The best oatmeal cookie recipe! It yields soft and chewy oatmeal cookies that are perfectly spiced with cinnamon. Add raisins or chocolate chips!
This oatmeal cookie recipe makes perfect soft and chewy oatmeal cookies! They’re warmly spiced with cinnamon and filled with rich flavor from butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. And though I often make this recipe with raisins, it works well with a variety of mix-ins. Fold in walnuts, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips!
Another reason to love this oatmeal cookie recipe? You don’t need a mixer to make it. The dough is easy to mix up with a spatula and basic pantry ingredients whenever a cookie craving strikes.
This recipe was originally published in Sarah Copeland’s cookbook Every Day Is Saturday, and I first shared it in 2019. I’ve made it countless times since. Our readers have too—it now has over 500 5-star reviews! Try it the next time you’re craving soft and chewy oatmeal cookies. I think you’ll love it!
Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Ingredients
This recipe has simple ingredients. You likely have them in your pantry already! Here’s what you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour and whole rolled oats – They make up the base of the dough. Spoon and level your flour to avoid packing too much into your measuring cup.
- Baking powder and baking soda – They help the cookies rise.
- Brown sugar – It adds the perfect caramelized sweetness. Light brown sugar and dark brown sugar both work well.
- Sea salt – It balances the sweet sugar and raisins.
- Cinnamon and vanilla extract – For warm, spiced depth of flavor.
- Melted butter – For moisture, richness, and buttery flavor. To make these cookies dairy-free, use melted coconut oil instead.
- 1 large egg + an extra egg yolk – The extra egg yolk makes these cookies especially moist and chewy.
- Raisins or chocolate chips – For pops of sweetness.
- And walnuts – For crunch!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Can I use quick oats in oatmeal cookies?
Yes, you can use quick oats in this oatmeal cookie recipe. After testing it both ways, I recommend old fashioned oats for the best chewy texture, but in a pinch, quick oats work too!
How to Make Oatmeal Cookies
Making this oatmeal cookie recipe couldn’t be easier. Here’s what you need to do:
First, make the dough. Whisk together the wet ingredients in one mixing bowl and the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in another.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Then, fold in the walnuts, oats, and raisins. The mixture will be thick!
Next, let the dough rest for 20 minutes. This gives the wet ingredients a chance to hydrate the flour and oats, making it easier to work with the dough. The cookies come out chewier, too!
Then, shape and bake the cookies. Roll the dough into balls and place them on parchment-lined baking sheets. Press down lightly on the tops to flatten them slightly. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy!
Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Tips
- Use brown sugar. I’ve tested this recipe with a mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar. I didn’t find that the white sugar improved it. Use 100% brown sugar for the best oatmeal cookies. They have a richer molasses flavor.
- Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before baking. Those 20 minutes will make your dough easier to roll into balls, so the cookies will keep their shape and develop a yummy chewy texture in the oven.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely for the best texture and flavor. It may be agony, but letting these oatmeal cookies cool completely only makes them better. They’ll be chewier and fully infused with brown sugar flavor. Sarah likes these best a few hours to 1 day after baking. (Though I can attest that they’re still good if you can’t wait that long.)
Oatmeal Cookies Variations
- Use raisins to make oatmeal raisin cookies. Or swap the raisins for dried cherries or cranberries.
- Add chocolate chips to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. White chocolate chips are a fun option too.
- Use pecans instead of walnuts.
- Add a dash of cardamom or ginger to the dough.
- Add butterscotch chips to give the cookies an extra-buttery taste.
How do you like to make oatmeal cookies? Let me know in the comments!
How to Store Oatmeal Cookies
To keep these oatmeal cookies soft and chewy, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They also freeze well for up to 3 months.
Make-Ahead Oatmeal Cookies
If you’re someone who likes to keep cookie dough on hand in the fridge or freezer, this oatmeal cookie recipe is for you. You can store the cookie dough in the fridge for 7 to 10 days or freeze it for up to a month.
To store the dough, roll it into balls and freeze them briefly. Then, transfer the cookie dough balls to airtight containers or Ziploc bags and refrigerate or freeze. You can also roll the dough into a log, using an 8×12-inch piece of parchment paper as a guide. Wrap the log tightly in parchment to refrigerate or freeze, and slice the cookies into rounds before baking.
Bake your cookie dough straight from the fridge. If it’s frozen, allow it to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature before putting it in the oven.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these easy oatmeal cookies, try one of these yummy cookie recipes next:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Homemade Brownies (not a cookie, but still delicious…)
- Or any of these 17 Easy Cookie Recipes!
Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Scoop (I use this one)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled*
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ cups whole rolled oats
- ¾ cup raisins or chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, whisking vigorously.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the oats, raisins, and walnuts, if using, folding into a tight batter. Set the dough aside for 20 minutes while the oven preheats. (Note: If your dough seems too wet to become scoop-able, chill it in the fridge for this 20 minutes and it'll firm up. If your dough is too crumbly, stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons water.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough, heaping your scoops slightly to get 20 to 22 balls of dough. Roll lightly in barely damp hands to make them round. Spread out onto the prepared baking sheets and press down lightly on the tops of the dough balls.
- Bake until puffed, golden, and a touch underbaked-looking, 10 to 11 minutes. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Everyone’s favorite cookie recipe and so simple to make. I use coconut oil and 1 cup of walnuts, follow the recipe and they’re perfect every time.
What an excellent recipe! You are right about the melted butter. working better than creaming butter. I took this to the next level by adding a cup and a half of dried cherries, golden raisins, dark chocolate chips and walnuts to the batter. I also added a half teaspoon of red chili flakes to the dry ingredients. After 6 minutes of baking, I took the cookies out and put a caramel on top and sprinkled with coarse Himalayan salt. They are extraordinary! Thank you for the recipe. It is the best oatmeal one I have tried.
Hi Siri, I’m so glad you loved them!
Very easy and always come out chewy and delicious – any way to substitute the eggs to make it vegan?
This is the best oatmeal raisin cookie recipe I have ever tried. The only change I made was to use quick oats because that is what I had in the house. It resulted in a soft, delicious cookie that I have received rave reviews on every time we make them. This recipe is definitely one I will am adding to my collection.
We love these cookies! I have made them several times looking for the best ‘healthier’ but still super tasty oatmeal cookie. I use the coconut oil version because I don’t eat dairy. My kids don’t love a lot of raisins so I have made with a mix of half raisins and the other half chocolate chips (and always add the optional walnuts!) – they are perfect! I’m going to make them again right now:)
Hi! Just made these delicious cookies with dried blueberries and walnuts. Thank you for the inspiration! (I’m Holly’s sister (Palos))
Perfection! I’ve made these sucessfully dozens of times and we love them. I use Dinkel 630 (spelt flour – I live in Austria), coconut oil, coconut sugar, pecans and raisins. I’ve reduced the sugar to 90g, as we don’t like them too sweet (we eat one every day!).
They are always soft and chewy, and delicious.
Made the oatmeal cookies. Didn’t have raisins so I used cranberries. Delicious and super easy.
Great, easy-to-make recipe, these cookies turned out very well. I also added 1/2 tsp nutmeg & 1/4 tsp clove for extra spice and used unsalted butter. Definitely refrigerate these to help shape them.
Amazing recipe! I’ve probably made this at least 10 + times, many times I’ve doubled or tripled the recipe. My friends love it! I do substitute certain items based on my dietary needs, but the base is great.
I’ve made this so many times that I’m able to get all the ingredients together in just under 5 minutes, so I’m always done before my oven is even done pre-heating (which normally takes around 15 minutes), this is even when I triple the recipe.
Thank you for this recipe – I’ve had friends asking for it constantly 🙂
Hi Daniela, I’m so glad you love the recipe!
Perfect! Not overly sweet. I melted the butter and they are soft and chewy and full of cranberries and pecans!
Oh and I always use salted butter so that is what I used.
I was wondering about the salted butter. Thanks for your review.
These oatmeal cookies are perfection… I’ve been making them the old-fashioned way for decades – and have never used coconut oil or some of the variations in this recipe. These are outstanding: moist, flavorful, and not overly sweet! You are my number one cooking website and you have never failed me! Thank you for sharing your gifts and your talents in this way. So happy to share these cookies with my friends.
Best oatmeal cookie recipe ever! What an absolute treat. I might add pumpkin seeds next time, for the fall. Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Loved this recipe! I tweaked it a bit and it turned out perfect despite the reviews. The coconut oil definitely works better than butter. I also used quick oats, added some ginger powder and a nut mix (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and cashews). At the end I added about 2-3 tablespoons of milk so the cookies turned out extra chewy. 10/10
Best Oatmeal cookies!! Used coconut oil instead of butter. Loved how chewy they are. Can’t wait to try it again but with dry cherries instead of raisins.
My mistake didn’t read the comments but its true the cookies is more cakey not cruncy chewy at all.
Disappointed. I used melted butter. Cookies are dry and cakey, not chewy. Would not recommend this recipe.
Exacly- i should have read all the reviews. At a glance it looked like mostly five stars. These are dry, cakey. Nothing like what I expect an oatmeal cookie to taste like. I can’t understand the good reviews.i followed this to a “T”
I did the same! I’ve made rock cakes (kind of like a scone) oh dear!
Hi Michelle, these are slightly puffy cookies, but they should be chewy, not dry. I would recommend baking them slightly less (they should look underdone when you take them out of the oven) or making sure you’re spooning and leveling your flour. It’s easy to accidentally add too much to the dough if you scoop it up with your measuring cup.
I didn’t love how cakey these came out. Maybe butter can’t be swapped for coconut oil in this recipie.
I normally make choc chip soft cookies with butter (aka subway style), but was actually looking for a more harder and healthier oatmeal raisin cookie.
While this is definitely healthier (it’s NOT THAT SWEET compared to the usual chewy cookies recipes, I used coconut oil too), it was not quite what I was looking for either. I baked for almost 20min in my oven but the outside didnt get that crunchy layer. I wouldn’t call the cookie dry, but it was more on the cakey side, which is a bit strange. Flavour was good, smell was amazing.
Follow up thought – these remind me of oatmeal bars! Might help with people’s expectations in case they don’t turn out like a traditional cookie.
I would use salted butter or add more salt and I would have put in more walnuts. I did not like the soft texture. I tried this recipe because of the high ratings. If I knew more about food science, I would have been able to tell how they would turn out by reading the recipe.