Some may prefer their Oatmeal Raisin Cookies thin and crispy. If you, like me, prefer yours chubby and soft, with a chewy, just-slightly-crisp crust on the outside and a moist, pillow-y center, you’re in the right place. Raisins yes, nuts no thank you. (Chocolate chips? Not this time, but do check out these Oatmeal Raisin Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies for an addictive, almost candy-like version of the classic.)
Achieving Oatmeal Raisin Cookie perfection took a little trial and error. Every recipe I tried, even the ones that promised softness, resulted in cookies that spread out so flat they conjoined with each other on the baking sheet. (I really hate that.) I knew I had it right when these cookies baked up nice and round and separated, with high, craggy tops – no “unicookie” here.
(Please note, I moved two batches onto one baking sheet for this photo – when I baked them, I spaced them far apart to give them plenty of room to bake evenly, and you should, too.)
So what did I change? A couple of ingredients, and a few important techniques.
The Ingredients
Have you seen the cookie recipes that call for adding a box of instant vanilla pudding mix? I first came across this concept when I was working on making soft chocolate chip cookies – I haven’t shared those on the blog yet, but I will soon. The idea of adding pudding mix to cookie dough intrigued me, but I wasn’t wild about the artificial ingredients in pudding mix, nor about all the extra sugar – not really from a calorie perspective but because sugar affects the texture of baked goods, making them more crispy which is not what I wanted at all.
So after googling to find out what’s in pudding mix, I decided to try adding a little bit of cornstarch and a little bit of nonfat dry milk powder, reducing the flour to compensate. I always add a generous amount of vanilla extract to cookies anyway, so the vanilla part was already covered. The cookies came out light as a cloud, and with the domed shape and perfect soft texture I was going for.
The Techniques
- Soak your raisins. I never used to think this was important as long as I was using soft raisins from a recently-opened package, but it turns out it makes a big difference. Pour hot (nearly but not quite boiling) water over the raisins and let them sit in the hot water for 10 minutes, then drain well, shaking off as much of the water as you can before adding them to the dough. Now, instead of drawing moisture out of the cookies, the raisins stay soft and so do the cookies.
- Chill the dough. Not too long, just 30 minutes to give the dough a chance to firm up before forming the cookies.
- Check your oven temperature. This is something I’ve only recently started doing and it’s long overdue. It turns out that my oven takes a lot longer to come up to the right temperature than I thought. The first time I tested my oven temperature with an oven thermometer I was shocked: after less than 10 minutes of preheating, my oven beeped to signal it was up to temperature. Nope. According to two thermometers (I had to double check to be sure), my oven was still more than 50 degrees below the right temperature! It took nearly 20 more minutes for it to get to the right temperature. This explained a lot! I always wondered why the second sheet of cookies always cooked faster and came out better than the first – it’s because I put the first one in too soon before my oven was hot enough. Yes, it’s probably time for me to get a new oven, but in the meantime, I’m finally baking at the right temperature, and my cookies are the better for it.
And one that’s not new for me but important enough to mention:
- Weigh your flour. You should be doing this all the time when baking. If you’re not, check out the FAQ on my About page to learn why.
Making these ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies keep well. They will have the very best, most amazing texture on baking day, with the chewy, barely-crisp outside contrasting with the soft center. On the second day, they’re just soft – no chewy edges, just very tender and moist all the way through – and still yummier than any other oatmeal cookie around. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature they’ll stay soft and fresh for at least 5 days.
- You can mix the dough ahead and keep it in the fridge overnight, then shape and bake the cookies the following day. You can also freeze the dough, in which case I recommend shaping it into balls first. Arrange the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze them uncovered until firm, then you can throw the balls of dough into a zip-lock back for storage for up to a month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before baking.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup raisins
- 5/8 cup (2 5/8 ounces or 75 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/8 teaspoon Morton’s)
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter (preferably European-style), at room temperature
- ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (5¼ ounces or 150 grams) old fashioned rolled oats
Directions
- Step 1 Put the raisins in a small bowl. Heat 1 cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes. Pour the hot water over the raisins and let them sit for 10 minutes.
- Step 2 Combine the flour, cornstarch, dry milk, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and stir the mixture with a whisk until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Step 3 In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until smooth.
- Step 4 Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined.
- Step 5 Dump the raisins into a sieve and shake the sieve to shake out as much of the water as possible. Add the raisins and the oats to the dough and give the mixer one or two turns, just to stir the oats and raisins in, but don’t beat. Use a spoon or a rubber spatula to stir the mixture one or two times, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure the dough is evenly mixed.
- Step 6 Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 7 Use a cookie scoop or your fingers to pick up a golf-ball-sized hunk of dough. Roll the dough gently between your palms to form a smooth round ball. Make 8 balls for the first batch, arranging them on one of the prepared baking sheets with plenty of room between them.
- Step 8 Bake the cookies for 14 to 16 minutes. They’re done when the edges are light brown but the centers are pale and still look slightly underdone. Don’t overcook them. Use a spatula to carefully transfer the cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining dough to bake the rest of the cookies.
