Best Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
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Meet your new go-to oatmeal cookie recipe: just the right texture, that nostalgic flavor you love, and a dough that’s easy to whip up whenever the craving hits. They’re a must-bake for any cookie lover!
I love discovering end-all-be-all recipes for classic American desserts (see also my favorite chocolate chip cookies and make-on-repeat brownie recipe). You bakers out there know that it can take many attempts to get it just right, but once you find that perfect recipe, it’s your go-to forever. This isn’t your average oatmeal cookie recipe—it uses way fewer oats than most, which, surprisingly, makes for much better oatmeal cookies.
I also opt for using all brown sugar instead of granulated sugar or a combination of the two. This gives the cookies a rich flavor, a slightly crisp exterior, and a perfectly chewy center.
Like chocolate chips in your oatmeal cookies? I’ve got you covered—my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are always a hit.
“Golden brown, crispy, chewy perfection! This is now my forever recipe. I can’t wait to try different mix-ins!”
What You’ll Need To Make The Best Oatmeal Cookies
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Give the cookies their signature chewy texture and toasty oat flavor. Stick with rolled oats—quick-cooking oats won’t give you the same hearty texture.
- All-Purpose Flour: Adds structure to the dough so the cookies hold their shape. For best results, scoop it into your measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with a knife.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Work together to help the cookies rise.
- Unsalted Butter: Brings richness and moisture, plus that classic buttery flavor we all love in a good cookie.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Adds deep, molasses-like sweetness and helps keep the cookies soft. Be sure to pack it tightly when measuring.
- Egg: Holds everything together and gives the cookies a bit of lift.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the flavors with warm, sweet notes.
- Coarsely Chopped Pecans: Add a nutty crunch and buttery flavor. You can swap in walnuts or skip the nuts altogether if you prefer.
- Raisins or Currants: Bring natural sweetness and chewiness. Other dried fruits like cranberries or chopped apricots work great, too. Pro Tip: If your dried fruit is overly dry or firm, you can soak it in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain well—this keeps it soft and plump in the cookies.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer and large mixing bowl), combine the butter and brown sugar. Butter that’s just a touch cooler than room temperature blends more easily and helps achieve a uniform creamy texture—if it’s too cold, the mixture may be clumpy.
Step 3: Beat until creamy. Mix on medium speed until the mixture looks creamy and light, about 3 minutes. Aim for a pale, fluffy mixture.
Step 4: Add the egg and vanilla. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Step 5: Add the dry mixture. Add the flour and oat mixture to the bowl and mix on low speed until just combined. Overmixing at this stage can make the cookies tough—stop as soon as the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Step 6: Stir in the mix-ins. Add the pecans and raisins and mix just until evenly distributed—don’t overdo it.
Step 7: Portion the dough. Drop the cookie dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets in 1½-tablespoon mounds, spacing them a couple of inches apart. It’s not necessary, but if you have a cookie scoop, use it to make easy work of portioning out the dough.
Step 8: Bake and cool. Bake at 350°F for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers are still pale. Be careful not to overcook oatmeal cookies; they get very crispy if baked too long, and you’ll enjoy them so much more if they are slightly chewy. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then slide the parchment onto wire racks or use a spatula to transfer the cookies. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Enjoy!
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Oatmeal Cookies
Old-school in the best way, these oatmeal cookies are tender, golden around the edges, and full of classic oatmeal-raisin goodness.
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (do not use quick cooking or instant oats)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans
- ¾ cup raisins or currants
Instructions
- Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the egg and vanilla and beat again until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour and oatmeal mixture and mix on low speed until just combined; add the pecans and raisins and mix again until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Drop the dough into 1½-tablespoon mounds about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, or until the edges are slightly golden but the centers are still pale. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then either slide the papers off the pans onto cooling racks or transfer the cookies with a spatula. Once cool, store the cookies in an air-tight container.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Scoop into balls, freeze on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a sealable bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Bake directly from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time. The baked cookies can also be frozen. Once cooled completely, store in an airtight container with parchment or foil between layers. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 105
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Sugar: 9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 13 mg
- Cholesterol: 52 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn,
Is chilling the cookie dough for a few hours recommended to enhance the flavour of the cookies?
No Meghna, No refrigeration is necessary (and wouldn’t enhance the flavor of the cookies).
Hi Jenn,
Can I use steel cut oats for this recipe?
Also, any suggestion for a butter replacement due to lactose issue?
Thank you!
Lauri
Hi Lauri, Unfortunately, steel cut oats won’t work here– they won’t soften up enough when baked. And I think you could get away with replacing the butter with margarine.
I have been weighing ingredients especially flour rather than relying on measuring cups but there seems to be such a difference in how many grams (or ounces) a cup of all purpose flour weighs. King Arthur says its all purpose flour is 4.25 oz/cup; others use 4.5 or 5 oz/cup. What to do? If you wrote this recipe in weights, what would you use? Thanks for your help,
Hi David, The conversion I use is 125 grams (or 4.4 ounces) for 1 cup of all purpose flour. Hope that helps!
This is the absolute BEST recipe for oatmeal cookies!! I cannot even begin to describe how perfect the cookies turned out. Crisp on the edges, soft and chewy in the centre. The toasted pecans and the sweet raisins made an absolutely amazing combination, and gave the cookies a LOT of flavour. I highly recommend trying this out; you’ll want to make this again and again, I promise.
This really is the perfect cookie recipe!!!
This was the first recipe I tried from onceuponachef and I followed the instructions exactly. These are FANTASTIC!! Truly the best oatmeal raisin cookies I or my family has ever had. The pecans are a great touch!
These are awesome!!! I had no eggs and had to substitute egg whites from a carton and they were still excellent!
I made these today, and we decided they are the perfect oatmeal cookie. Other recipes I’ve tried in the past are either too crisp, too soft, too many oats, too whatever!, but these are spot on. The ratio of flour to oatmeal is perfect, and the crispness of the edges versus the soft, chewy center is perfect too. The addition of the toasted pecans is heavenly. I did two small things differently than the original recipe. I added a smidge of freshly grated nutmeg simply because that is our personal preference, but it certainly wasn’t necessary to the success of the cookie. I also plumped the raisins by pouring boiling water over them and letting them soak for 10 minutes before draining and patting them dry. Again, not necessary, but personal preference in our household for any cookies containing raisins. I’m so glad to have finally found THE oatmeal cookie recipe!
DELICIOUS! I made these today, for a Superbowl party tonight. They are soooo good. I added of course raisins…but also, pecans, chocolate chips and sunflower seeds….I had a recipe that I lost that contained only brown sugar…so the search began, and this recipe saved the day. Quick, easy and delicious. Thanks ?
Another wonderful recipe from onceuponachef! Who would think something so simple as toasting the nuts first would make such a huge difference. These cookies are our new faves.