Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe (2024)

This oatmeal cookie recipe makes the softest, thickest, chewiest cookies! It is the only recipe you will ever need!

By now you probably know I have a thing for thick and chewy cookies. It all started with my copycat Panera chocolate chip cookie. After about ten thousand tries and five thousand pounds of butter, I finally cracked the code on getting super soft, thick and chewy cookies. My heart, and stomach, have never been happier.

I have been working my way through all of my favorite types of cookies, tweaking and modifying my old family recipes to come up with a new soft and chewy version. Today an oldie, but goodie, a tried and true classic, gets a makeover and the results had my mouth stuffed with cookies for days!

So what’s the secret you ask? Well a few things in combination really. You start out the cookie like any old cookie, you cream the butter, shortening and sugar together, add eggs and vanilla and mix it well. I have gotten asked numerous times in previous cookie posts about if you have to use shortening in these cookies. I use the shortening because the melting point of shortening is higher than butter which allows the cookies to hold their thick shape for longer while they bake rather than melting and running outward making a thinner cookie. So, can you sub butter? Yes and it will still be pretty tasty, but not exactly the same. You can always make changes and experiment when baking, and I often do, but I can’t promise the same exact cookie made with different ingredients!

Next, mix the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl and then slowly mix it into the wet ingredients. Now these can totally be made by hand, but be forewarned… part of the magic in these cookies is that the flour content is pretty high. This makes the dough super thick and it can be pretty hard to stir by hand. I make them with my Kitchenaid mixer and for the sake of your poor arms, always recommend you do too!

{See ALL of my here!}

The cinnamon in this recipe can be upped or reduced according to your taste. I like mine very subtle, but if you love the cinnamon flavor shining through, don’t hesitate to add a little more.

Once you mixed all of your flour in the dough should not be sticky at all. It should be very stiff, but not crumbly at all. If your dough is looking crumbly, then add water a teaspoonful at a time and mix until it is just holding together again and no longer crumbly. The high ratio of flour in the mixture is the biggest part of how the cookies stay so thick and chewy so making sure the dough is the right consistency is key! Once the dough is perfect, stir in the raisins.

Next use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the dough and roll it into a ball and then flatten the ball until it is about 3/4-1inch thick. These cookies don’t spread much if you followed the instructions above, so if you just place the ball of dough on the cookie sheets you will end up with more of a mound, than a perfectly round cookie with a flat top.

Put the cookies in the oven at 350˚F for 9-12 minutes or until the center is just set. This is the other main key to getting perfect cookies. You want to make sure to not over bake these. Since the flour content is high, baking them too long will lead to a thick, dry, crumbly cookie instead of our perfect soft, thick and chewy cookie. Every oven and altitude bakes slightly differently, so 9-12 minutes is a really good start, just make sure to keep an eye on them and when the center is no longer shiny it is a good indicator that they are done.

I often get asked if you have to use a 1/4 cup to measure. No, you don’t. It makes a nice large cookie, but you can make smaller cookies to your preferred size using the same method as above. Big cookies get lots of ooooohhhhs and aaaaaaaahhhhs and they are really fun so I like it, but I can appreciate something normal sized too!

When you make this recipe right it is really the only oatmeal raisin cookie recipe you will ever need, so make sure to Pin It to your cookie board, or print off the recipe card below and save this baby for years and years to come!

Make sure to check out my other super thick, soft and chewy cookie recipes! {and scroll to the bottom for the FULL printable recipe}