Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Simple. Quick. Delicious.

It’s no wonder I’ve been making this recipe for over three years and continue to make it practically every month. Firstly, because Jorge loves taking them to the gym, because they make a great snack, and secondly, because they’re the best and easiest oatmeal raisin cookies you’ll ever try!

As if that weren’t enough, they’re simple, healthy, dairy-free, and of course, vegetarian! We have the complete package for the best cookies ever, don’t you think? Best of all (yes, I still have more to tell you!), they take less than 25 minutes to make, from prep to ready to eat!

Seriously, there is no better recipe than this one, it is tested and approved by me, Jorge and practically my entire family! After making these cookies once, you’ll understand what I mean… Shall we? Let’s get our hands dirty!

First Of All, What You Will Need

I love always using the best ingredients. Why? Because the best ingredients make the best recipes! Below I’ll leave a list of ingredients you’ll need to make these cookies, as well as some substitutions you can make.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 g) – It’s an essential ingredient, obviously, and you can’t omit it. It gives the cookie its structure, so it’s irreplaceable, at least in its entirety. What I’ve tried is swapping half of it for whole wheat flour for a nuttier taste. It worked!
• ½ teaspoon baking powder – It’s essential, because this way the cookies won’t be so dense. I would also say that I don’t recommend omitting this ingredient.
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon – It’s delicious on cookies, seriously! Cinnamon adds an incredible flavor, so I recommend adding it. For Jorge, I usually double the amount of cinnamon, but he’s a big cinnamon fan, so I recommend you start by trying just 1 teaspoon.
• ½ cup sunflower oil or melted coconut oil (120 ml) – Here, I’ll leave it up to you which one to choose. I’ve made the cookies with sunflower oil and melted coconut oil, and I liked both. You can also use melted butter if you prefer.
• ½ cup brown sugar (90 g) -It’s perfect for sweetening and adding chewiness!
• 1 large egg, at room temperature – It’s essential to help all the ingredients combine and mix better. However, if you want an egg-free recipe, you can always replace the egg with flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water). If you’re looking for more egg-free baking, try my egg-free banana pancakes recipe.
• 1 ½ cups rolled oats (120 g) – Gives the classic chewy texture and fiber. I’ve also tried quick oats; the cookies are just as good and even softer. Oats are also considered one of the healthiest grains you can eat, according to Harvard’s Nutrition Source.
• ⅔ cup raisins (100 g) – Natural sweetness and chew. I’ve also tried it with dried cranberries, cherries, and chocolate chips. If you’re unsure, do as I did: divide the dough into 2 (or 3) parts and experiment with all 3!

Now that you know the magical ingredients that will create these divine oatmeal cookies, we can move on to the step-by-step instructions. I photographed practically every step of my latest recipe, so you’ll be able to make these cookies with your eyes closed (almost, because you need to see the pictures).

Shall We Make The Oatmeal Raisin Cookies?

You know I allways like to start by telling you to preheat the oven. Today, we’ll start by preheating to 350ºF (180ºC), because the recipe is very quick to make, and the time it takes to prepare everything (approximately 10 minutes) is the same time it takes for the oven to preheat. Why waste time? That’s how it always is!

So, preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Now let’s start preparing the cookie dough, which is very simple!

In a large bowl, whisk 1 cup flour, ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, and mix everything very well with the help of a spatula, as in the image below.

In another bowl, whisk ½ cup oil, ½ cup brown sugar, and 1 large egg until smooth, as you can see in the second image below.

Ideally, you’ll end up with a creamy, liquid, and lump-free mixture (I hate lumps!). The more you stir, the less likely you are to end up with lumps. Believe me, it’s better to waste some more time now than to end up with cookies with whole chunks of flour in them, they taste terrible later when we eat them.

My favorite part has arrived, the part of mixing all the ingredients! Simply pour the wet into the dry and stir just until combined. Fold in 1½ cups rolled oats and ⅔ cup raisins; the dough will be thick, but don’t worry, it’s completely normal!

I don’t have much strength and this part is a bit difficult for me, but it’s worth stirring and mixing well.

Scoop ~2 Tbsp dough per cookie (about 12 cookies), place 2 inches apart, and gently flatten the tops. Do as I do, simply use your 4 fingers to crush the balls and form the cookies, just as I show in the image below.

If you like taller cookies that are softer in the center, don’t knead the dough as much, leave it a little taller. If you want to test both ways, press down harder on some cookies and softer on others. It’s simple, isn’t it? And even satisfying! Jorge really enjoys doing this part, so I usually do it quietly so he doesn’t hear!

It’s bake time! Just bake 11–13 minutes, until puffed and golden on the edges.

Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. And that’s it!

It couldn’t be simpler, right? That’s why I love these oatmeal raisin cookies, you can’t go wrong with them, they always turn out well, and they’re delicious every time! What did you think of the final result?

Make Ahead Tips for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I have to admit something… I‘ve become a little addicted to freezing cookie dough… It’s so nice when someone comes over and I just have to put the cookies in the oven, it’s so simple it almost seems unreal!

If you also want to have this pleasure, I’ll teach you how to store the cookie dough (and even the whole cookies) so you have stock for the whole year, just like we did with my 3-ingredient Greek yogurt bagels!

1. To always have cookie dough – prepare the dough until the end, cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours (this resting time is not mandatory).
2. Now that the dough has rested for 24 hours in the refrigerator, form balls with 1 scoop and place them in a sealed container in the freezer. You can keep them in the freezer for 3 to 4 months.
3. When you want fresh cookies, just preheat the oven to 350ºF and bake the cookie dough balls for 12 to 15 minutes. They’ll be just like fresh cookies, you won’t even know if you made them today or two months ago!

Before you go, I want to remind you that you shouldn’t freeze the cookie dough balls together, that is, they shouldn’t touch each other, otherwise it may be difficult to separate them when you want to put them in the oven. This has happened to me before and it was a real pain!

The Cookie Jar Conclusion

These healthy oatmeal raisin cookies are truly one of my favorite cookies. I put a lot of love and care into this recipe, so I hope they bring you moments of great happiness and pleasure, just as they did me.

So, did you try this easy oatmeal cookies recipe? Don’t forget to leave a comment below and rate it! Before I go, I also wanted to remind you that you can (and should!) save this recipe to your Pinterest boards for later.