Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Old-fashioned oats, plump raisins, and enough cinnamon to matter — the cookie the chocolate chip one always stands next to.
- Serves
- 24
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Written
Method
-
Cover the raisins with hot water and let them sit for 10 minutes, then drain well.
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Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
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Beat the softened butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
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Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, until fully combined.
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Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until no streaks of flour remain.
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Fold in the oats and drained raisins.
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Scoop into 2-tablespoon mounds onto parchment-lined sheet pans, spaced 2 inches apart.
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Heat the oven to 350°F and bake until the edges are golden and the centers still look soft, 11 to 13 minutes.
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Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a rack.
Notes
Soaking the raisins in hot water before they go in the dough keeps them from pulling moisture out of the cookie as it bakes — skip that step and you get dry, leathery specks instead of plump ones. Old-fashioned oats hold their shape better than quick oats here; quick oats will still work, but the cookie turns denser and loses the chew.
Pull the pan while the centers still look underdone — oatmeal cookies firm up a lot as they cool, and a cookie that looks done in the oven is a cookie that’s overbaked by the time it hits the rack. Swap the raisins for dried cranberries or chocolate chips if you want a variation, same method throughout.