brown butter oatmeal raisin cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are thick & chewy, with incredible depth of flavor from brown butter and a hint of cinnamon. These cookies come together in minutes in one bowl without a mixer. The dough freezes beautifully, too! These cookies are guaranteed to turn the head of even the biggest oatmeal cookie skeptic.

this recipe

These cookies are crisp edged, chewy all the way through, and incredibly flavorful. There’s not a hint of dryness or blandness to be found in these! I’ve heard plenty of self-proclaimed haters of oatmeal cookies change their tune after they tasted these.

Why you’ll love the Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies:

• Incredible Flavor – Using a combination of brown butter, dark brown sugar, and a mix of whole oats and pulsed oats creates a cookie with incredible depth of flavor, and avoids being overly chewy from the oats!
• Easy Cookie Recipe – Whisk these cookies up in one bowl – no need to get out a stand mixer or electric mixer!
• Almost No Chill – These cookies require just a 10 minute rest in the fridge before baking.
• Chewy Cookies – These are chewy oatmeal raisin cookies – without a hint of dryness to be found!
• Customizable Cookies – Mix it up by using raisins and chocolate chips, or any other combo of fruit, chocolate, and nuts that you like! At Christmas time, we love making these with dried cherries or cranberries and white chocolate chips. See more ideas in recipe variations at the bottom of this post.

Ingredient Overview:

As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Butter – I always use salted butter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
• All-purpose Flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
• Oats – We’re starting with old-fashioned oats for, then pulsing 2/3 of them in the food processor to break them down. This prevents an unpleasantly chewy texture in your oatmeal cookies that can happen with three full cups of whole oat pieces. Breaking down some of the oats creates a beautiful texture while still being a true oatmeal raisin cookie. Do not use steel cut oats! They are very different and won’t work in this recipe.
• Dark Brown Sugar – Dark brown sugar adds extra depth of flavor – I highly recommend using it! It’s a wonderful addition to most cookie recipes in place of light brown sugar.
• Spices – Naturally we’re using cinnamon, but I find that a bit of nutmeg and a pinch of cloves add a beautiful depth of flavor to this recipe.
• Raisins – Obviously we’re using raisins here, but you can swap any other dried fruit or even mix in some nuts and chocolate! See more under recipe variations at the bottom of this post (use the table of contents up top to help navigate).

Recipe Substitutions

• Dairy-free – Use your favorite trusted brand of dairy-free butter to make this cookie recipe dairy-free.
• Gluten-free – I have not tested a gluten-free version of these cookies but I’ve had readers say they’ve had good results using a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in my other cookie recipes.
• Quick Oats – I still recommend breaking down your oats in a food processor, even if using quick oats or instant oats, as they can still have larger bits. It’s worth it for the texture of these cookies!
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – Feel free to add chocolate chips in with, or in place of the raisins. Use 1/2 to 3/4 cup of chocolate chips with 1 cup of raisins, or any combination of raisins and chocolate chips that totals 1 and 3/4 cups.
• Other Fruit – Feel free to use other dried fruit in place of the raisins. Dried sweetened cherries or cranberries would be delicious – and they pair well with chocolate or white chocolate chips. Golden raisins would work too. Other fruits, like dried apricots, would work as well but chop them into small pieces first.
• Nuts – Feel free to use chopped walnuts or pecans with the raisins as well! Have fun with your mix-ins, but try to keep the total amount to around 1 and 3/4 cups.

How to Make this Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe :

Step 1: Brown the Butter. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then continue cooking, stirring lazily, for 5 minutes or so, until foamy and golden brown.

Pour the brown butter into a mixing bowl, and let cool while you prep the other ingredients.

Step 2: Make the Cookie Dough. Whisk the sugars into the cooled brown butter, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients and the raisins last. Add any other mix-ins you may be using.

Step 3: Rest Dough. Pop the bowl of dough in the fridge to rest for 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 365 degrees F and line your cookie sheets.

Step 4: Bake Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Scoop cookie dough balls 90 grams in size. Place 5-8 cookies on each cookie sheet, and bake for 9 minutes.

The cookies will have some slightly wet looking spots on top – this is the right time to pull them out. They’ll set up perfectly as they cool.

Serving + Storing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies:

Once the cookies are still warm, but cool enough to handle – dig in! Or, let cookies cool completely before enjoying. Let cookies cool completely at room temperature before transferring to an airtight container.

Store leftovers at room temperature for 4-5 days. Then, make my Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars or my Butterscotch Blondies (with oats!).

Expert Success Tips:

• Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
• Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
• Don’t Rest the Dough Long – The oats will soak up the moisture in the dough, so I don’t recommend chilling or resting this dough for very long. About 10 minutes is all they need. If you don’t want to bake all the oatmeal raisin cookies right away, you’ll need to freeze the dough. It doesn’t work to chill the dough for more than 10-20 minutes in the fridge. The cookies will lose structure and struggle when baked if you chill them in the fridge for hours or days.
• Juicy Raisins – If your raisins are old, you may want to plump or freshen them a bit. Add raisins to a small bowl and pour hot water over them. Let rest for 10-15 minutes, then pour out the water, draining well, and spread the raisins on a clean kitchen towel to be patted dry. (Note – soaking longer won’t plump raisins more – they can only be plumped so much and it will happen quickly.)

FAQs:

Special Tools:

• Baking Sheets – These are my favorite cookie sheets!
• Cookie Scoop – I like using a cookie scoop to help portion my dough, but I still recommend weighing it out for the most accuracy.

More Classic Cookies to Love:

• Bakery-Style Monster Cookies
• Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Cinnamon Roll Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
• Caramel Apple Cider Cookies
• Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

---

---