When I chose this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp challenge, I knew that I had to tackle oatmeal raisin cookies. It may sound strange, but I’ve never really had a great recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. I’ve tried quite a few, too. Some are too dense, some spread out into one giant blob on the cookie sheet, and some were just hard and crackly. I kind of feel like the Goldilocks of oatmeal cookies. I’ve been looking for a recipe that is just right. And, I think I’ve found it.
I saw the chewy oatmeal cookies in The New Best Recipe, and I decided to give them a try. Chewy is exactly what I was searching for. I first made the recipe exactly as it was written in the cookbook. The cookies were good. Very good. But, I decided to make a few minor changes to make the cookies closer to what I was looking for.
In the description of the recipe, the authors mention that they left out cinnamon in the recipe because they felt that it overpowered the flavor of the oats in the cookie. I do admit that the original version of the recipe does highlight the oats… But, I associate oatmeal cookies with cinnamon. So, I decided to add the cinnamon back in, along with some cardamom. I just love the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. And, of course, I prefer to bake with dark brown sugar instead of light. While I was at it, I also added a bit of vanilla and upped the salt just a bit.
I happen to love the way the cookies turned out, and I hope you will, too. I have made them a few times since, and they have consistently turned out really well. I cannot say the same for recipes I’ve tried in the past. They are nice and chewy without being too soft. And, I just love the flavor.
Of course, if you’re not in the mood for spices and raisins, these cookies also make fantastic chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Just leave out the spices and sub some chocolate chips for the raisins! Either way, I think they’re pretty fantastic.
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen large cookies
(Adapted from The New Best Recipe)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups raisins
Beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition to make sure the egg is well incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix briefly.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar mixture either by hand or on the lowest speed of your mixer. Stir in the oats and raisins by hand.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
When your’e ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Scoop out the cookies using a 1/4 cup scoop. Press the top of each cookie gently to flatten it just a bit.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until the edges are golden and the cookies are just set. Cool the cookies on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Please Note – The links to The New Best Recipe in this post are Amazon affiliate links.
Thank you for finding and then adapting the recipe to make what looks like the perfect chewy oatmeal cookie that I’ve been looking for!
These look fantastic! I’ve tried a lot of oaty cookie recipes but yet to find a great one so these will have to be attempted. Also, could you tell me what make of cookie scoop you have in the picture? I’m looking into getting one and that looks sturdy enough and the right size.
Hi, Carl – I hope you enjoy the cookie recipe! The cookie scoop that I use is a Norpro 4 tablespoon cookie scoop (you can find it on Amazon, via my Amazon store). I have 3 different Norpro scoops in various sizes, and I use them hard. They have proved to be quite durable and are the right tools for the job. I have also tried other brands in the past and have not been as impressed. Hope that helps!
Thanks Jen, that’s been a great help =)
These look like the perfect oatmeal raisin cookies! A lot of the recipes I’ve made have yielded cookies that were too thin but I prefer chewy so yours are my ideal :)
These cookies look amazingly good! I think a nice, chewy oatmeal-raisin cookie is my favorite kind of cookie. And, I love the spices too…can’t wait to try these!
These look perfect Jen! I love a good, chewy oatmeal cookie to begin my day.
Thank you Jen. My favorite cookie is oatmeal but Only if they are chewy! I definitely like the spices as well. I will try this recipe with some dried cranberries and pecans and maybe a few choc chips as well. Thank you for all you do.
These look great! Oatmeal raisin is my favorite!! And, amazingly, I have everything I need to make these, so maybe I secretly am a baker…
These look perfect! Can’t wait to try..I am always looking for the perfect chewy oatmeal cookie!
These definitely look like the perfect oatmeal cookie. I’ve always been fond of a little spice in my oatmeal cookies!
It seems the trick to chewy cookies is the refrigeration or freezing of the dough. These look perfect Jen!
We’ll I made these cookies according to the recipe. Left the dough in the refrigerator over night and baked them in the morning. I couldn’t believe that they stayed dense and chewy. Yummy perfect cookies. Amazing they did not spread and go flat. I did omit the nuts too. Great recipe. I’ve been looking for an oatmeal recipe like this. So thrilled I found it.