Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are super simple to make and come together in about 30 minutes. Packed full of raisins and toasted oats along with plenty of brown butter, these cookies store for up to a week and are great for gifting or mailing!
Hi hi! Just popping in to share this Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe with you! These came about when I went down an Oatmeal Cookie rabbithole and decided I needed to make all the versions because we love options! I started with my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, moved onto my super easy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, and now we are here with an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe!
These oatmeal raisin cookies are a bit more chunky than their cookie siblings - I wanted a cookie that was a bit more substantial. They bake up nice and thick, and are filled with flavour from super brown butter, and texture from toasted oats and lots of raisins.
They are a really easy cookie to make - no mixer needed, and store really well - I have eaten them up to a week after making them and they are still just as good. We love.
What makes these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Special
I think that Oatmeal Raisin cookies can get a bit of a bad reputation, and that is because people think that raisins aren't that exciting. If you actively don't like them then that's fine, but I think properly dressed up, raisins are epic. Here's how I did it:
- Brown Butter. I used the same method that I did in my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies where I added in milk powder when I browned the butter. I go super in depth on the method on that post if you want to read more about it!
- Toasted Oats. Crucial for texture. This is an optional step but it only takes 10 minutes and toasting the oats gives an amazing chewy texture to the cookie which goes so well with the raisins.
- Cinnamon. Just a little bit. Just to give some depth, and cinnamon and brown butter are besties.
- Large Cookies. These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are large and chunky - the recipe makes about 10 large cookies. This gives a slightly crispy edge and a nice soft middle - they are thick and chewy and just how I like them.
What raisins are best for baking?
You can really use whatever you like here in terms of raisins. I just get whatever is at the supermarket. Either sultanas or raisins work - the difference between sultanas and raisins is the colour of the grapes that are used, in New Zealand at least. Raisins are made from a bunch of different kinds of grapes, and sultanas are made from seedless green grapes. Fun facts.
What are the best oats to use for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies?
I like Old fashioned oats for making oatmeal cookies as they provide the best texture. They are the kind where you can see the whole oat but it is just squished flat - sometimes they are called 'whole grain oats' or 'traditional' oats depending on where you are.
I haven't tested this recipe with rolled oats or quick cooking oats sorry. It might work ok with rolled oats but I think that quick cooking oats would make things too gluggy.
I like to toast my oats briefly in the oven before using them for cookies. It gives them a toasty flavor and an extra chewy texture, which goes so well in cookies.
I like to do this step while I am browning the butter so that the oats are cooled by the time I am ready to use them, however if you are making cookies a lot that use toasted oats, you can do a whole bunch at once and store them in an airtight container.
Recipe Development for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Like my other oatmeal cookie recipes, I started with my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie as a base when I was developing this recipe.
I didn't make that many changes - I found that because raisins don't melt like chocolate does, the cookie had a lot more substance and baked up a little thicker, and I just increased the flour a touch and decreased the butter used in the recipe to make them bake up just a little bit thicker than the oatmeal chocolate chip.
I also left out the malted milk powder - while it goes great with chocolate, I was worried it might get a bit weird with raisins. If you wanted to add it, you can add in 45g worth without making any other changes to the recipe.
Can I freeze the dough for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies?
I tried freezing the dough for these oatmeal raisin cookies, and it didn't work that well. When it came to baking the dough from frozen, even though I dropped the oven temperature (I write a lot about this in my how to freeze cookie dough post), they baked up like little boulders.
I need to try again and maybe defrost the cookie dough before baking, but for now your best bet would be to freeze the baked cookie itself - place in an airtight container for up to 3 months then defrost at room temperature. I like to warm briefly before eating if I have defrosted a cookie.
How do you store Oatmeal Raisin Cookies?
Store oatmeal raisin cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They keep super well - mine stayed pretty good for up to a week.
Can these be made smaller?
Yes, if you want to make these cookies a little smaller then you can - my dough balls are 75g which makes for a big cookie, but I like this as you can then just cut them in half if you're not after a big one and still get all the nice textural variation that comes from a big old cookie. If you make your dough balls smaller, they will need less time. Adjust accordingly.
Are these cookies good for mailing?
Yes. These cookies are super sturdy, and last really well, and they would be great to mail. My Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies and Oatmeal Peanut Butter cookies would also be great for mailing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tools and equipment do you use?
You can find a full list of the tools and equipment I use on my products page
Can I use something other than raisins?
I know this will come up, even though it is called an Oatmeal raisin cookie. If you wanted to swap the raisins with other fruit, by all means go ahead.
What do I do if I do not have milk powder?
If you do not have milk powder on hand you can leave it out just use 100g of the brown butter that you make - the extra 20g in the 120g that you measure out in the recipe includes the 20g of milk powder.
Can these cookies be made Dairy free?
I haven't tried it, but my Dairy Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie is made with oil so check that out to use as a good base if you like 🙂
For more Easy Cookie Recipes, check out:
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Brown Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are super simple to make and come together in about 30 minutes. Packed full of raisins and toasted oats along with plenty of brown butter, these cookies store for up to a week and are great for gifting or mailing!
Ingredients
- 130g old fashioned oats (toasts down to 110g, if you are not toasting the oats, use 110g)
- 130g butter, cut into chunks, cold from the fridge is fine
- 20g milk powder
- 90g Brown Sugar
- 70g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla, either vanilla bean paste or extract
- 125g All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp (3g) kosher salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 190g raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper for the cookies. Place the oats on an unlined baking sheet, and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, shaking often, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then weigh the cooled oats - you need 110g and the oats can lose some moisture in the oven so top up if needed.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the milk powder and continue to cook, whisking often, until the mixture turns golden brown and starts to smell nutty - this takes 3-4 minutes depending on the stove heat.
- Weigh out 120g of the brown butter mixture (see notes section below) and leave to cool for about 10 minutes so that it does not scramble your eggs. If you want to do this quickly you can place the bowl in the fridge and stir regularly, or place the bowl into a larger bowl of ice and stir regularly until cool.
- Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar and egg to the bowl with the brown butter. Whisk well for 1-2 minutes, or mix using an electric mixer until the mixture has lightened in colour and thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and mix well to combine.
- Add the 110g toasted oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix until partially combined, then add the raisins and mix to combine fully using a spatula.
- Using a #24 cookie scoop (2.5Tbsp), place scoops of dough (about 75g) onto the prepared baking sheets - I do about 6 per baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown and the edges are set. Remove from the oven and bang the pan down on the counter top to deflate the cookies slightly. If desired, use a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to scoot it into a circular shape.
- Leave the cookies to cool on the sheet pan for 10-15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
If you choose not to toast the oats, just skip the toasting step, and use 110g untoasted old fashioned oats in the recipe.
You will notice that there are two quantities of butter in the recipe - the initial quantity of butter, then a second measurement in the method which is the quantity of brown butter. The larger initial quantity is to account for water loss when browning - read more about that in my FAQ.
If you are using the recipe scaling feature (2x or 3x) be aware that any quantities, measurements, pan sizes, and cooking times given in the method do not scale automatically - it's only the quantities in the Ingredient List that scale automatically.
Comments
Maria says
Question. Can buttermilk powder be used for whole milk powder? Thanks for recipe
Erin Clarkson says
No, they are completely different 🙂
M says
I made these this afternoon and they are heavenly! I have been on an oatmeal raisin-cookie kick lately, and this recipe is the best I've made. Browning the butter and toasting the oats make such a difference. They are so good!
Catalina says
Amazingg recipe!! Will definitely become a regular for my house! Smells amazing, tastes even better!! Indications really clear and easy to follow.
Im going to have to buy a bigger cookie cutter to make them beautiful and round.
Alison says
I’ve made many an oatmeal raisin cookie, but these are by far the very best I’ve ever made. I didn’t use the milk powder as I didn’t have any, but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. They are perfect and will now be my go-to recipe for oatmeal raisin.
anna bruzzese says
What did you replace the powdered milk with?
Erin Clarkson says
You can just leave it out - there's notes in the recipe.
shawna says
My first browned butter recipe attempt! I thought I'd need to toss the little browned bits, but then my weight would have been too light - and...it's probably called browned butter for a reason... anyway - this recipe was amazing! Thank you!
Erin Clarkson says
Yesss don't throw those out that's the flavour!
Russel says
This was my first time making Oatmeal & Raisin cookies, ever. It is a flavour bomb in your mouth with the browned butter and toasted oatmeal. I like the straightforward simple instructions of the recipe. Highly recommend !
Faye says
Followed the recipe to a t… and loved the result! I’m normally not a oatmeal raisin fan, and even I liked them! Looking forward to trying all the variations!
Thank you, Erin!
Lia says
Made this cookies and they are delicious 😋🍪
Faye says
Made these for my husband, who is the only oatmeal raisin fan in the house… not only did he love them, I’m a convert also!
Love all your recipes, Erin!
Caroline Jackson says
Wanted to make to freeze the mixture raw but it's really runny...what have I done wrong?
Mary says
I love oatmeal raisin cookies and these cookies hit the spot. My husband I devoured the whole batch in one evening...oops. Thank you Erin for an amazing recipe!
Elizabeth says
I'm a raisins-in-baked-goods skeptic, but decided to give it a try. These are good! They turned out exactly like the picture, which is also good. I will say the Cloudy Kitchen chocolate oatmeal raisin cookie recipe is better for a few reasons (malted milk powder!), but this is a super solid version.
Estelle Schneider says
Cannot do metric measurements
Would you post recipe with U.S measurements please 🙏
Erin Clarkson says
No sorry! They aren't accurate.
Cookies for Santa says
I'm so happy I found a recipe that uses both brown butter and toasts the oats! I have 1 question though, how do you think soaking the raisins will affect these cookies?
I think I might soak them in just warm water and then pat dry. Others say soaking them in egg+ vanilla is also a way to get them super flavorful. Other people swear by soaking them in alcohol for a lot of flavor. All three options would end up preventing the raisins from soaking up moisture from the dough, perhaps release some when baking, and change the texture/mouthfeel of the raisins. What do you think?
I'm a bit nervous because I want them to be perfect since I'm making them as a sort of Christmas present for my father. I'm thinking it should be a minor alteration but I just started altering recipes. I'll let you know how it turns out if I can't catch you before I make them. I'll make sure to include the method and time spent soaking them as well.
Erin Clarkson says
I haven't tried it sorry! If you do, please let me know if you give it a go!
Cookies for Santa says
I tried it first with a water, brown sugar, and vanilla mix to soak the raisins. It came out pretty good. The raisins were plump and sweet. The extra moisture helped the cookies spread out a bit more as well.
I made it a second time and soaked the raisins in spiced rum+a bit of brown sugar. And the rum is definitely the way to go ! The raisins didn't soak up as much liquid as with the water but the flavor is definitely better.
Cookies for Santa says
Adding another update here. But I made them for my father's birthday the second time(when I soaked the raisins in rum) and he said they were the best he'd ever had!!!!
I also added a tiny pinch of nutmeg and cloves as well.
This is THE recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies.
Aliki says
I am not a baker, at ALL, but something about these biscuits got my attention on Instagram. Let me just say that these are absolutely phenomenal and I’m so glad I followed my instincts and made a double batch. It was definitely worth the extra pans to toast the oats and brown the butter and milk powder. A few notes for my fellow baking idiots: brown the butter on medium like Erin says, I was being timid and kept the temp low and it took forever. Use a cookie scoop like Erin says or at least a couple of spoons because the mix is very firm and sticky and I thought I could/should scoop it with my hands like meatballs? Idiocy. I don’t own a wire rack so cooled them completely on the tray and they turned out fine, no soggy bottoms. I’m in Australia and used traditional rolled pats which I think is equivalent to old fashioned pats in NZ, anyway the texture was great, crisp edges and a toothsome slightly chewy middle so it has my endorsement! Excuse the terrible photos, I’m also not a photographer in addition to being not a baker. I used a combo of dried cranberries and dried tart cherries as I had no raisins so the fruit looks a little different to what you might expect. Have passed the recipe on to my mum and my sister who were lucky enough to be beloved enough by me to receive some.
Sonja says
These are sooo good, 5 stars. Thank you Erin!
Cady says
ERIN THESE COOKIES ARE INSANE!!!! This is EVERYTHING I have ever wanted in an oatmeal cookie: richly flavored, dense, chewy, firm yet soft??? I even bought milk powder, because I believed in you and this recipe. I will be making this 1 million more times. OH and the best part?? Because I measured in grams instead of cups, I had less dishes and also yielded exactly 10 cookies, 75 grams each.
Megan says
One of my favorite raisin cookie recipes! The browned butter takes it to the next level for sure (although I’ll admit I did not go the extra step and toast the oats- still perfect).
Paige says
These are by far the best oatmeal cookies I've ever made!
Do not skip the extra steps of browning the butter and toasting the oats. It's a game changer!
I've enjoyed using different mix-ins... dried cranberries, a mix of toasted nuts... whatever.
So glad I found this recipe!
Daniela says
Perfect every time. I add the oatmeal and raisins last so that the oats don’t disintegrate.
Kat says
well what can I say... there's absolutely no going wrong with your recipes. I absolutely LOVE those cookies. the cinnamon and browned butter just make them so rich and delicious. absolutely amazing. thanks for another great recipe.
and they are so easy and quick to do? also roasting the oats? Gamechanger...
Jane says
I think these are the yummiest biscuits I've ever made. Perfect combination of flavour, sweetness and chewiness.
Lisa Turner says
I didn't think the cookie dough was going to make it into the oven. The mix is delicious!
But the dough did make it to the oven and I was just as pleased. I've frozen some of the dough balls so I don't bake and eat them all at one.
Thanks for the great recipe Erin.
JY says
This recipe is soooo good! The milk powder clumped a bit when I added it to melted butter but it didn’t seem to affect the end result too much. I’d definitely make these again and again.
Erin Clarkson says
Yesss as long as you whisk it well it does break up ok! So happy you loved them
Phung Tran says
Hi, can I use less sugar for the recipe? I want my toddler to try them too!
Erin Clarkson says
I haven't made with less sugar before sorry!
Lu says
Oh boy! These are the best oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve tried! The recipe is super easy to follow and the cookies bake up so thick and chewy. I did soak my raisins in warm water, strained them and patted them dry ish before tossing in the dough. Toasting the oats is amazing. Gives them a lovely chew. Could we add walnuts without ruining the recipe?
For those in the US, like me, buy a scale, weigh your ingredients! You’ll never go back to US measurements. I’ve even converted old recipes I have, it’s so much easier and always a consistent bake. 🙂. Thanks Erin for testing everything for us, appreciate all you do!
Pearl Cassidy says
I messed up the recipe a little bit- i didn't add milk powder and probably added too many oats- but they still turned out SOOOO good!!!! the brown butter is perfect for this. they're the prettiest cookies ive made in a while.
Ginny says
I am an experienced baker and weigh all ingredients in grams. For some reason, this dough was super dry and crumbly. I let it rest overnight in the fridge as I believe cookies taste better with a 24-48 hr cold rest. At this moment, I'm not sure how they will turn out, but I did end up adding 2 T of half and half to one-half amount of dough to see if it makes a difference in the final outcome. Do you have any thoughts as to why this happened?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! Hmmm it definitely shouldn't be crumbly - did something go wrong with the measuring do you think? was it dry and crumbly before you chilled it? (being cold can make it crumbly)
Jae says
Hey Erin,
Can I sub malted milk powder in for milk powder? They should be the same...
Erin Clarkson says
Hi no they aren't the same thing - malted milk powder has a bunch of other ingredients which will burn if you add them to the butter. You can leave the milk powder out though and put some malted milk powder in with the dry ingredients!
Jae says
That's really interesting. When I looked at the ingredients on the back the only one that would burn would be the malted barley. I would not have thought about that burning, so thank you. Stella Parks used to suggest that, too, adding malted milk powder in with the flour. Do you recommend subtracting any flour if I do that? Lastly, what roll does the milk powder play in your recipe?
Thanks a bunch!
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! I cover that a ton in my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe if you would like to have a look! And yep you can add it in with the flour!
Jae says
Thanks, Erin!
Antigone says
Like every recipe here, just amazing! And I love they ard all in gramms 😉
lisa says
These are yum as, subbed half the raisins for coconut and choc chips to make them an everything cookie, worked out real well
Delaney says
These are unreal. Followed the recipe to the letter and they’re utterly delicious.
Erin Clarkson says
Thanks friend! x
Lu says
Omg! These are by far the best oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve ever made! And I’ve made a lot! lol. They always turn out perfect!
Kate Sharkie says
I have just made these today and they are delicious. The kitchen smells incredible and the cookies are excellent. I love that everything is expressed in grams - thank you.
Karen Chiasson says
These oatmeal cookies are truly the best. Did a double batch - half with raisins and half without. Crispy in the bottom, chewy center, and the combination of brown butter, salt & cinnamon was truly exceptional.
Didn’t use the powder milk - increased butter / used maldon salt & definitely roast your oatmeal.
This recipe is now a new favourite. Would highly recommend trying it. Thanks so much for the work you do and sharing your results.
Lauren says
So sooo good. Thanks for the great recipe!
Kay says
Really great, delicious recipe. The browned butter and the powdered milk give these cookies a flavor that is more complex than the usual oatmeal-raisin recipes I have found and tried. Followed the recipe to the letter and it did not disappoint. For non-raisins fans, dried cranberries are a great substitute. Thanks, Erin!