Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe, Soft and Chewy (2024)

An Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe that is delightfully soft, chewy and thick. There's a touch of nutmeg along with cinnamon that adds to the dimension of flavors in this wonderful afternoon and/or midnight snack. Soft boiling the raisins gives them plumpness and juiciness that your taste buds will crave. Using the raisin liquid creates a luscious and moist cookie that cannot be matched!

Years ago, my mom gave me a handwritten recipe book with all our cherished family recipes. One of my favorites is the one you find here in this post. The recipe was titled "Janie's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies." To this day, I have no idea who Janie was. But she could definitely bake a killer oatmeal cookie. So, I give you Janie's (whoever she may have been) delectable, amazing, soft and fluffy cookie recipe.

Literally, as I'm writing this post, the aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla is filling my home. It's so enticing that I'm having a hard time "lingering" while I wait for this next batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies to come out of the oven. You guys, I lose all willpower when it comes to baked goods like these as they're screaming for me to take a bite.

Why I love this Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe:

The cookie is loaded to the gills with plump, juicy raisins. What makes this oatmeal raisin cookie stand head and shoulders above the rest are soft boiling the raisins for about 5 minutes. This makes the raisins plump and juicy. You also use some of the raisin liquid which adds extra moisture to the cookies. And of course, I gorge each cookie with these succulent raisins.

This is an old fashion recipe that has been in my family for as long as I can remember. Recipes like this are tried and true through generations and tend to be some of the best on the planet. I've returned to these cookies over and over through the years and they've never gone out of style in my kitchen.

I prefer an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe that is moist, soft, chewy and thick as opposed to a crispy thinner one. I know that's a tall order to have all of those characteristics in one cookie, but believe me, this recipe delivers on every one of them.

The nutmeg and cinnamon give layers of delicious flavors.This recipe calls for nutmeg along with cinnamon. Both of these spices add a subtle rich dimension to the baked cookie. How could you possibly go wrong with oats, raisins, and these spices?

Oatmeal and Raisins - a Matchless Combination for a Cookie

There's a difference between "old fashioned" and "quick" oats. Quick oats are chopped finer so it gives a more uniform or rounded look to the cookie. I've always used the "old-fashioned" rolled oats in this recipe because I've wanted the texture of a larger, thicker oat. Therefore the oat is not lost in the bite. Also, they give it a more rustic look. Old fashioned oats add a chewier texture to baked goods. But of course, it's all personal preference. The measurements will be the same with either type of oat.

Raisins, of course, bring a sweeter quality to an oatmeal cookie. There are two types of raisins that work with this cookie recipe. "Normal" raisins which we're all probably familiar with and is what I used in the cookies you see here. "Golden" raisins are the other which tends to be smaller and a little sweeter in taste. I like the pop of color that the "normal" raisins add, but either one could be used.

Low Boiling the Raisins

Re-hydrating the raisins is what give them their plump and juicy texture and adds moisture into the cookie dough itself. When I bite into an oatmeal raisin cookie, I want to taste round fleshly raisins and a lot of them. I start with 1 ½ cups of raisins. I place the raisins and 1 ½ cups water in a pan and bring it to a low boil letting continue for 5 minutes.

Drain the Liquid from the Raisins

After the raisins have been boiled, use a metal sieve over a small bowl to drain the liquid. Let it sit while the rest of the dough is being mixed up. This flavorsome liquid will be added later on in the process.

Creaming the Shortening, Sugar, and Eggs

Start with the shortening and sugar and beat on high speed for about two minutes. Add one egg at a time and beat an additional one minute after each. Be careful at this point not to beat too long for this particular oatmeal cookie.

The whole idea of creaming fat and sugar together for cookie dough is to make it light and fluffy by beating air into it. When I make snickerdoodles or peanut butter cookies, for instance, I always cream it for a good five minutes. But with these oatmeal cookies, it was just too much.

I tested two batches. One, where I beat the snot out of it, (sorry for the graphics) creamed it for five minutes before adding the eggs. And the other one for two minutes. The first batch when baked seemed to have an unusual amount of tiny air holes on the surface. (See below in the photo with baked cookies on a wire rack.) So weird. But it's because I incorporated too much air into the batter. The second batch still had some air holes but not near as many (See the overhead shot of a tiered cookie tray below.)

Mixing the Batter

Once the creaming process has been taken care of, add in the dry ingredients. It's best to whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt before combining it with the shortening, sugar, and eggs. Although, the above shot does not show this step mainly because I wanted a photo showing all the ingredients. (Sometimes I get carried away with my photography.)

One thing to note about measuring the flour; use the measuring cup to fluff the flour first and then measure it out. Use the flat side of a table knife to scrape off the top of the flour from the measuring cup. Don't just shake off the excess. This way you're getting a true consistent amount every time you make the cookies.

Use the hand mixer to continue to combine the dry ingredients to the wet, but only until it's combined. It's best not to overmix at this stage, otherwise, the cookies can become tough.

Baking soda is a leavening agent which works in baked goods to create an airy effect. In this recipe add the baking soda to half a cup of raisin liquid. Then add that to the batter, just until combined.

Using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, fold in the plump raisins, oatmeal and vanilla to the batter. Again, do not over-mix.

Getting this Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe ready for the Oven

Some recipes call for chilling the dough before baking it so that the cookie dough does not flatten out too much. But with this recipe, you do not need to do that. I've never had that problem when baking these.

Another reason for flat cookies is greasing the pan too heavily. It just needs a light film of cooking spray.

Using a cookie scoop helps with uniformity and consistency for each cookie. Not only that, it's just easy to use. When I was young we would use two spoons. One for scooping out the dough and one for scraping it onto the cookie sheet. It was a lot more work and a lot messier. But however, you can get them onto the pan and ready for the oven is gonna work just fine.

Baking the Cookies

We've just moved into a home where the kitchen has two ovens. Such wonderful planning on someone's part for my current benefit. But I've noticed that both ovens cook a little differently. Therefore I would suggest, any time you are cooking or baking, don't just go by the times given in a recipe. I wouldn't just walk away and wait for the timer to go off. Keep an eye on it, because every oven is a little quirky like that, even in the same kitchen.

For this particular oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, set your oven temperature to 350°F and bake them anywhere from 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. I started with two on a cookie sheet to test. One I baked for 12 minutes and the other I left in for 15. I came to the conclusion that 13 minutes was the best time for my oven. This test helped me not waste a whole baking sheet of cookie dough.

This recipe makes about three dozen if you don't heap the dough onto the cookie scoop. I'm a "heaper," therefore I didn't get quite that many out of one batch. So ... I just had to make two batches. Two is better than one, right? Right!!

All I need now is an ice-cold glass of milk and a plateful of these "hot out of the oven" Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. My tastebuds are so gonna love me for this treat.

If you're looking for some other great "baked goods" recipes, you've gotta check these out:

Soft and Fluffy Snickerdoodle Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Kisses

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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