjustments i made were adding 1/4tsp of cloves (for a little more kick) and did a whole tsp of vanilla (1/2 maagascar and 1/2 mexican), and they came out deelish! Very moist and chewy.
I made the oatmeal cookies using your recipe a couple of months ago and they were delicious. I even doubled the recipe and they were gone within a few days. Thanks for sharing!