The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: A Classic Treat with Timeless Appeal
Few things evoke the warmth of home like the scent of freshly baked oatmeal raisin cookies filling the kitchen. The comforting combination of hearty oats, chewy raisins, and a delicate blend of spices makes these cookies an enduring favorite in kitchens around the world. Whether you’re an avid baker or a beginner, oatmeal raisin cookies offer a simple yet rewarding baking experience. This recipe will guide you to create the perfect batch of cookies—soft and chewy on the inside, with a slight crisp around the edges. They have the right balance of sweetness, spice, and texture, making them the perfect treat for any occasion.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 45 cookies
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour (2 cups): The base of the cookie dough. Flour provides structure and allows the cookies to hold their shape while baking. It gives the dough the necessary texture to allow the oats and raisins to shine.
- Baking powder (1 teaspoon): This helps the cookies rise and ensures they have a soft, light texture. It also prevents the dough from becoming too dense, which would result in heavy, tough cookies.
- Salt (1 teaspoon): Salt enhances the flavors in the cookie, balancing the sweetness from the sugars and raisins. It also brings out the depth of flavor in the oats and spices.
- Apple pie spice (1 teaspoon): A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices, apple pie spice adds a warm, comforting flavor to the cookies. If you don’t have apple pie spice, you can use ¾ teaspoon of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg for a similar effect.
- Unsalted butter (1 ½ cups or 3 sticks, softened): Butter is the primary fat used in this cookie dough. It adds richness and tenderness, ensuring the cookies are soft and chewy on the inside with a slight crispness around the edges. Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature for easy mixing.
- Granulated sugar (1 cup): The standard white sugar adds sweetness and helps create a slight crispness in the cookies’ texture.
- Light brown sugar (1 cup, packed): Brown sugar adds moisture and a slight caramel flavor to the cookies. It contributes to the chewy texture and deepens the flavor.
- Large eggs (2): Eggs provide structure, moisture, and help bind the dough together. They also contribute to the cookies’ tenderness.
- Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon): Vanilla adds a warm, sweet flavor that enhances the overall taste of the cookies. It complements the spices and raisins perfectly.
- Old-fashioned oats (3 cups): The heart of the oatmeal raisin cookie. Oats give the cookie its distinctive texture—chewy and hearty. Old-fashioned oats, as opposed to quick oats, are ideal because they hold their shape better during baking and create a more satisfying texture.
- Raisins (1 ½ cups): Raisins are the sweet jewels in these cookies. They provide chewy, fruity bites that contrast nicely with the heartiness of the oats and the richness of the butter and sugar. If you prefer, you can substitute raisins with other dried fruits like cranberries or cherries, but raisins are the classic choice.
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat Your Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). This ensures the oven is hot enough to bake the cookies to perfection. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Parchment paper prevents the cookies from sticking to the baking sheets and makes cleanup much easier. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can lightly grease the baking sheets.
Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and apple pie spice (or cinnamon and nutmeg). Mixing the dry ingredients together ensures that the baking powder and spices are evenly distributed throughout the dough, preventing clumps of spices or uneven rising.
Step 3: Cream the Butter and Sugars
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium-high speed. Beat for about 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. This process incorporates air into the butter and sugars, which helps create a lighter, more tender cookie. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure all the ingredients are evenly mixed.
Step 4: Add the Wet Ingredients
Once the butter and sugars are creamed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat the mixture until smooth. The eggs help bind the dough together, while the vanilla enhances the flavor of the cookies.
Step 5: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until the dough is just combined—be careful not to overmix, as this can result in tough cookies. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all the flour is incorporated.
Step 6: Stir in the Oats and Raisins
With the mixer on low, add the oats and raisins, mixing until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. The oats add a chewy texture, while the raisins provide sweet bursts of flavor in every bite.
Step 7: Scoop the Dough
Use a 1 ½-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough into even balls. Space the dough balls about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. The cookies will spread a little as they bake, so be sure to leave enough room between each cookie.
Step 8: Bake the Cookies
Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Keep an eye on the cookies as baking times can vary depending on your oven and the size of the cookies. The centers of the cookies should still appear slightly soft, but they will firm up as they cool.
Step 9: Cool and Serve
Once the cookies are done baking, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes. This will help them set and prevent them from breaking apart when moved. After 5 minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use Room Temperature Butter: Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature to ensure it blends easily with the sugars.
- Chill the Dough for Thicker Cookies: If you prefer a thicker cookie, chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking. This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
- Experiment with Mix-ins: Feel free to add chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans for extra crunch, or try swapping the raisins for other dried fruits like cranberries or dried apricots.
- Don’t Overbake: Oatmeal raisin cookies are best when they are slightly underbaked in the center. They’ll continue to set as they cool, giving them the perfect chewy texture.