Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Oatmeal raisin cookies are one of my favorite cookies.
Erick, however, approaches them with caution because he’s had too many heartbreaking experiences biting into what he thought was a chocolate chip cookie, only to discover raisins. 😂 He may not love the raisins, but even he agrees that oatmeal gives cookies the very best chew. These have crisp edges with a soft, chewy middle and plenty of texture from the oats.
I also don't love an oatmeal raisin cookie that's overwhelmed by cinnamon. I want to taste the buttery cookie, brown sugar, oats, and raisins — not just cinnamon — so you'll only find ¼ teaspoon here. If you're firmly on Team Cinnamon, absolutely add more.
And if you're with Erick on the raisins? Swap them for ¾ cup of chocolate chips or butterscotch chips. I also love adding ½ cup of chopped walnuts.
Why You'll Love These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
These cookies are all about texture: lightly crisp and caramelized around the edges while staying soft and chewy in the middle.
Brown sugar and a little dark molasses bring extra moisture and a deeper caramel flavor, while a generous amount of oats creates that wonderful chew that makes an oatmeal cookie so good.
And there's one slightly unusual step in the baking process: give the pan a good tap.
After 10 minutes in the oven, I pull the baking sheet out and firmly tap it against the counter a few times. This encourages the cookies to flatten and gives you that thinner, crinkly, chewy texture rather than a thick mound of oatmeal cookie dough.
Then they go back into the oven for just a few more minutes to finish baking.
Makes approximately 12 large cookies
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon molasses
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2⅓ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¾ cup raisins
Optional additions or substitutions:
½ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup chocolate chips, in place of the raisins
¾ cup butterscotch chips, in place of the raisins
Instructions
Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugars. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 3–4 minutes, until light and creamy.
Add the wet ingredients. Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses and mix until well combined.
Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and cinnamon.
Make the dough. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix just until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the oats and raisins. If you're adding walnuts, fold them in now.
Scoop and chill. Portion the dough into ¼-cup (approximately 2-ounce) balls. Place the cookie dough balls in the freezer for 20–30 minutes.
Bake. Arrange 6 chilled dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between them. Bake for 10 minutes.
Give them a tap. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and firmly tap it against the counter a few times. This will help the cookies spread and flatten slightly.
Finish baking. Return the cookies to the oven for another 4–5 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers still look soft.
Cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
A Few Notes
Want more cinnamon? Go for it. I intentionally keep the cinnamon subtle with just ¼ teaspoon, but you can increase it to suit your taste.
Not a raisin person? Erick understands. Replace the raisins with the same amount of chocolate chips or butterscotch chips.
Add some crunch. I love these with ½ cup of chopped walnuts added to the dough.
Don't skip the chill. Giving the portioned dough 20–30 minutes in the freezer helps control the spread and gives us those chewy centers and crisp edges we're after.
Whether you're firmly Team Raisin or would rather fill yours with chocolate chips, this is the kind of cookie that's especially good shared with someone else.
Because cookies may not fix everything…but they certainly make most things feel a little better.
