I don't often call recipes perfect, but these oatmeal cookies are soft, chewy, and warmly spiced—everything a good oatmeal raisin cookie should be.
These oatmeal cookies are truly the best! From Sarah Copeland’s cookbook Every Day Is Saturday, they’re soft and chewy, warmly spiced, and flecked with raisins and nuts. Perfect, if you ask me.
A few weeks ago, I got an intense craving for good oatmeal raisin cookies and hastily threw together ingredients that I had on hand. I ended up with oat-ball-type cookies that were…just ok, and my craving continued. So when I flipped through Every Day Is Saturday this week, Sarah’s oatmeal cookie recipe grabbed my attention.
She writes, “these [oatmeal cookies are] little nuggets of joy you can’t stop eating—that just-right kind of cookie.” I completely agree. These oatmeal cookies were exactly what I was craving. The only problem was that they disappeared too quickly!
Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Ingredients
This recipe has simple ingredients. You likely have them in your pantry already! Here’s what you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour and whole rolled oats form the base of the dough. Old fashioned oats give these cookies the best chewy texture. I don’t recommend using quick oats instead!
- Baking powder and baking soda make them nice and puffy.
- Brown sugar adds the perfect caramelized sweetness.
- Sea salt offsets the sweet sugar and raisins.
- Cinnamon and vanilla extract give them that delicious warm, spiced oatmeal cookie flavor.
- Coconut oil or melted butter adds moisture and richness. I used coconut oil, and these tasted wonderfully buttery just the same!
- 1 large egg + an extra egg yolk give them a rich, thick dough and a moist, light final texture.
- Raisins dot them with chewy pops of sweetness.
- And walnuts add nuttiness and crunch.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Making this oatmeal raisin cookie recipe couldn’t be easier. No stand mixer (or even hand mixer) required! Here’s what you need to do:
First, make the dough. Whisk together the wet ingredients in one mixing bowl and the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in another.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Then, fold in the walnuts, oats, and raisins. The mixture will be thick!
Next, let the dough rest for 20 minutes. This time gives the wet ingredients a chance to hydrate the flour and oats, making it easier to work with the dough. The cookies come out chewier, too!
Then, shape and bake the cookies. Roll the dough into balls and place them on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy!
Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Tips
Sarah has a few excellent pointers in her book. These are her tips for making the best oatmeal raisin cookies:
- Use brown sugar. Instead of using a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar, Sarah opts for all brown sugar. It gives these oatmeal raisin cookies a delicious caramelized sweetness.
- Go for melted, not creamed, butter. According to Sarah, creamed butter cookies are unpredictable: they can easily spread too much or be too firm. With melted butter, though, you’ll get moist, chewy cookies every time.
- Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before baking. Those 20 minutes will make your dough easier to roll into balls, so the cookies will keep their shape and develop a yummy chewy texture in the oven.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely for the best texture and flavor. It may be agony, but letting these oatmeal raisin cookies cool completely only makes them better. They’ll be chewier and fully infused with brown sugar flavor. Sarah likes these best a few hours to 1 day after baking. (Though I can attest that they’re still good if you can’t wait that long.)
Oatmeal Cookies Variations
If you follow this recipe as written, you won’t be disappointed. These oatmeal cookies are buttery, nutty, and perfectly spiced. But if you want to step outside the traditional oatmeal raisin cookie box, feel free. Here are a few great ways to change up this recipe:
- Substitute chocolate chips for the raisins to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or use a mix of both. White chocolate chips are a fun option too.
- Use pecans instead of walnuts.
- Swap the raisins for dried cherries or cranberries.
- Add a dash of cardamom or ginger to the dough.
- Replace the raisins with butterscotch chips to give the cookies an extra-buttery taste.
How do you like to make oatmeal cookies? Let me know in the comments!
How to Store Oatmeal Cookies
To keep these oatmeal cookies soft and chewy, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They also freeze well for up to 3 months.
Make-Ahead Oatmeal Cookies
If you’re someone who likes to keep cookie dough on hand in the fridge or freezer, this oatmeal cookie recipe is for you. You can store the cookie dough in the fridge for 7 to 10 days or freeze it for up to a month.
To store the dough, roll it into balls and freeze them briefly. Then, transfer the cookie dough balls to airtight containers or Ziploc bags and refrigerate or freeze. You can also roll the dough into a log, using an 8×12-inch piece of parchment paper as a guide. Wrap the log tightly in parchment to refrigerate or freeze, and slice the cookies into rounds before baking.
Bake your cookie dough straight from the fridge. If it’s frozen, allow it to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature before putting it in the oven.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these oatmeal cookies, try one of these yummy cookie recipes next:
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Homemade Brownies (not a cookie, but still delicious…)
- Or any of these 17 Easy Cookie Recipes!
Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Scoop (I use this one)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour,
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup whole rolled oats
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, sugar, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, whisking vigorously.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the oats, raisins, and walnuts, if using, folding into a tight batter. Set the dough aside for 20 minutes while the oven preheats. (Note: if your dough seems too wet to become scoop-able, chill it in the fridge for this 20 minutes and it'll firm up). If your dough is too crumbly, stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons water.
- Use a cookie scoop to divide the dough into 20 tablespoon-sized balls. Roll lightly in barely damp hands to make them round. Spread out onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed, golden, and a touch underbaked-looking, 10 to 11 minutes. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies came out great. Sugar was perfect.
Also, please can you suggest some healthy sugar alternatives for this cookie recipe. Also can we replace All purpose flour with whole wheat flour ?
Hi Bhavana, I’m so glad you loved the cookies! I think the recipe would work well with 1/2 cup AP flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat. I’d recommend sticking with the brown sugar here. In addition to sweetness, it adds moisture and helps create the cookies’ chewy texture. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for this easy and delicious cookie recipe! Came out fantastic and so nice that I didn’t have to use a mixer. ?
I’m so glad you loved the cookies, Silvia!
These were ALMOST perfect. Followed the recipe exactly except I swapped the cinnamon for apple pie seasoning (which still has cinnamon but other yummy flavors too) . They came out great, golden brown, soft but wish it was just a TAD sweeter.
Overall great recipe, thank you!
I made this with gluten free oats & flour. Added dark chocolate & pecans. So yummy!
So glad you loved the cookies, Jasmine! The chocolate and pecan combo sounds delicious.
Not so great. Baked for 10-11 minutes. Bottoms were burned and tops seem uncooked. Cooled for 5 minutes and then cooled on wire rack. Took a bite and they seemed raw. Tasted salty and not sweet at all. All only yielded 13 cookies and not 20. Would love some insight.
Hi Carolyne, hmm, did you change anything about the recipe? It sounds like something went wrong. For the yield, it sounds like your cookie scoop was larger than the 1 tablespoon balls that are specified in the recipe. The size of your cookie could have affected the bake time.
Great recipe! Just enough sugar for taste without overpowering everything. I subbed with veg oil bc I didn’t have butter. They came out so fluffy and delightful!
Hi Marissa, I’m so glad you loved them!
Hi, i have made these cookies once a week for the last 4 weeks. My family love them. You can also switch out the raisins for cranberries or M&Ms plain chocolate
I’m glad you’ve loved them!
These were delicious! Followed the recipe and they turned out great the whole family loved them!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Can I use Gf flower?
Hi Teresa, I haven’t tried, but an all purpose GF blend might work.
I made these with whole grain flour instead of white flour. Added a little more cinnamon and a little bit of white sugar. Accented with pecans and they turned out wonderful! Will be making them again!
Hi Joel, I’m so glad you loved the cookies! Thanks for sharing your twist.
Would love to try but this doesn’t include how many cookies it makes, what the calories are per serving nor any helpful dietary info.
Hi Mimi, it makes 20 cookies. I’m sorry, we don’t post nutrition info but you can plug the ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
After plugging recipe into a food app, it comes out to 20 servings with 171 calories per serving.
This was the perfect oatmeal cookie my husband wanted. I left out the raisins because he doesn’t like them and cooked the cookies a little longer to get just a little crisp on the outside but still soft on the inside and they were perfect. I included a few walnuts, just for flavor and it added a lot. Thank you for a great simple recipe.
Hi Stephanie, I’m so glad he loved them!
This Oatmeal Cookie Recipe was perfect! I put walnuts and chocolate chips in mine. I made 4 batches and my kids and mom just loved getting them as a goodie bag. The cookies really satisfied my sweet tooth as well. It’s a very easy recipe to follow and I will be making them again! Thanks for sharing !
Hi Michelle, I’m so glad everyone loved the cookies! I bet the walnut + chocolate chip combo was delicious
I just tried the recipe and it’s a keeper, cookies are going fast. It was quick and easy to make. The outcome was very tasty. Apart from cranberries and walnuts, I also added shredded coconut, since I had it.
Hi Teresa, so glad you loved the cookies!
Now my favorite. Followed the recipe they turned out superb ?.
I’m so glad you loved them!
Great oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.
Comes together quickly and tastes wonderful.
It’s hard to only eat a few cookies a day.
I swapped out some of the Raisins for chopped dried cherries and roasted up some pecans for crunch.
Hi Cynthia, I’m so glad you love the cookies! Those mix-ins sound delicious.
Hands down, these are the best raisin oatmeal cookies I’ve ever made or eaten. I did have to add a little bit more oats and flour to stiffen up the dough, but not too much. This is now my forever oatmeal cookie recipe. Thanks!!!
Hi Cassie, yay! So glad you loved the cookies.
i made these after making other recipes these are by far THE BEST
Amazing! This recipe is awesome! Kudos to the creator. I liked the melted butter in this recipe as it’s easy if you don’t have room temp butter on hand (which I rarely ever do)! Plus it truly does help in making a deliciously chewy cookie!
We don’t have raisin-cookie lovers in the house so I made a batch of plain oatmeal and a batch with dried cranberries. OMG, they are DELICIOUS! I highly recommend this recipe and would give it more than 5 stars if I could!
I omitted the egg since I’m highly allergic to them.I used a 1ripe banana, you can also use apple sauce. I added more raisins and a bit more cinnamon. Tbh I kind of eyeballed it all. The dough taste great. They look good in the oven so far. Tbh cookies aren’t hard to make and you don’t need to mix wet or dry in a separate bowl. I made mine in one bowl.
This time mine came out flat. Still the same delicious taste though! Any suggestions are appreciated!