Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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I love oatmeal raisin cookies.  They remind me of my childhood and my grandma.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked with oats in jar

She made the best oatmeal raisin cookies.

And not just the best oatmeal raisin cookies, but she made the best cookies, period.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked

I have no idea what recipe she used for her oatmeal raisin cookies.  There probably was no recipe.  She was legally blind and wrote nothing down.

Writing things down would have been futile anyway because the next time she would have gone to look at it, she likely couldn’t have read it.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked

She cooked by feel.

She’d feel the dough, and then make tweaks.

In one sense, no two batches of anything were ever exactly same, yet they were always familiar, similar, and nearly the same.

Pretty impressive for a woman who stored all recipes in her gray matter and rarely used measuring cups.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked

Her preferred method of storage was Folger’s Coffee cans.  Both for cookies and everything else.  From precious gold, jewelry, or cash.  Just put it in a coffee can in the freezer and it’ll keep.  For a week, a month, or a decade. That’s what she did and you know what, it worked.

After she died we found cookies and jewels in coffee cans in the deep freeze.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stackedSo in honor of my grandma, I decided to try my hand at oatmeal raisin cookies.  Plus it made for a good rainy day activity.

I read umpteen oatmeal raisin cookie recipes and in the end, followed none of them.

I tweaked, I adapted, and I cooked by feel.  I tried to do my Grandma proud.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in half

The resulting cookies are soft and chewy.

And are spiked with plenty of brown sugar, cinnamon, with vanilla undertones.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked with pieces in half

I used Trader Joe’s “raisin medley” so there are three types of raisins in the cookies but use any kind you like.

If you don’t like raisins (I know there are lots of people who don’t like raisins) skip the raisins and just make oatmeal cookies.  Or use all chocolate chips instead.  Or add chocolate chips in addition to the raisins.

My grandma only made oatmeal raisin cookies (she didn’t add chocolate chips to them) so that’s what I did.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked

Had I refrigerated and chilled the dough prior to baking these, they would have been thicker and plumper.

But I was in a hurry.

Life, and Skylar, were calling me.  There was no time to refrigerate dough and wait to bake them.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked

My grandma would have waited though.

She would have used the spare time to embroider dish towels or iron line-dried pillowcases and bed sheets.  Yes, she ironed sheets.  Truly old school.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked

 

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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (as inspired by My Grandma, Cooks Illustrated, & Quaker Oats)

1/2 c butter

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon (or to taste, use less if you prefer)

1 c all-purpose flour

1.5 c old fashioned whole oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 to 3/4 c raisins

Optional: 1/4 to 1/2 c chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, toffee bits, nuts, seeds, etc.

Directions:

In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter.

Add the brown & white sugar to the melted butter and stir.  Set this is the freezer for a couple minutes.

Remove from the freezer (or just wait for the mixture to come to room temp on it’s own) and add the egg (you don’t want to add eggs to that hot mixture as we don’t want scrambled eggs) and stir.

Then add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, flour, oats, baking soda and stir.

Finally, add the raisins and any other optional add-ins and stir.

If you have time, refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes or so.  Not necessary, but cold dough will prevent the cookies from spreading as much and will result in a thicker cookie; also using a Silpat will prevent spreading as compared to using parchment paper or an unlined cookie sheet.

Roll or spoon out golf ball sized balls onto a cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.  These cookies do spread a fair amount.

Bake at 325F for approximately 10-12 minutes.  (I like very underdone and soft cookies so I baked for 10 minutes)  The cookies will look pretty raw even at 12 minutes and that’s ok.  Take them out and let the sit and cool well before removing from the cookie sheets or eating.

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When I’m eating one of these, I feel like I’m 8 years old and at my grandma’s house.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked

Store the extras in a Folgers Coffee can in the basement in the deep freeze.

Or in the regular freezer like I do with all my goodies.

And really, I don’t think you’ll have too many problems with leftovers so the countertop is fine, too.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in pieces

Be sure to always have desserts in coffee cans in the freezer in case unexpected guests drop by.

Or someone has a baby and you need to bring them cookies.

Or someone dies and you need to bring cookies to the funeral luncheon you’re working in the church basement.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies stacked

Better hoard those coffee cans

So you can fill them up with cookies!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies pieces

Related posts:

A tribute post to my Grandma: Someone I Miss

Special K Bars are one of the few recipes of my Grandma’s that were written down

Special K Bars with caramel bottom
Special K Bars chocolate tops stacked

And Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bites (Raw/No-Bake, Vegan, GF)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bites
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bites

Excuse the vintage photography but the recipe is 5 minute wonder & incredibly easy

Questions:

1. Do you like oatmeal raisin cookies? 

I love them and as I said in the post, when they’re made properly, I think they trump almost all other cookies.  They chewy factor combined with brown sugar and cinnamon flavors seals the deal.

But they have to be soft and chewy.  Dry or overbaked oatmeal cookies are like eating cardboard which is why I never buy them from coffee shops or when out.  Most people err on the cardboard side of baking I’ve unfortunately found.

2. Do you have any baking or cooking stories to share from your childhood with your parents or grandparents?

I talked about my Grandma in this post.  Such a wonderful woman and I miss her so much!

My parents are both amazing cooks and some of my fondest childhood memories are of baking cookies with my mom (or grandma) and watching my parents cook.  I proceeded to do that for many years; just watch.

I wasn’t bitten by the cooking bug until my middle 20s.  It seemed intimidating but now I have realized it’s fun and the worst that can happen is something doesn’t turn out.  So you try again another time.  No biggie.

Skylar and I love making and baking together now, too.

Have a great week and enjoy the Columbus Day Holiday and Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians!

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

Comments

  1. These are the best cookies I have made! They turned out perfectly with me using gluten free flour too. Highly recommended!

    1. Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Even with GF flour!

  2. Made the oatmeal risen cookies tonight! Delicious! I added some shredded coconut! Instead of chocolate and next time I will add more delicious!husband loved them!??

  3. I just made these with a few tweaks – used macadamia nut oil instead of butter, cut down half cup of sugar and used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose. They were thicker than your cookies, I wonder if it’s due to less sugar but my family lapped them up anyway! Great recipe, a cinch to put together and lovely chewy texture.

  4. Thank you for the recipe, I was craving oatmeal cookies but wanted a recipe that was quick and didn’t require me to use the mixer. I had the dough made and ready to go before the oven was even finished preheating. The texture and flavor is great. A bit too sweet for my taste and I’ll probably use less vanilla next time, but these are minor things. Thank you!

    1. Thanks for trying them and yes, scale things back, to taste. That’s awesome you had the dough ready before the oven was even pre-heated. Love that!

  5. These look so delicious..can’t wait to make them! Do you measure the butter before or after melting? Thanks :)

  6. I can’t WAIT to make these cookies! I have a couple questions, though; about how many cookies does this recipe make and how long should I let them sit after baking before I remove them…? I just don’t want them to end up rubbery :) Thanks!

    1. Depending on how big or small you make them, about 18 to 24 cookies. And just let them sit until they’re cool to the touch, a few minutes, up to maybe 10 minutes. They won’t be rubbery. They’re not that kind of cookie…but they are VERY soft and chewy. Enjoy!

  7. Hi Averie, I Love the way you took your time with this, oatmeal cookies are very special to me and yours was very appealing.When I read your story about your grandmother, I nearly could’nt stop crying. Grandmother’s are so very special and I am so sorry for your loss. I have a 85 yr old gm and a 76 yr old grandmother,and I am so thankful to still have them. You just took me back down memory lane. My 85 grandmother is the only one living out of 21 children, and my 76 yr old grandmother, she’s my heart. Everything she cooks turns to gold. Thanks for the reminder down memory lane.Your grandmother is smiling down on you and she’s so proud.. Keep cooking. (I’ll let you know how the cookies turn out and I love your childrens names) Take care.

    1. Thanks for this really heartfelt comment and I never know when I write things if it will touch anyone but it did and everything I wanted to express about my grandma resonated with you and I’m glad (but sorry I made you cry!). As for your grandma being one of 21 children and the only one living – my grandma was the last of 13 children. Cannot imagine what that would feel like to be the soul survivor or last survivor of so many (or the mama who bore all those babies!) :)

    1. Reduce the sugar and if you’re reducing it by a significant amount, i.e. more than 1/4 or 1/3 c, you may have to play around with the other dry ingredients because you will change the dough consistency, but overall, some reduction shouldn’t cause issues. But I can’t guarantee results…just making suggestions.