Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
118
Published Feb 28, 2024
This post may include affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
These oatmeal raisin cookies are soft and chewy with crisp edges. They’re absolutely addicting and guaranteed to be a new family favorite!
It’s crazy to think that I first shared this oatmeal raisin cookie recipe back in 2012. I made them for a New Year’s Eve party and they were a big hit, so of course I had to share them here!
I’ve made a few adjustments to the original recipe over the years, but these oatmeal raisin cookies never disappoint! The combo of oatmeal, raisin and cinnamon is pure perfection.
Why I Love These Cookies
- Healthier – These cookies are a tad healthier than classic oatmeal raisin cookies, IMO! They’re made with oat flour, sweetened with coconut sugar and instead of butter we’re using coconut oil and applesauce to add moisture.
- Simple ingredients – You only need simple pantry staple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.
- Perfect texture – These cookies are perfectly soft and chewy in the center with crisp edges.
Ingredients Needed
You only need simple, pantry staple ingredients to whip up these cookies. I bet you already have most of these ingredients in your kitchen right now!
- old-fashioned rolled oats – I like Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats as they are certified gluten-free. Oats can be easily cross contaminated so make sure to grab certified gluten-free oats if needed!
- oat flour – use store-bought or you can make your own using my oat flour recipe. I haven’t tested these cookies with another flour, so I’m not sure how they’d turn out. Some people have said that almond flour and all-purpose flour worked well, but I haven’t tried it.
- baking soda and baking powder – leavening agents! You need both.
- cinnamon – the perfect spice pairing for oatmeal raisin cookies!
- sea salt – brings all of the flavors together.
- coconut oil – instead of butter we’re using coconut oil, which keeps the cookies moist! As a substitute you can another neutral oil like olive or avocado oil or butter (vegan or regular) in place of the coconut oil.
- applesauce – make sure you’re using unsweetened applesauce! You can use store-bought or you can make your own using my applesauce recipe. If you don’t have applesauce on hand you can use mashed bananas instead.
- coconut sugar – I like using coconut sugar, but you could also use organic brown sugar.
- eggs – a binding ingredient and what helps give these cookies structure. Egg whites will also work.
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- raisins – the star of the show! Even though these are oatmeal raisin cookies you can easily swap the raisins with chocolate chips, chopped nuts or your favorite mix-in!
Dietary Substitutions
- Gluten-free – Just be sure you’re using gluten-free certified oats and oat flour.
- Vegan – If you want oatmeal raisin cookies without eggs, try making these oatmeal breakfast cookies instead!
- Low-sugar – Try these oatmeal raisin protein cookies instead which have no added sugar.
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Step 1: In a medium bowl, add the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and stir to fully combine.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl add the oil, applesauce, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the wet ingredients together until smooth.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and using the hand mixer on low speed, mix until combined. Using a spatula or wooden spoon stir in the raisins.
Step 4: Using a medium cookie scoop, drop 1 Tablespoon worth of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Lightly press each cookie down with a fork.
Step 5: Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips For Making The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Watch the baking time: Oatmeal cookies can go from perfectly chewy to overly crisp quickly. Start checking them at 8 minutes and take them out when they’re just golden brown on the edges. They might seem too soft, but they’ll continue to firm up as they cool, trust me!
- Cool properly: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. This helps them set without becoming too hard. If you move them too soon they could just fall apart.
How to Store Cookies
After letting your cookies cool completely, I recommend storing them in an airtight container. They’ll last 3-4 days on the countertop, a week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer. I love making these in advance, freezing and then serving during the holidays!
More Cookie Recipes
- Ultimate Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Be sure to check out all of my cookie recipes as well as the full collection of dessert recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cup oat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 2 Tablespoons applesauce
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 eggs, or ⅓ cup egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or with silpat mats and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg if using. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with the mixer set on medium speed, beat together oil, applesauce, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy and smooth.
- Slowly beat in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until combined.
- Gently mix in the raisins.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop 1 Tablespoon worth of dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Lightly press each cookie down with a fork.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. The cookies will seem a little soft, but do not over bake or they’ll get too crisp. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for about 5 minutes or until they start to harden up a bit. At this point you can transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Coconut oil: Use another neutral oil like olive or avocado oil or butter in place of the coconut oil.
- Applesauce: Mashed bananas will work as a substitute.
- Coconut sugar: You can use brown sugar or regular sugar instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Brittany I love these cookies! I’m working during if j could swop the vanilla extract for lemon extract or lemon zest…? I love lemon and raisins together.
do you think this would work or would it curdle the milk?
many thanks! Naomi
Hi Naomi – I am not sure if adding lemon would work for this recipe, I personally haven’t tried it. But I do have 2 delicious lemon cookies on my website: Lemon almond flour cookies and Lemon Ricotta cookies . You could probably add some raisins to either of these cookies. Let me know if you give these a try and what you think! Enjoy!
Come out much better when I used two whole eggs instead of the applesauce and egg whites and used real butter instead of coconut oil.
I am glad to hear these cookies worked out for you, Karen. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I appreciate it.
I made these cookies because I’ve been trying to find a oatmeal cookie recipe I like. I’ve tried multiple recipes and they all come out with a cake like texture. I follow the recipe exactly so not sure what I’m doing wrong. This recipe tastes great.maybe you could help me figure out what’s making them so cake like?
Hi Sara – Are you using all of the exact ingredients as well? Did you mix these by hand or with a mixer?
I followed all the instructions. The mixture was two wet but I added a half cup of oats and they made it the right consistency. Baked for 10 mins and boom they were done. Taste amazing. Thank you for sharing.
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Eli and that you were able to adjust the amount to oats to bring it to the correct consistence, thank you for sharing! I really appreciate you coming back and leaving your review + star rating.
so yummy!
how long do they keep? If I want to make for company a few days ahead of time.
Hi, Sue! They’ll last a few days on the countertop, a week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer!
Yum! I also used banana in place of applesauce and used chocolate chips. Delicious!
So glad you enjoyed these cookies, Wendy. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I am wondering i do not like banana taste or apple sauce nor other purée ( including sweet potato or pumpkin ) so i am wondering what can I replace it with? Egg white?
Thanks
Hi Ranim – Unfortunately, the banana and apple sauce are used as binders in this recipe. You could try adding an extra egg into the batter, but I am also concerned that this will change the texture and consistency of the cookie.
Brittany, thank you SO much for this beautiful recipe! My family of 5 have rated these as their all-time favourite cookies 🤗 I used mashed banana instead of applesauce and substitited raisin/choc chips for dried apricot/chopped almonds/shredded coconut/white choc and they turned out perfectly. 10 mins on the dot for baking time and the consistency of the mix was spot on 👌
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear these oatmeal cookies were a hit, Kate! I love the variations you used, so great. Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and coming back to leave a review. It means so much to me!
4 of 5 stars due to batter was very wet and didn’t hold together well. Scooped cookies onto cookie sheets and baked 11 min. Did not mash them down. After baking, cookies tasted very good. Around edges are crumbly but all in all very good cookie. Thank you for the recipe.
Sorry to hear you had troubles with the cookie, Wanda! Did you use a mixer to beat the dough together? I’m trying to think what could have happened! I need to test these again!
Hey Wanda – I just made these cookies over the weekend and the batter was plenty thick for me and not too wet. Did you change anything about the recipe?
Hi Brittany,
I baked 3 times and all went well! Thanks for this healthy snack. I substituted apple sauce with half chopped fresh apple and it made my day! I skipped those cinnamon and ground nutmeg (actually there were not in my kitchen opss sorry) but stil the biscuits taste good. I added some diced almond and I cut the amount of sugar and make it just 1/3 cup (I used the organic brown sugar) it doesn’t change the taste either. Thanks Brittany. 😊
So glad these cookies were a hit, Rahazimah! Thanks for trying them out and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
I’ve made these twice and while they taste delicious I cannot get them to stay together! They crumble off the parchment paper…
Oh no!! Have you changed anything about the recipe, Morgan? Sounds like you might need some more liquid to hold the cookies together. Maybe try adding a splash of milk or even water?
Made exact recipe. Batter is plenty wet so not sure how adding more liquid would work. Needs to be thicker batter I believe.
Super good oatmeal cookies! I used half all purpose flour and half almond flour, and it worked out great. The cookies were a little bit dense, so I think next time I will add more applesauce. Flatten them out before you put them in the oven. Since I used brown sugar, I’m not sure I would call them healthy, but definitely healthier than other recipes. Perfect for Father’s Day!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this oatmeal cookies, Madeline 🙂