The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Today, I’ve got the ultimate oatmeal raisin cookie. This cookie has the most delicious crispy caramelized edges with perfectly soft centres. Add a little zing from bites of raisin and you’ve got such a yummy combination of flavours and textures.

I always love an oatmeal cookie but any cookie with a crunchy caramelized edge will always be irresistible to me and these definitely fit that bill. These cookies are perfect for bringing to potlucks or just a weeknight treat. You can easily double the recipe if you’d like a bigger batch as well.

I recently made these cookies for a 90th birthday and had a couple people tell me that these are their favourite cookies I’ve ever made. That’s quite the compliment that makes my heart soar when I think about how many of my cookies they’ve eaten! So if you need a crowd pleaser, TRY THESE!!

If you need something even more simple, try making a cookie bar. My graham cracker pecan cookie bars are one of my favourites and they don’t even require a mixer. Another great option are my espresso brownies for a great chocolatey treat.

Rolled Oats vs. Quick Oats

I use quick oats in this recipe as I find they give the perfect chewy texture. I haven’t tried using rolled oats but they may make the cookies a bit dry so I recommend using quick oats.

How to Freeze and Bake No Chill Cookie Dough

If you’d like to freeze the dough for these oatmeal raisin cookies to save time in the future, follow these simple steps.

1. Prep the dough as instructed.
2. Roll the dough into balls.
3. Place in an airtight container or bag.
4. Label with type or flavour of dough, date, bake time and baking temperature. This makes life much easier when you pull the bag out of the freezer in a couple months and have forgotten what it is. (If you’re using a reusable bag, you can just write this information on a piece of masking tape or something similar.)
5. Store in freezer for up to 3 months.
6. When ready to bake, preheat your oven and place balls on baking sheet. 
7. Add 1-2 minutes to bake time as baking from frozen and enjoy!

How to Properly Measure Flour

So when it comes to measuring flour, the most accurate and easiest way is to use a kitchen scale. I always use a scale and could never go back to measuring in cups. It’s such a hassle and way more dishes!

If you don’t own a scale, there are a couple steps to properly measure flour as it becomes compacted just sitting in the bag or container. I highly recommend you follow these as just scooping flour out of the bag can potentially lead to at least an additional 1/4 cup of flour. This equals dry and dense baked goods which is not what anybody is going for.

1. Fluff the flour by giving it a mix with a whisk or fork.

2. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup.

3. Level the excess flour off using a butter knife. (With the back of the knife level to the top of the measuring cup, run it over top, pushing the excess flour back into it’s container.)

4. Repeat until you’ve measured the amount the recipe calls for.

How to Store Cookies & Keep Them Fresh

The best way I’ve discovered, half through accident and half through social media is in an airtight container with 1-2 marshmallows. I first noticed how fresh my cookies were staying when I had them in the same container as my rocky road squares but didn’t think much of it. Then I saw someone recommend adding marshmallows to your cookie container somewhere on the internet and it clicked in my brain why the rocky road squares were making a difference. It’s amazing how much the marshmallows help keep the cookies from drying out!

If you don’t have marshmallows, a slice of bread also works but try not to let it touch the cookies.

Are These Cookies Gluten Free?

No, not as written. However, you can try using a 1 to 1 gluten free flour and gluten free certified oats. I have not tested the recipe with this flour though.

If you’d like a gluten free oatmeal cookie, try my monster cookies or my pumpkin monster cookies for a little twist.

As a side note, if making anything gluten free for someone with an allergy, ensure you thoroughly wash any equipment, jars or utensils. Any contact with flour may trigger an allergy. I like to say any baking I do in my own home is gluten friendly as I am using flour often and cannot guarantee there’s been no cross contamination.

Baking Tips

• Ensure your raisins are fresh and not hard or dried out or they will be like rocks in your cookies
• When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately use a heat proof glass, dish, bowl, to swirl around the outside of the cookies and make them round. This helps give them those perfect caramelized edges.
• I recommend using quick oats for these cookies. Rolled oats may give them a dryer texture.
• For best results, ensure all your ingredients are room temperature. This allows your ingredients to incorporate into each other leading to a much better bake and texture.
• I create my recipes based off weights so I recommend measuring by weights if you own a scale. It’s actually so much easier and makes for much less cleanup. I wish I had baked by weight from the beginning, I could never go back now.

More Oatmeal Cookies

Today’s song is such a fun one to listen too. Not going to lie, I also really enjoy their videos with the dog. Here’s Baianá by Bakermat. Happy baking!! **Disclaimer: Liv’s Little Muffins owns no rights to this song.

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