Oh My Stinkin Delicious
Ok, I have to share this because I am dying in oatmeal cookie heaven over here. After many disappointing oatmeal cookie recipes and hours of reading later I have finally found the perfect oatmeal cookie recipe for my family. I looked at a ton of recipes online and combined a few of them for a great combination. The cookies are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They keep their shape and best of all they are SOOOOOO Good!The secret is the raisins. You have to soak them. I don’t even like raisins. In fact, I typically really DISLIKE raisins. But I decided to brave it and I can’t believe how good they are! You have to try it with the raisins (even if you normally hate them, you’ll see). I added chocolate chips to ours but they are totally not necessary. We had to omit the nuts because of nut allergies in our house but they would rock with some chopped pecans or walnuts. These cookies make your house smell soooo good.
Recipe:
1 cup butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 TBSP (yes tablespoon) vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 cups oatmeal (quick cooking or old fashioned, not instant)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
To prep: The key is to soak the raisins. This makes all the difference in the world. Beat eggs and vanilla together and then add the raisins, stir. Soak for an hour or two. I just walked by a few times and stirred it while I waited.
Directions:
Preheat to 350 F
Cream butter and sugars with mixer. In a seperate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinammon, ginger & nutmeg. Stir the dry ingredients until well blended. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix well. Now add in the egg & raisin mixture (I used my hands). Then add oatmeal and chocolate chips/nuts and combine well. Form into balls on cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2-5 minutes or until firm enough to transfer to wire rack.
Made about 2 1/2 dozen cookies for me and I made them pretty big. You could get 4 dozen if you make them small.
UPDATE: Cooking time will vary depending on your oven. Since we’ve moved to a new house I have needed to up the cooking time to around 12-13 minutes. Just keep an eye on the cookies. Also, there are lots of great suggestions in the comments for great variations so be sure to take a look.
Like you, I too was unhappy with every oatmeal cookie recipe I have tried. Today I googled “best oatmeal cookie” and found your recipe. Soaking the raisins in the eggs and vanilla intrigued me so I tried the recipe. Amazing! So delicious! The only thing I changed was I used 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (I was low on butter) and I did not put in the nuts as my teen does not care of nuts in cookies. So wonderful. This will be my oatmeal cookie recipe of choice from this day forward. Thanks for sharing.
Very good recipe. The first time I made the cookies I made it as is except I replaced the flour with whole wheat flour. The best oatmeal cookies I have ever made.
For those interested in a healthier version today I tried the following:
1) Use 1-2 tablespoons of butter instead of a full cup.
2) Replace the rest of the butter with applesauce (I used home made apple sauce from 4 small apples).
3) Use half of the sugar and brown sugar.
This version comes out pretty decent for how healthy the cookie is and cuts out a ton of saturated fat and sugar.
Great suggestion, David! I took your advice (and used cranberries instead of raisins). They were fantastic! Thanks for the healthy alternative.
Oatmeal raisin happen to be my husband’s favorite and these are delicious! Kept their shape beautifully! (I use the small melon scooper and get a nice consistent size each time) Didn’t have any ginger so substitued ground nutmeg (1 1/4t because I love it!)and it worked out very well. Walnuts are my nuts of choice for these. I think later I may try them with some flaked coconut!
Whatever the combination these would be excellent cookies each and every time and you’re absolutely right – soaking the raisins is the trick, especially in 1T of vanilla!
Thanks so much for sharing what my most favorite aunt would have called “a keeper!”
Pat
This IS the BEST oatmeal cookie EVER!!!! My husband doesn’t like oatmeal cookies. He lovessss these!!! I will NEVER make another kind of oatmeal cookie. THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY for me from now on!
I am totally excited to try these … tomorrow!!!
I LOVE to get new receipts, and this one sounds GREAT!
Laurel :)
PS: I’m enjoying your blog.
Yeah, oatmeal cookies are pretty tricky. If you leave them too long in the baking sheets, they get all crunchy you cannot lift them out without breaking them into pieces. Found a technique, though. Instead of directly putting the oatmeal dough directly on the baking trays I lined them with wax paper so it was easy to lift and peel off the cookies. Would you have a better idea on how to remove these cookies without deforming or breaking them? Or perhaps this recipe of yours will work and . . . MAGIC!. . . My cookies won’t break.
Coming from a person who makes 8-10 dz cookies at a time…the best way to bake your cookies on a baking sheet is on parchment paper. You find it near the wax paper. This allows you to pull them right off the sheet and onto the table or counter to cool without them braking or sticking to the sheet. I use air bake sheets that dont have a lip, so they slide right off. Magic! Have fun!!
These Cookies were incredible! Honestly, the best oatmeal cookie I have ever tasted. I couldn’t stop eating them. Thank you so much for sharing! This will be go to for now on!
I am excited I found your recipe! I have the raisins soaking now. My BF is thrilled that I can add chocolate chips.
These are the best oatmeal cookies ever – 100%! My mom found your recipe – and shared it with me. It is now a favorite of the entire family. We have linked it on our website under our favorites, hope you don’t mind. We often add 1/4 cup of dried cranberries to the recipe – Just delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
These cookies do live up to their name! So good! Only thing was my kids couldn’t wait for the soaking that long so we only soaked for 20 minutes or so, basically while we mixed the other ingredients. Still great! I used about 1/2 raisins and 1/2 cranberries b/c I like the added tartness and I used walnuts because that’s the only nut we had. FABULOUS recipe! Thank you!
Okay, these cookies live up to the hype – they are freaking amazing! I agree – the soaking of the raisins adds a certain je nais sais quois. Thank you for sharing this recipe – it’s a keeper!
I made these cookies and used white chocolate and walnuts and dusted the tops very lightly with pink salt – AMAZING!!! I dare-say heavenly …
I stumbled across this recipe this afternoon. Just finished baking them and all I can say is that these are the best Oatmeal Cookies I’ve ever eaten!! Thanks for sharing the recipe
Made these cookies today – Wow, absolutely the best I’ve ever tasted. I also drizzled over the cookies some browned butter frosting that added a wonderful touch to them. Rich, but delicious!!!
I’m delighted that someone else has discovered the benefit of soaking raisins…I’ve done this for years because biting into a cookie with dried, hard fruit ruins an otherwise good cookie. My favorite version uses heated bourban or Southern Comfort to soak the raisins…heating the liquid really plumps up the raisins, keeping them moist and tender, and with chunks of toasted pecans added, these are sooo good….they just disappear!
OK, I am trying these in a couple of hours. I only have golden raisins and I am hoping these will work. Has anyone out there tried these? They are sweeter then dark raisins. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
Cheri,
How did the golden raisins work for you? I’ve never tried them. Hope it turned out well!
Jessica
Golden raisins are fabulous. Much better than dark ones. The dark ones have a lot of iron in them and it tends to make them bitter. These cookies are awesome…
The golden raisins turned out great. They disappear in the cookie itself and the flavor is milder and sweeter. I tried chocolate chips as well but will leave them out the nexst time.
WOW, best oatmeal cookie recipe I’ve tried hands down…and I’ve tried a TON. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I put the raisins in a little water in a small sauce pan and simmer them for a few minutes to plump them. Then add the raisins to the dough. The raisin liquid can be part of the liquids added to the dough. That will cut the waiting time for the dough much shorter and the raisins are tastier.
Please have your recipes printer friendly, thanks.
Well, it’s October of 2009 and these are, indeed, the best I’ve ever baked. Now if only someone would stop me from eating them all. Great recipe. Many thanks.
Uncle Sal
A friend recommended these today on FB, had all the ingredients except the ginger so had to give them a try! My 3 year old helped me and it was a great afternoon together. Now we are having an afternoon cuppa and these go down a treat. I did find that I needed to bake them a little longer than 10 minutes as the first batch were still really wet in the middle.
Thanks from Singapore
I made these cookies this morning- lives up to the hype!!! VERY good, I think I had three or four for breakfast :) I don’t know if anyone else ran into this, but I had to bake these WAAAAAAY longer than 10 minutes per batch- I think I actually left them in the oven for over 20 minutes, and they still came out nice and chewy. Thanks for the recipe, my coworkers made me promise to whip these up again.
they are soooo good that I passed out a dozen to clients and they agree that they are the best recipe ever. One thing that I added (i started this years ago) is to referigrate the dough for 20 minutes before shaping and putting them on a cookie sheet to bake.
I agree that soaked raisin make all the differnece. I soak mine in a small amount of very warm alcohol for ten to twenty minutes and then use the alcohol in the recipe. Rum works well.
I just made them – all was great except that I thought it was way too sweet. So next time, I’ll cut down on the sugar.
Thanx!
Great recipe! I am going to try the applesauce and 1/2 sugar to make them a wee bit healthier though ;)
Wow! These were some tasty cookies!! However I agree that they were a tad too sweet. Think I’ll have the sugar the next time.
We often half the sugar in cookie recipes too (including this one) and usually don’t miss it much. Sometimes I just eliminate all of the cane sugar and just use brown sugar. Ironically the sugar content in the recipe above is reduced from the amount called for in the recipes I adapted this one from. It called for 1 cup of each.
Also, for those who can not use eggs you can replace the eggs in this recipe with 1/4 cup of applesauce or fruit puree for each egg plus 1/2 tsp baking powder. Mashed banana works well too.
I am making the cookies tonight -and will freeze and ship to son in Afghanistan. Thanks for all the previous comments – glad to have your ideas.
I’m going to make theses cookies tonight, and I just said a little prayer for you son in Afghanistan. Please tell him THANK YOU!
Peace & Blessings
Best oatmeal cookies with a twist. I combined your recipe with my grandmothers. Instead of soaking the raisins, I put them in about 1/2 c water and brought them to a boil then turned off burner. let them sit to cool while creaming butter, sugar and eggs and measuring dry ingredients. Drain off water but keep to add a little later. Raisins are plump in just a few seconds, instead of waiting for an hour or two and the raisin juice (about 1/4 c or less) can be added at the end after adding dry ingredients. Makes dough more moist, and cookies are very moist and have more raisin flavor.
Everyone raved about these. I like the nutmeg and ginger taste in them.
Thanks
Pat
These are the BEST! I made these cookies on a whim a couple months back and they were better than I expected! I did make a couple changes to the recipe. I went with David’s idea and used some apple sauce in place of some of the butter. I also used dried cranberries in place of the raisins. Soaking them really made the difference! This recipe makes alot of cookies, which was great since everyone wanted to eat tons of them.
This is my go to recipe for Christmas cookies this year!
Thanks!!!!
Hello! I have tried SO MANY Oatmeal Cookies recipes over
the years and have never found one that satisfies me! I tried a recipe last night that had to be the worst of the lot….the first pan of cookies and the rest of the dough went in the garbage! My husband loves Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and I would love to find a recipe that was wonderful and I could keep. So today I found your recipe and once again sometime today (I have to go buy more raisins first) I will be in the kitchen hoping and praying that this is the recipe I’ve been looking for for years! Will let you know how things turn out!
I baked these today and they were okay, but too much oatmeal for me. Next time I will use less oatmeal.
These cookies are AMAZING! Oatmeal cookies are my boyfriend’s favorite, and I usually don’t really like them so I made these as a little treat for him. I can NOT stop eating them! Ive made them three times already, and my raisins are soaking for a fourth time! I have given this recipe to everyone I know who likes to bake, and everyone loves them just as much as we do! I love how moist they are, and the spices are fantastic! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
OMG-delicious—best ever and I rarely eat sweets! My friend’s variation of the recipe included orange-scented dried cranberries. We all celebrate the “Best Ever Oatmeal Cookie!”
Wow these are some really good cookies. I had little problem though, I rolled the dough into little balls but they didn’t flatten out into a cookie. I had to flatten them before baking. Any idea on what causes that?
It’s true- these cookies ARE insanely good -lucky me to google “best oatmeal coockies ever” and then bake this recepie of the lot.
I’ve baked them twice and the second time(last week;) ) I doubled the recepie.
I agree with others here above regarding the baking time though ,it needs longer than 10. min -have to go with the feeling here .
I also found Pat’s advise very good; bring raisins to boil and let them sit to cool for a few minutes instead of soaking them for over an hour – it’s just as good ,and time saving indeed ;) Next time I will even add some of the water(from the boil) to the dough to make the cookies a bit more moist,that sounds good to.
Thank you for posting this -I will never again look for another oatmeal cookie recepie -this one IS perfect :)
Agusta (Iceland)
Just made these. Amazing
http://twitpic.com/vr0oe
Loved these. I even add a little more vanilla and crushed cashews. My husband is always begging me to make them!!
I tried this yesterday since I came to read your posting on pricklly heat rash, which my 4 wk old son developed last friday after my sister wrapped him too well I believe in 2 blankets. It’s cold and he is so little, she did not know how much he had been sweating…
Anyway, I read this recipe, since my hubby’s favorite cookies are oatmeal, I could not wait and I made them…what a cookie, I don’t bake but I believe I will be doing it more often.
Thanks for sharing this, take care.
Oh my… what a fabulous idea of soaking the raisins! I’m going to try this recipe tonight. I think I’ll try them with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips though… mmmm … I’m already drooling!
Wish me luck!!
I wasn’t too sure about these cookies when I first pulled them out of the oven. They looked undercooked, so I increased baking time to 14-16 minutes to make them a little darker/crunchier on the outside but still chewy on the inside. I like small cookies, so the recipe yielded about 4-5 dozen.
Anyhow, I ate one and wasn’t certain if I liked it. I ate another and thought it was okay, but still wasn’t certain I’d use the recipe again. About 4 cookies later, I decided I liked them well enough to share with others. Within a few days, I knew I had to get all the cookies out of the house because I was eating 2 or 3 of them twice a day, every day. They seemed to get better and better with each passing day. So…. well done on the recipe! Can’t wait to try them w/bourbon soaked raisins next time. :)
Been looking forever for an oatmeal cookie recipe that is tasty that I could adapt for someone with sugar issues . This recipe was great. I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup brown sugar. Taste really good. It was still a little too sweet so next time I wiil omit the sugar completely and reduce raisins to 3/4 cup. Hope it will still taste great. The spices are wonderful, I would have never thought to add ginger.
how long should you bake them for, it says 10 min but people are saying otherwise.. hmm.
I have been looking for this recipe for years!! Eighteen years ago I worked for a company that had it’s own cafeteria for the employees. Mid morning, a member of the kitchen staff came by the offices with snacks we could purchase. My introduction to The World’s Best Oatmeal Cookies was complete. Being a baker myself, I got to know the company’s cooks, but still couldn’t get my hands on the recipe. When the company later closed the cafeteria, as a parting gift, their baker gave me her precious and well gaurded cookie recipe. What a surprise to see that the key to this fabulous cookie was soaking the eggs. A few years later though, my copy of the recipe was lost during a move to a new house. I kept hoping I’d discover it tucked in a cookbook or something, but a few house moves later, and it’s still lost…until today. This is my husband’s favorite cookie recipe and I have been looking for it for years, so thank you, thank you for posting this wonderful ticket to oatmeal cookie heaven.
Did you mean soaking the raisins?? instead of eggs.
Here goes ~ Can’t wait to taste these cookies. It is a chilly spring day and my son is looking forward to warm cookies when he gets home from a baseball game. I’m sure we will love them. I will let you know.
I make oatmeal cookies almost weekly for my hard-working, 66 year old hubby. The fav one so far has been the recipe on the Robin Hood oats plastic bag….but lately, they lack something for me.
So I am trying your recipe as I type (the butter and sugars are creaming, raisins soaking in egg/water/vanilla mixture).
The only change I’m making is: instead of 2 eggs (cuz mine are x-tra large and you didn’t say size of eggs)…so I’m using just one egg and 2 Tbsp water.
I’m also leaving out the spices cuz I want to really taste the vanilla. Next time I’ll try the spices. Here’s hoping I’ll be back with HUGE kudos for your recipe.
Alright, I was skeptical. Some may say they don’t like raisins, but they’ve never met me… I *hate* raisins!
But my husband mentioned oatmeal-raisin cookies, and to him, there was nothing better.
So I made them the “classic” way (just raisins, no nuts or chocolate chips, as much as I wanted to add the latter). I still dislike raisins by themselves, but soaking them really allows them to take on the other flavors in the cookie, so I actually ate the whole thing without picking out the raisins.
He’s going to happy when he wakes up. :-)
WOW……..!!
I had no idea what everyone meant when they said these are the best oatmeal cookies…….. I made these this afternoon, and my husband nearly passed out they were so FANTASTIC. I can’t stop eating them. These don’t remind me of the oatmeal cookies I had growing up – these are spectacular..!
OMG! I think I tasted heaven! These were the most wonderful, moist, flavorful, cookies I have ever made! Thank you so much for sharing!!
These are the best cookies I have ever eaten. I made a few changes to spice things up a bit!
OMIT: raisins
ADD: 1/2 C white chocolate, 1/3 C craisins, 1 handful unsweetened dried coconut
So I gave your recipe a try except I left out the raisins and added just a bit more pecans….they came out pretty good. Last night, I decided to try your original recipe and OMG are you right…..the raisins make all the difference!! They came out so so DELICIOUS! Best cookies I have ever tasted in my life….absolutely the best….hands down! Thank you so much for the recipe….makes a great gift too!
I have made these oatmeal cookies twice. Since my grandkids refuse to eat raisins, I substituted dried sweet cherries and dried blueberries. Oh my goodness. This recipe will be a keeper forever. Totally the best – my grown daughters love them – as does everybody with whom I shared them. Thank you for posting this recipe. I know they would love them with chocolate chips but I haven’t tried making them that way. I did add pecans though and they are awesome with these cookies.
So, I am about to make this cookies today.. I have tried many recipes.. and I lost the only one that I thought was perfect but this seems similar so I am going to give it a try. Also.. I would like to mention that SunMaid makes special “baking” raisins that come in an aluminum ziplock bag. It brings exactly one cup for baking needs and they are pre soaked and very plump. I have been using those for a while now and they are so good. I will let you know how these come out today! (or tomorrow if I am to full of delicious cookies..)
OH MY YUMMY !!!!! These are wonderful cookies they were a big hit for my whole family,I omitted the chocolate and nuts, and they were lovely cookies. My house smells so great, I would have to say it’s my favorite smell now !!! Thank you for the recipe.
excited to try this with a couple of tweaks – substituted allspice for ginger, chopped some really good bittersweet chocolate and added with chocolate dust, zested an orange, cut back the sugars to 2/3 cup on both, no nuts and refrigerating the dough overnight…will be back with an update :)
an absolutely fabulous recipe, the tweaks worked really well – the bittersweet chocolate and orange zest added some amazing flavors…the soaked raisins were SO good…was afraid everything would be too sweet but all worked well together.
Hats off to you…these oatmeal cookies are a pleasure to make: batter is a wonderful consistency and the cookie holds it shape while baking. They also have a wonderful flavor ! My husband is diabetic so I used Truvia- 1/2 Cup (23 packets = 1/2 Cup) and 3/4 Cup of brown sugar. Truvia blends well with butter. Also used 1/2 Cup dried cranberries and 1/2 Cup raisins. Thank you for making my day…….. my husband will love them.
LOL people!
1 3/4 cup of sugar…sugar is poison for your body!
How many of you people get headaches and aches.
All caused by sugar feeding the fungus in your body
Is this Michelle Obama?
That’s why Truvia is a great alternative to sugar.
It’s a natural substance obtained from the stevia plant. i’ve even grown this plant in my garden.
It’s actually sweeter than sugar.
Truvia has it over Splenda in my “cooking” book.
Splenda is a chemical and is an un-natural substance that doesn’t blend well with butter.
I appreciate your advice re: abuse of sugar and it’s ability to increase blood sugar; therefore increasing the body’s ability to grow fungus. You’re absolutely right !
So, in closing, if you need to bake and have a treat – use Truvia instead of sugar.
My diabetic husband is a case study for me . And his blood sugars are not affected by eating foods baked with Truvia.
This makes both of us happy……….
http://www.stevia.net/
I’m having a bit of a struggle here – my cookies spread out and join together, so that i end up with a tray thinly lined with (delicious) crumble topping.
What am I doing wrong? I’m giving my cookies enough space, have tried at a lower temp and even cooking with fridge-chilled dough.
Help!
Hi Helen! It’s been awhile since your post, so I don’t know if you’ll still read this, but I would suggest reducing the butter and increasing the flour just a bit. Sometimes adding about 1/4 cup flour can make all the difference.
Good luck — these cookies are worth a little extra effort!
I decided to update my review here– it’s been a bit over a year since I first made these, and any time I need to make some cookies, I throw these together and they have turned out perfectly each time. I’m actually getting ready to make some of these for wedding favors. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Wow, I just tried this recipe and I am blown away by how good these cookies are. I have to admit though, my fiance and I do not like raisins so we skipped that part, and they are the best oatmeal cookies we’ve tasted. The only thing I would do differently next time is use un-salted butter (salted was the only kind I had). Fantastic recipe!
here goes! I will comment if they are the best ever.
I have never liked raisins in my cookies, I tried these cookies including the raisins and they the best!! I omited the chocolate chips as I don’t like chips..
These cookies were nice and crunchie on the outside and soft inside.. can’t wait for my husband to taste them..
Your recipe is VERY good. LOVE the spices in it. Thank you! But couldn’t help to change or modify a few ingredients and I think they are even better now:
I substituted the the 3/4 cup of white sugar for 3/4 cup of molasses. Added 1/2 cup of dry cranberries to 1/2 cup of raisins. Added some coconut oil to the butter. My chopped nuts were a mix of walnuts, almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds. Coated the baking pans with coconut oil. DELICIOUS!!!
Cookie-content-Canadian! Thankyou Crunchville-kitchen for this very awesome recipe…I did not change a thing…made 3 extra large heart shaped cookies and one MEGA HUGE ‘cookie sheet size’ heart for my love today!!! Removed all off the pan and nibbled on the tiny little bits that snuck over the edge…deelish…and all intact! Thanks! Might report again on the appreciative results of the Valentine heart treat!
Cheers!
I just made these, and they are AMAZING. So delicious!! I have to admit that I actually left out the raisins, since I am making them for a group of people who I’m not sure would be too keen about the idea of raisins..
But they are still great! I will definitely make these again, and next time I will try the soaking raisins idea :)
I’m yet another soul searching for a great oatmeal cookie recipe. And this is it! I followed the recipe exactly, and the only comment I have is that I, too, had to bake the cookies a bit longer so that the edges were golden & the inside chewy. But I suspect this is due to variations in oven temperatures, so no harm no foul. Absolutely delicious! Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them. Since we’ve moved to a new house I too have had to up the baking time, it must have been my particular oven at the time. So for those of you reading the comments you’ll probably need to bake them a bit longer than the recipe calls for. Just keep an eye on them…
Oh. My. Lord.
These are DELICIOUS.
I didn’t have any raisins on hand so I chopped up some apricots, and I also had run out of vanilla (noooo!) but they were still delicious. Next time I’ll add the vanilla and I bet they’ll be even better (if that’s even possible).
I don’t even usually go for oatmeal-based cookies…but…these are addictive. When they’re really warm they’re all gooey and crispy-chewy. And when they cool down, there’ even more crisp and chewy and caramelized and wow. Amazing.
oops by there’ I mean they’re. Grammar police! :P
I’m going to try this recipe……..I might ‘tweak’ it a bit and I’ll let you know how it comes out.
I’ve made this recipe about 5 or 6 times now and was just coming back to recheck my measurements…decided to leave a comment. The are SIMPLY THE BEST OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES EVER!!! I follow the recipe pretty closely except I use more than 1/2 cup choco chips and pecans. Tonight, I ran a little short on vanilla extract so I used about a tblspoon of gold rum to soak the raisins this time (it works in ice cream… *shrug*)
TRUE STORY: couple years ago I made this recipe for a guy friend and I tell you no lie…he wept!!! We were in the middle of a conversation and then he bit into the warm cookie and all of a sudden he stopped talking, started gazing at the cookie and then got teary eyed! He called them BUCs: bitchin’ up cookies! He officially named them Ooey Gooey Deliciousness.
THANKS FOR A GREAT RECIPE!!!
That’s a really funny story. LOL. Thanks for sharing!
I, too, had the “spreading” problem. I followed the recipe exactly (minus the nuts and chips) but the cookies totally deflated when cooling. They came out of the oven fluffy and then just flattened out. What did I do wrong? Also – do you recommend light or dark brown sugar? Thanks.
Kim,
Did you use real butter and if so, did you melt it or just use it at room temperature? When I used to have cookie spreading problems it is because I used melted butter that I microwaved…
These cookies are delicious! I had to bake them for 13 minutes and got 3 dozen cookies using my cookie scoop. They are slightly crispy outside and soft and moist inside. I will reduce the white sugar by 1/4 cup the next time I make them (my vanilla is quite sweet) and add some Craisins to get a higher fruit to cookie ratio. I used steel cut oats the for the first batch and although it gives it a nuttier texture, regular rolled oats are much better in this recipe.
Thanks to you, my search for the perfect oatmeal cookie is over….yippee!!!
Thanks for the reply. I used room temp unsalted butter. Could dark brown sugar vs. light brown sugar be the issue (as they were also rather dark cookies)? Or if I just reduced the total sugar content maybe that would help?They taste great but dont look very pretty. I would like to figure out what I did wrong so I can bring them to friends, etc. Thanks again.
I don’t think the brown sugar would make a difference but I did typically use dark brown sugar. If it is not the butter being too soft my guess is that you may be overmixing the batter (this is easy to do if you are using a kitchen aid or other similar appliance) or that your baking soda is expired. Try handmixing the dough and make sure you don’t overmix it. Also, if it is really warm where you are at keep the dough in the fridge between batches and mound the dough up a bit on the sheet, don’t flatten them. Good luck!
This is the same ole recipe I grew up on. It was my mom’s tried and true. I still have it in her handwriting on a small recipe card, now all stained from many years of baking. Tonight I will pass the torch. My daughter is going to whip up a batch of these because I so long for them. I still remember the heavenly smells of cinnamon & butter coming from the oven….I would however recommend one thing: use traditional rolled oats. Not the microwaveable or instant kinds in stores today. So for those of you having problems, this may be at the root of it. HAPPY BAKING!!
i was looking for the best oatmeal cookie recipe online, and i came across yours. these cookies are going to travel and it is for a very special person – my daughter, that I got reunited for the first time after 20 years of separation. she mentioned that she loves oatmeal cookies, so i had a mission as soon as i got back home. i tried this recipe yesterday and it turned out perfect. i used old fashioned oats
and i let the batter sit for about an hour before i baked them. wonderful! thank you very much for sharing!
[...] borrowed from an amazing blog: Â ”Journey to Crunchville“Â (she titles the post about these cookies “Oh My Stinkin Delicious.” [...]
i’m excited to try this recipe but i only have instant oats to use. any advice?
Thanks for the great Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe! I found your recipe while searching the internet for a new recipe for them. They came out great and my husband even liked them who is not crazy on them in general.
Thanks for a beautiful oatmeal raisin cookie recipe! Really enjoyed all the spices. I added a tsp of baking powder and an extra tsp of baking soda and they didn’t spread too much. Used a full cup of chopped pecans.Turned my oven temp down to 330 because the bottoms seemed to brown faster than the cookies cooked completely. Took about 12 mins in my gas oven. Again appreciate all the inspiration as did my neighbors and friends ;) YUMMY!
After reading all these wonderful comments, i am ready to make them today!
i will come back and post of how delicious they turn out since the rest of the bakers here claimed they are to die for….
Hi, I normally soak my raisins too (but in rum). I am interested in the egg/vanilla soak though- do you let it soak in the fridge or out on the counter?
I have always just left them at room temperature for a few hours before I bake the cookies and I’ve never had a problem.
I am about to put these in the oven. So the jury is still out, but the batter tastes delicious so I expect the same of the cookies. I did not have ginger or nutmeg though so I found a spice blend that someone gave me for Christmas last year that has nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice and cardamom in it. I subsituted a teaspoon of this for the 1/2 tsp each of the nutmeg and ginger and I have a good feeling about the flavor it will add.
Just made the cookies and it’s delish! Made 30 cookies, they were quite big. Reduced butter to 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup apple sauce, reduced brown sugar and white sugar to 1/2 cup each as well. Just nice and not too sweet for us. Might add a bit more cinnamon the next time I make. Will definitely make them again. Yummy and healthy!
Just tasted these cookies after completing the first batch. Oatmeal are my husband’s favorite cookie. This is perfection. I would change 1 thing. I would decrease the salt to possibly 1/2 tsp next time. Otherwise, this is the closest I have come to a great oatmeal cookie. Thanks for sharing.
Nancy October 19, 2011 @ 9 pm
These were the beat oatmeal cookies I’ve ever made. I’m not a big raisin fan and my husband only likes chococlate chip cookies. He LOVED them. I made half with just raisins and the other half with chocolate chips added. I did reduce the salt by half and baked them 13 min. on parchment paper. Next time I’d like to try some of the other suggested add ins but would never give up butter for applesauce. Thanks so much for sharing.
I love this recipe too, but I have one concern about the soaking raisins. Leaving eggs out that long is dangerous for anyone . They should be refrigerated, not left out on the counter for any length of time.
I too have used half of the sugars and it is perfect! Also cut back on the butter. Next time will try the little portion of butter with applesauce.
baking timewasa problem for me too so I changed the temp to 370(?). I have digital temp and just picked this! It worked well, didn’t have to bakes long.
Thanks for all the comments, love the ideas!
I think ur recipe sounds wunderful
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. Its superb!
I will also try to modify it a bit by cutting the sugars and butter and maybe add walnuts for a more healthy option.
Do you use unsalted or salted butter?
I always use salted.
but why use salted butter when there is already salt in the recipe? Would you then decrease the 1 tsp of salt to perhaps 1/2 tsp?
I am recipe hunting and found yours. I am using dried bing cherries with the chocolate chips and nuts. Also going to make a batch with dried mixed fruit from TJ’s: blueberries, cranberries, golden raisins and cherries, with pecans.
Always use salted butter, since this brings the sweeter flavors out, too!
This is by far the best Oatmeal cookie I’ve ever had! I use chocolate chips instead of raisins as I do not like raisins. I get compliments on them all the time! Thanks for sharing.
Thank You so much for sharing this recipe :) Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are my favorite and your recipe is just amazing, the best I’ve had! I’ve made them once and I’m making them again tomorrow at work with my supervisor Nancy :)
Replaced the raisins with dried cherries and added white chocolate chips instead of regular– SO GOOD. Great recipe!
THE BEST COOKIES IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!! My mother darling and I had to make cookies for a cookie exchange for the holidays and boy are we glad we used your recipe!!! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! AMAZING!!!!!
I followed the oatmeal recipe on the Quick Quaker Oats container. But instead of raisins, I added craisins which I had simmered for a few minutes in a small pot, then drained them. Also, semi-sweet chocolate chips added to the recipe makes it extra yummy. One could use white chocolate chips. My friends and kids love the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the oatmeal cookie.
Sincerely,
Ellen K. Compton
ps. I hate raisins in my oatmeal cookies as well and I LOVE the raisins in these! PERFECT!!!!
This was a GREAT recipe! I will never use another oatmeal cookie recipe again..definitely a keeper. Can’t wait to try variations :) Thank you!
Awesome Recipe…instead of raisons, I added 3/4 cup of dried cranberries (soaked in the egg and vanilla ), 1 med apple diced small and 1/4 cup of dark chocolate cut up small…also added 1tbsp of maple syrup….yummy…Thanks for your recipe!!
I made this recipe last week, and they taste fab! but mine was not crispy at all, acually they were soft like buns. I believe it was because I didn’t made the oatmeal right? so at the risk of sounding stupid. – How do you cook the oatmeal???
Laura, has anyone told you yet that the oatmean is not cooked at all before mixing the dough and baking the cookies?
I hope so, and I hope you have given the recipe another chance.
best oatmeal raisin cookies ever! i hope you don’t mind that i posted this in my blog (with reference to your site) =) thanks
[...] http://journeytocrunchville.wordpress.com/2007/09/17/the-best-oatmeal-cookies-ever/ [...]
[...] Reading: The Gunslinger (After eating dinner, I baked cookies! The recipe is awesome, though I always cut out the raisins and substitute chocolate chips to make up the difference. Truly, the best oatmeal cookies ever! Here’s the recipe: The Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever… [...]
How can I print this recipe??
Annette,
I would just copy and paste the text into word or notepad and then push print. I have been overwhelmed with life lately but at some point I’ll get this posted to pinterest
OMG! I, too have searched for that perfect oatmeal cookie recipe…FINALLY!!! There IS such a thing! These are the absolute best ever!!! Of all the “best ever” oatmeal cookies on the net, I’m SOOOOO glad I clicked on yours first! I used white chocolate chips. These are the prettiest, most perfect texture, & perfectly spiced I have ever had! Most just call for cinnamon…your combination of spices are just perfect! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! You should post these on pinterest…I’m sure they’ll get a lot of re-pins!
Jackie, what a great idea. I will work a copy and put this on pinterest. Does anyone have a pretty picture of them that I can use. I always forget to take a picture of them when I make the cookies. If you don’t mind me using your image I’ll make sure to give you credit for it. :)
Thanks,
Jessica
(Journey to Crunchville)
Reblogged this on Emily J and commented:
These are seriously the best cookies ever. I think I’ll be making them today as a peace offering for which ever superbowl party I end up going to.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I had a wonderful recipe and lost it. This sounds very much like it and the reviews make me feel pretty confident that we will enjoy them. Thank you for sharing.
David,
Ditto to everything above. You have created a masterpiece in this recipe that can be altered and tweaked to your own preferences and it still comes out in sheer perfection.
[...] My inspiration came from each of these posts. Thanks to Foodielovescompany and Journeytocrunchville [...]
Love the plump raisins suggestion. I created a version without butter too. http://www.redberrydeals.com/2012/02/my-breakfast-oatmeal-raisins-cookie-recipe/
Thanks!
Holly
I am a baker myself and always up for trying new recipes . This one is delicious I just cut back on the sugar . My husband can’t stop eating them :) Thank you for sharing
Can self-rising flour be used in place of the plain flour. I know to omit the salt and baking soda if I do.
Wow? The best ever!
Raisins soaking…added a bit of rum extract….remains to be seen if they are the BEST….but we are hopeful!!!
Love this recipe. Quite simply the best oatmeal raisin recipe that I have ever come across! Thank you for posting this.
These are the best oatmeal raisin cookies we have had! Oatmeal raisin are my husbands favorite cookie & these don’t disappoint! Thank you for a great recipe :)
I had a bag of raisins for the longest time and had been putting off using them because I’m really not the biggest fan of raisins in cookies…But then I came across this recipe yesterday and decided to try it out and I’m glad I did! The cookies turned out wonderful and were still really soft today. I admit, the raisisn were good. Soaking them really did make all the difference. The only thing I did differently was to use 1/2 cup of white sugar instead of 3/4 and the cookies were still very sweet. Thanks for the recipe! =)
I have a Oatmeal cookie recipe that I have used for over 20 years that I soak the raisins. I put a tsp of vanilla in the egg mixture and and I also roll them in sugar! Very good! Im glad you found a recipe you love. That is how I felt when I found my Old Fashion Oatmeal cookies!
After I roll out the oatmeal cookie dough, I dip a fork in a cinnamon/sugar mixture. Or one could make a ball of dough and roll that in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Thank you, thank you thank you! I knew when I read how much research, and tries you had done that you were like me, and they would be good. These cookies are the most delicious cookies I’ve ever made.Crunch and chew, sweetness and spice. I made them exactly as written, and found the to be perfect. Had to bake them a few extra minutes, because I live at 7200′ above sea level. I saw four big cranberry walnut oatmeal cookies in my local bakery section of Albertsons…..for a measely $4.99! I bet they were no where near as good as these. Looking forward to more of your recipes. Bon Apetite Carol
Incredible, delightful, wonderful cookie! I have searched for good oatmeal cookie receipe and the search is over! Thank you for sharing!!
[...] was supposed to bring farmers a good crop. Â Modernize this tradition and make some oatmeal cookies today!Beltane is considered by some to be a fairy festival. Â Leave a tiny dish of milk or honey [...]
BOCE:Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever! I had to reply after making these since 2010. Made them for neighbor friends and husbands work and now everybody I know, they all loved them so much.If you want to be known as the best baker ever: make these cookies. My husband only liked chocolate chip cookies, these changed his mind. Even the spices, he is particular, and he just loved them. Thanks so much, I’ve tried to make my grandma’s famously delicious oatmeal cookies I loved as a child, and I know she would have asked for this recipe too. Thank you so much!
PS; i have made over a hundred batches of these,doubled even and haven’t had any problems, cooking or health wise, except gaining a few perhaps.
I have to thank you for a great recipe. I have been making these cookies, and several variations for about 6 months now.
One of the variations came from my other hobby of wild mushroom hunting. I am fortunate to be in an area where we have a pretty good selection of wild mushrooms, but more importantly, we have a well established group to help us stay out of trouble.
But, I digress. I wanted to tell you about what my wife and I consider to be an exciting variation called Candy Cap Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. The recipe is as above with the following exceptions.
No nutmeg, no cinnamon, no ginger.
I use white raisins and add one teaspoon of crushed or finely chopped candy cap mushroom. I add this to the egg/vanilla/raisin mixture, to allow the flavor to soak into the raisins. The Candy Caps add an interesting maple flavor to the cookie. The only drawback to this recipe, is that Candy Caps are difficult to obtain, unless you happen to live in California.
http://www.bayareamushrooms.org/mushroommonth/candy_cap.html
These were great! I loved them. The only changes that I made were as follows: 1 tsp of nutmeg, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of ginger, and 1 full cup of white sugar. They are awesome!! Thank you for posting!
My Daughter and I are using your recipe to bake some for our local fair. I will let you know how she places. They are YUMMY so far and I have not even baked them yet! Lol I cannot wait to try some of the suggested variations .
OMG, I just made these, and soooooooooooooo gooooooooooood…my hubby who doesn’t like nutmeg can’t stop eating…got to hide them now :). I didn’t have raisins, so, I used dried and seedless cranberries, and before I ut my first batch in the oven, I thought I should add in some coconut…and whoala!!!its a hit…Thank you very much for sharing this recipe…Strongly recommend this Recipe…
[...] The Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever « Journey To CrunchvilleSep 17, 2007 … Ok, I have to share this because I am dying in oatmeal cookie heaven over here. After many …… Abby Kirkham on Red Raspberry Leaf Tea –… [...]
If recipe doesn’t say “sifted flour,” does that mean it should not be sifted?
Katie,
I have never sifted the flour for this particular recipe. :)
I split the butter in half and used half applesauce. I also cut down to 2/3 cup rasins and and crasins, dried cherries, prunes, and dates in place of nuts and chocolate chips. I soaked all the fruits in the egg and vanilla mixture and added some spiced rum. I added about 1/2c of milled flaxseed. Oh i was also about out of cinnamon so i used some alspice. I had to cook for about 15 min. Turned out very yummy. Next time i think i will take out some sugar, they are very sweet with the added fruit.
OMG! This is truly the BEST recipe ever! Thanks so much for posting!
They turned out very well, buttery and spicier than the old standby oatmeal raisin. I always like a bit more spice! I will continue to bake these. Thank you <3
[...] A little back story…while we’re home for Thanksgiving, we’re having a Sip and See so the people of our hometown can meet our little guy. I’ve been making and freezing cookies and mini muffins for the event this week (which I promise to tell you about later for all of your Christmas baking needs), and I have stumbled upon a WINNER recipe perfect for the season. I was looking for an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that included instructions to soak the raisins because I heard from a guy at work that it was imperative to do this step. I Googled “best oatmeal raisin cookie ever” and got this recipe. [...]
I’m afraid I didn’t like this recipe at all. I followed it to the T, and it turned out very salty. I might try again, though.
[...] Recipe from Journey to Crunchville [...]
These Cookies are wonderful, thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe, I eating another one right now with a cup of black coffee.
I have tried many oatmeal cookie recipes and I had given up. My local Stop & Shop sells the best oatmeal cookies. It wasn’t until I ran out of cookies my kids started asking for some and I didn’t want to back outside that I decided to start making them again. These are almost exactly like the ones at the supermarket bakery but slightly better. I omitted the chocolate chips and nuts, my kids are picky eaters. Thank you very much for a wonderful recipe.
Yummy! My husband is an oatmeal cookie snob and he thought these were the best I have ever made for him! Thank you!!
Made a half batch of these — Minus the chocolate chips, as I’ve a severe caffeine sensitivity — And OMG, I’m very much inclined to agree with the title of ‘Best Ever’!
So delicious, holy crapsicles! ‘o’
I made these at christmas and I received RAVE reviews!! They disappeared so fast!! I’m craving them again, so I’m going to make some tomorrow just for the heck of it. I’ve never soaked the raisins before…but I was sold!! Thank you for sharing!!!
[...] We hiked until we got hungry, munched on peanut butter and jelly, haggis-flavored potato chips (possibly the most Scottish food I’ve had yet) and delicious oatmeal-chocolate chip-walnut-raisin cookies we made the night before. The secret, apparently, is soaking the raisins in egg and vanilla before baking. Even if you don’t like raisins in your cookies (I don’t–does anyone, actually?) you will like these cookies. [...]
WOW!!! Everything is perfect. The only thing I did different was I used half cup raisin medley & half cup cranberries. For my oven, 9minutes n 30seconds baked them PERFECT!! Maybe I have a sweet tooth but the sugar amount was just right!! I have 3 guinea pigs “testing” these cookies out & they keep coming to the kitchen for more. Oh I also added 1/2 cup of pecans!!! MMMMMM I’m soooo happy I gave this recipe a shot! Thank you for sharing!
Very good blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers?
I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost
on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or
go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any recommendations? Thanks!
Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News.
Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Many thanks
These are absolutely by far the BEST oatmeal cookies ever. I have made them a few times already and my kids gobble them up every time. I’ve tried it with the raisins and my children actually liked it. They are not very much raisin lovers, but they loved them. Congratulations on producing the best oatmeal cookie EVER and thank you very much for sharing your recipe.