Soft and chewy, old fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg! Delicious, homemade cookies like you enjoyed in childhood!
Love baking cookies? Try these soft and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies for the perfect dessert. Or give our homemade Snickerdoodles a try today!
Why this Recipe is Best
There’s not much to say when it comes to Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. You either love them or you hate them.
I personally love the soft and chewy texture, the plump raisins, and the sweet hint of spice!
Today’s recipe is an updated version of my old oatmeal raisin cookie. I took that classic cookie and gave it a delicious upgrade.
Here’s why it works:
- Soft and Chewy middle
- Slight crunch to the outside and edges
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg spiced
- No Chill time
Ingredient Notes
Just the basics here…with a few key ingredients:
- Oats- we use old fashioned oats in this chewy cookie recipe. Don’t swap for steel cut or quick cook…you’ll end up with crunchy or dry cookies.
- Dark Brown Sugar- the key to that molasses flavor that keeps these cookies moist! If you swap it out for light brown sugar, add a Tablespoon of molasses too!
- Cornstarch- keeps these cookies soft for days!
- Raisins- use fresh! Or soak the raisins in warm water while your mixing up the cookie dough. This helps them plump up! You can also use golden raisins, which are moist and plump too.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg- gives the perfect spice and flavor to these chewy cookies.
Tips and Tricks
- Start with melted butter and beat it with the sugar until fully blended and smooth.
- Unsalted butter and Old Fashioned Oats. This combination gives these cookies the perfect texture.
- Press extra raisins on top of the cookie dough balls before baking. Not only does this give extra raisin texture, but looks inviting too!
- Use fresh raisins. If you start with stale raisins, you’ll end with stale raisins. Using a combination of raisins and GOLDEN raisins is my favorite!
- Parchment paper or silpat baking mats keep your cookies from browning too much on the bottoms!
Recipe FAQs
Store oatmeal raisin cookies in airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
You CAN freeze Oatmeal Raisin Cookies! Slide baked cookies into ziploc freezer bag and squeeze out excess air. Store in freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature overnight and enjoy.
Overmixing can cause gluten to develop in the flour which results in dry cookies. Using stale raisins can also cause your cookies to taste hard.
Freezing Cookie Dough
Whether I’m making pudding cookies or cake mix cookies, freezing cookie dough is something I do every time.
Why not double the cookie recipe and freeze half the dough? Or if today’s recipe is too much for your family, freeze some!
Of course you can freeze the baked cookies, but have you ever frozen cookie dough balls instead?
- Line a metal cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Drop cookie dough balls onto pan and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Remove cookie dough from freezer and slide partially frozen cookie dough balls into freezer safe ziploc container (in a single layer).
- Label ziploc with type of cookie and baking time.
- Return to freezer.
- When ready to bake, just place frozen cookie dough balls 1 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake according to recipe directions. You may need to add a couple minutes for frozen dough.
Substitutions
Using our favorite oatmeal cookie base, you can make some of my other favorite cookies!
- Chocolate. Of course you could easily swap out the raisins for chocolate chips and make oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Still soft and chewy oatmeal cookies, but without the raisins!
- White Chocolate. You can also use dried cranberries instead of raisins if you’d prefer, and add in some white chocolate chips. YUM. These White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are one of my favorites!
- Butterscotch. Or use butterscotch chips and make yourself a batch of these classic Oatmeal Scotchies.
More Classic Cookie Recipes
- The best, chewy Sugar Cookies with a no-chill dough. Topped with a creamy sugar cookie icing, you’ll love this Copycat Swig Sugar Cookie recipe!
- These Easy Traditional Kolachky Cookies Recipe for Christmas have a melt in your mouth cookie base and are topped with sweet preserves. Don’t forget the extra powdered sugar!
- This Monster Cookie recipe is full of M&Ms, chocolate chips, peanut butter and oats for a cookie that is fun, chewy and delicious! Easy to make and perfect for sharing or freezing!
- Easy recipe for No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies! The peanut butter with chocolate and oats gives these cookies so much flavor!
- Delicious, copycat Iced Oatmeal Cookies. Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, these glazed Oatmeal cookies are a hit!
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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 ½ cups packed DARK brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 cups raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat melted butter with brown sugar for about two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat for an additional minute.
- Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, kosher salt, and cornstarch. Mix on low just until combined.
- Add in old fashioned oats and combine on low speed. Fold in all but 1/4 cup of raisins.
- Drop cookie dough by 2 Tablespoon scoop onto baking sheet. Press several raisins firmly into the top of the cookie dough.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes. DO not overbake. The edges will beging to brown and the middle of the cookie may seem underbaked, but will continue to cook when removed from oven.
- Allow cookies to sit on cookie sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.
Notes
- STORAGE: Store cookies in airtight container for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
- OATS: Do not substitute quick cook oats. They will absorb the moisture in the cookie and result in a dry, crumbly texture.
- RAISINS: For best results, use fresh raisins. Or use a combination of raisins and GOLDEN raisins! To get plump raisins, soak raisins in warm water while you’re making the cookie dough!
- Dark Brown Sugar- the key to that molasses flavor that keeps these cookies moist! If you swap it out for light brown sugar, add a Tablespoon of molasses too!
- Cornstarch- keeps these cookies soft for days!
Oatmeal raisin is one of my favorite cookies! I love how moist and chewy these are!
I LOVE oatmeal raisin cookies much better than a choc. chip cookie.
About to pop these in the oven as I write this! They already look and smell amazing! Can’t wait to give them a try!
Amazing oatmeal raisin cookies! Thank you for a great recipe!
These were mighty tasty. Mine ended up looking differently, since I used a scoop. They were little round mounds. I followed the recipe, except I added all the raisins in the box and added a bit more cinnamon, after I tasted the raw dough. Thanks for the recipe!
I feel like oatmeal raisin cookies are so underrated, but they’re my favorite!!
What is crisco?
Yum! I have been craving oatmeal raisin cookies, so I decided to try yours. (Thought it was a sign that we share the same first name ! 🙂 ) They hit the spot. I am curious, the package of raisins I bought had about a cup of raisins left, do you think it would alter the recipe too much if I added the rest of them? I personally like a ton of raisins, but did not know if adding more would throw the recipe off. Thanks again for the recipe, can’t wait to try some of your others!
Since I unfortunately despise raisins in anything, I would use Craisins. I’ve used Craisins as a replacement for raisins, and they are delish! Your recipe (using Craisins of course) would surely be excellent. By the way, your blog and recipes keep me coming back for more. Thanks!
Thanks Janet, craisins would work great too 🙂
Thanks Aimee and Abby! Soaking the raisins was the only idea I could come up with that her cookies were so much better than any of us who had used her recipe. I had never tried that, and seeing this recipe reminded me of those cookies. Like I said, I wondered if this was one of those things that experienced cooks/bakers took to assume everyone knew they should do! Thank you both for helping to clarify! Have always used Sun Maid but don’t think I have seen organic! Will try soaking them, probably in apple cider, to plump them if I feel they are not plump enough!
Thanks for sharing this recipe Aimee. I do have a question. A lady in our church who has many years ago deceased, used to make the best oatmeal raisin cookie I have ever had. Many of us had her recipe and none of us could duplicate her cookie. I have often wondered if she soaked the raisins before adding them to her dough. I see your recipe does not call for pre-soaking the raisins-is this a step that is considered something bakers should just know to do, and I along with many others in my church also didn’t know?
I’ve never soaked my raisins…but I do make sure they are fresh, so they are more plump (Sun Maid Organic are fantastic!)
Hi vickie,
I’ve always soaked my raisins too, I like how soft & chewy they become. I’ve used several different things as my soak liquid over the last 65 years… we really like apple cider, but just experiment to find what flavor if any that you like .
Now you have me intrigued on soaking raisins!
I love a good oatmeal raisin cookie! Yours look perfect!
I make a similar cookie but add in coconut shreds and English walnuts. yummy!
What a delicious idea!
I love all cookies equally. Well, maybe not all, but definitely chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. They’ve just got different vibes, but equally delish 🙂
I’d take an oatmeal raisin cookie over a choc chip cookie any day! LOVE them. Love. I have an oatmeal choc chip cookie that does very well on my blog because I know tons of people hate raisins, which I don’t get, but hey, give them chocolate chips then and I will keep the raisins 🙂 These look great!
Honestly? I would too! I love oatmeal raisin!
Love these without a doubt! I’m all for the raisins 🙂
That’s why I default to oatmeal chocolate chip a bunch. It’s a compromise for anyone not wanting a chewy raisin!
I bet the shortening really makes a difference, so I would never tinker with perfection. We want our cookies nice and thick!
Sometimes momma’s should have what momma’s want. And this momma just wanted some raisins 🙂