My favorite type of cookies are hands down Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!! Sorry to all the chocolate lovers out there. I’m addicted to the cozy flavors of soft spices and brown sugar.
Good news is this recipe works for chocolate and nut cookie lovers too! With a base of butter, dark brown sugar, and old fashioned oats, you can add your favorite cookie flavor goodies without a change in the cookie texture.
Keep this oatmeal cookie recipe in your kitchen at all times for a quick, easy, and satisfying cookie craving tamer!!
What makes a cookie chewy?!
Brown sugar is the key ingredient for a softer chewier cookie! The high moisture content provided by the dark brown sugar coupled with a shorter baking time, yields a fabulous chewy oatmeal cookie.
Tips for Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Dark Brown Sugar and Light Brown Sugar can be swapped interchangeably.
- I love nutmeg, but if you’re not a fan, swap it out for more cinnamon
- Maple Syrup can be swapped for honey or molasses.
- Use room temperature unsalted butter. If you’re in a hurry, simply microwave 2 sticks of butter for about 15 seconds.
- Cookie dough can be made the day before and stored in the fridge.
- Store baked cookies in an air tight container for up to 1 week.
- Freeze cookie dough balls in air tight freezer safe container for up to three months. Frozen cookie dough balls may take a couple extra minutes to bake in the oven.
Oatmeal Cookie Flavors!!
If you aren’t a raisin fan, but love oatmeal cookies just swap the raisins out for your favorite toppings or mix and match!! Make sure your total measurement of extra goodies equals to 1 cup. Below are some ideas!
- Dried Apricots
- Golden Raisins
- Dried Cherres
- Dried Cranberries
- Chocolate Chips or Chunks
- White Chocolate Chips
- Butterscotch chips
- Chopped Walnuts, Pecans, Peanuts
Adjusting the Spices
Swap out the cinnamon for pumpkin spice. Or add in a little extra cinnamon with a teaspoon of nutmeg and a ¼ teaspoon cloves. Play with the flavors to fit your personal tastes.
Why do you Chill Cookie Dough before Baking?
Chilling cookie dough before baking helps to solidify the fat, aka the butter in this recipe. With the butter being cold and firmer, it keeps the cookies from spreading out too much while baking. The sugars in the dough gradually absorb the liquid of the fat as it melts. If the cookie dough is room temperature right before baking, the cookies will be flat and thin.
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 Cups (250 grams) All Purpose Flour
- 3 Cups (240 grams) Old Fashioned Whole Oats
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup (220 grams) Dark Brown Sugar
- ½ Cup ( 100 grams) Granulated Sugar
- 16 Tbsp (1 cup =227 grams) Unsalted Butter softened at room temperature
- 2 Large Eggs room temperature
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup (128 grams) Raisins (or chocolate, nuts, other chopped dried fruit)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl hand whisk together flour, oats, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat together softened butter and sugars.
- Add vanilla, maple syrup. and eggs one at a time. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl as needed.
- Slowly spoon in flour and oats until dough is formed.
- Take a small spatula and scrape dough from paddle.
- Add in raisins or filling of choice then mix on low a couple spins to spread throughout cookie dough (or by stirring in with spoon).
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat Oven to 375 F (190 C) and line two rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Using a cookie dough scoop or 2 Tbsp Scoop to measure out cookie dough. (dough will be thick and sticky)
- Scoop cookie dough balls and place on baking sheets 2 inches apart.
- Bake on middle rack for 10-12 minutes. Edges should be brown and center still soft. Cookie will firm as they cool. Don't over bake them!
- Let cookies cool on pan for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.
- Eat warm with glass of milk!!