The Best Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The Best Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies made with butter, sugar, cinnamon, old-fashioned Quaker oats, and raisins. If you’re searching for the softest, chewiest, most flavorful cookie recipe, you’ll love this one! A perfect dessert cookie to serve on a platter, pack for a lunch box treat or have as an after-school snack.

For more oatmeal recipes, try my Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars or my Strawberry Oatmeal Jam Bars next.

A stack of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. A buttery cookie with oatmeal pieces and raisins on top. Served on burlap with raisins.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are pretty much the best cookies ever! Soft and chewy and absolutely loaded with flavor. I mean, it’s hard to beat that combination of cinnamon, raisins, and chewy oatmeal. And since I’ve mastered a darn good Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, it was about time I shared Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Take this bakery-style cookie dough recipe to the next level by adding mini M&M’s, crushed pretzels, or chocolate chips.

Oatmeal cookies with raisins have been around forever and there are dozens of variations of this recipe but I always come back to making this one for its exceptionally rich flavor. This recipe was always baked fresh growing up and they are super easy and simple to make with just a few staple pantry ingredients like raisins, oatmeal, butter, flour, cinnamon, egg, and sugar which makes it a great recipe to make homemade from scratch.

A single oatmeal raisin cookie on burlap with raisins.

How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

  1. Cream together butter, and sugars.
  2. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
  3. Slowly beat in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  4. Stir in raisins.
  5. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
  6. Scoop and bake the dough in a 350°F oven for 10-11 minutes.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ingredients

  • OATMEAL: Traditional oatmeal raisin cookies use old-fashioned quick oats. I prefer to use Quaker’s old-fashioned oats which are whole grain and remain moist and soft in this recipe.
  • RAISINS: Find this dried fruit near the canned fruit or in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. I use 1½ cups and find this to be a hearty ratio in the cookie dough. You’ll want to stir the raisins and oatmeal into the dough at the end.
  • BUTTER: These cookies are known to bake up very chewy thanks to the generous butter (fat) ratio. I keep unsalted butter on hand but feel free to use salted butter.
  • SUGAR: A combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar work perfectly. I like to use brown sugar which incorporates a molasses flavor.
  • EGGS: Helps to bind the dough together and adds richness.
  • CINNAMON: Ground cinnamon infuses a warm flavor and adds depth in combination with brown sugar.
12 Oatmeal Raisin Cookies on a wooden surface with raisins.

Variations on Recipe

Oatmeal cookies have been a classic dessert staple for decades. Generations of families continue to use the same recipe passed down but everyone knows these cookies come in a variety of ways. Variations may include some small ingredient change or something much larger. Other times, my family will simply ask me to add in other ingredients to add flavor or texture.

  • Baking chips: Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate, or butterscotch chips and watch the cookies disappear and vanish from the plate.
  • Nuts: Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds.
  • Sprinkles: Add a pop of color with sprinkles or jimmies for birthdays or holidays.
  • Chocolate Candies: Stir in mini M&M’s for a delicious surprise.
  • Dried Fruits: Swap out raisins for golden raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, or dried blueberries.
  • Glaze: Serve with a cookie icing glaze recipe or dip half the cookie in chocolate.
  • Caramel: Stir in caramel or toffee baking bits for a toasted buttery flavor.
  • Salt: Sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
  • Sandwich Cookies: Make sandwich cookies using this cookie recipe and pipe them with cookie cream filling.
Best Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked on burlap with raisins. text in center reads best ever chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. Second image features a single cookie on burlap with raisins.

Cookie Tips

Do these cookies bake up thick? No, they do not. The cookies bake up big and thin. For a thicker cookie, remove ¼ cup butter when making them.

How long do you bake them for? Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes in a 350°F oven.

How can I keep the cookies soft? Cool cookies after baking then store in a zip-lock bag. This works better than an using air-tight container.

Cookie Recipes to Try Next

The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The Best Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The Best Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies made with butter, sugar, cinnamon, old-fashioned Quaker oats, and raisins. If you're searching for the softest, chewiest, most flavorful cookie recipe, you'll love this one! A perfect dessert cookie to serve on a platter, pack for a lunch box treat or have as an after-school snack.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 40 cookies
Calories 122 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter slightly softened
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ¾ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 large eggs
  • tsp vanilla extract
  • cup raisins
  • cup oat fashioned oats

Instructions
 

  • Cream together butter, and sugars.
  • Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
  • Slowly beat in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  • Stir in raisins.
  • Slowly beat in oats.
  • Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
  • Scoop 1½ tbsp dough and roll into a ball.
  • Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 122kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 82mgPotassium: 72mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 154IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate and it’s accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.

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