These homemade oatmeal raisin cookies are thick, chewy, and easy to make. These cookies have a soft and chewy center and are crisp around the edges.

Easy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These cookies are so incredibly easy to make that it's amazing how delicious these cookies are. This recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies uses simple ingredients that come together to create fragrant and sticky cookie dough.

These ingredients are commonly found in the pantry - simple ingredients and simply delicious!

A wooden platter of oatmeal raisin cookies with white fabric.

There's no chill time required for these cookies as long as the butter is the right temperature. If the butter isn't room temperature and is instead melted, the dough will need to be chilled. Melted butter will cause the dough to spread while baking and will result in a flat cookie. Room temperature butter is best for these cookies!

If you feel the butter is too soft (warmer than room temperature) then chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking. This will allow the butter to solidify once again. Do not chill for any longer than 30 minutes however or you run the risk of your oatmeal cookies coming out on the drier side. The reason for this is because the oats will absorb all the ingredients that create a soft and delicious oatmeal raisin cookie.

A stack of oatmeal raisin cookies with cookie propped in front.

What Ingredients Are In Oatmeal Raisin Cookies?

Old Fashioned Oats - Quick Oats are best - they create a wonderful texture within the cookie. Quick oats are perfect when making Oatmeal Cookies!
Unsalted Butter- Room Temperature. This is crucial to create thick and chewy cookies. Melted butter will result in flat cookies from spreading.
Granulated Sugar
Light Brown Sugar - creates a chewy cookie
Egg
Molasses
Ground Cinnamon
Baking Soda
Salt
Raisins
All-purpose flour - spooned and leveled.
Vanilla Extract

RELATED: Snickerdoodle Cookies

Oatmeal cookies with raisins on a wooden platter.

How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The first step to making these oatmeal cookies is to cream together the room temperature butter with the granulated and light brown sugars. Beat until the mixture is creamy and smooth.

The egg, vanilla, and molasses is then beat in until combined.

Sprinkle the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into the bowl. The flour is then added to the bowl and beat until combined.

To add the flour, stir the flour and use a spoon to add it to the measuring cup. Once the flour is to the right measurement, gently level the top of the measuring cup to remove any excess flour.

The next step is to beat in the oats followed by the raisins. The dough will come together and be sticky. Don't worry - sticky is good!

Oatmeal cookies with raisins on a serving platter.

I use a cookie scoop to place my cookie dough on my cookie sheets. It's the perfect tool to create same-sized cookies! The cookie scoop I use is equivalent to 1.5 tablespoons.

I also bake my cookies on silicone mats for easy cleanup and to prevent sticking.

These cookies are baked in the oven for 13 minutes total. After the first 10 minutes I use a wooden spoon to gently flatten the center of the cookie before baking for an additional 3 minutes.

Once the cookies are done baking, they are removed from the oven and then transferred to a cooling rack after allowing to cool for 5 minutes.

That's it! These oatmeal raisin cookies are easy to make and taste delicious either warm or cold! Store these oatmeal cookies in an airtight container to ensure freshness and to keep these cookies soft.

Quick Oats for Oatmeal Cookies

Quick oats are the absolute best when making oatmeal cookies. These types of oats result in a soft and chewy cookie. Steel cut oats are not a good option for cookies because the cookies will be hard.

Stacked oatmeal raisin cookies with white background.

What's Needed to Make Oatmeal Cookies?

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Soft and Chewy Gingersnap Cookies

Freezing Oatmeal Cookies

Yes, you can freeze this cookie dough for up to 3 months! This is a great help when preparing cookies for the Christmas Holiday season.

Pre-scooping and rolling the dough and chilling them is the best way to ensure they keep their shape. Once they are chilled, transfer them to a freezer bag and store them in the freezer.

When you're ready to bake these cookies, simply pull them out of the freezer and place them on the cookie sheet. The only thing different is to increase the baking time by a few minutes when baking from frozen.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 23 Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Name: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 13 min
Total time: 23 min
Yield: 23
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature; 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 egg; 1 tablespoon molasses; 2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups quick oats; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup raisins*

These homemade oatmeal raisin cookies are thick, chewy, and easy to make. These cookies have a soft and chewy center and are crisp around the edges.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes

Total Time 23 minutes

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups quick oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup raisins*

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°
Line cookie sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
Beat together the room temperature butter and the granulated and brown sugars.
Beat until creamy.
Add in the egg, vanilla, and molasses. Beat until combined.
Sprinkle the baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt into the bowl.
Spoon and level the flour before adding to the bowl.*
Beat on low until combined.
Add the oats and beat until well combined.
Stir in the raisins.
Use a cookie scoop or roll 1.5 tablespoon of cookie dough into a ball.
Place 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes.
Once the 10 minutes is up, use the back of a wooden spoon to gently press down on the centers of the cookies.
Bake for an additional 3 minutes before removing from the oven.
Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.

Notes

*To add the flour, stir the flour and use a spoon to add it to the measuring cup. Once the flour is to the right measurement, gently level the top of the measuring cup to remove any excess flour.

*Soak the raisins in water or juice for 10 minutes before adding them to the cookie dough to change the texture and plump them up.