Soft and chewy high altitude oatmeal raisin cookies are a classic favorite cookie that’s been beloved for generations. I’ve raised the bar on these cookies with nutty brown butter that adds so much depth of flavor, making them even better. A mixture of white sugar and brown sugar, cinnamon, crunchy oats and chewy raisins are to be expected, and the baked cookies are the perfect balance of soft and chewy, salty and sweet, rich and nutty.
You might also love these chocolate chip oatmeal cookie bars, oatmeal cream pies, and oatmeal raisin muffins.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Thick, Soft and Chewy. Oatmeal is such a treat, whether it’s in the form of these oatmeal raisin cookies, hearty oatmeal muffins, or a bowl of hot oatmeal topped with fruit, brown sugar and cream. These cookies have quickly become a favorite with my little boys, and they just love the soft, chewy texture, and the sweet raisins scattered throughout.
Quick and Easy to Make. By using melted butter, the cookie dough comes together easily with just a bowl and spoon, no mixer needed. From start to finish, this recipe takes just a little over an hour!
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter. I brown the butter for these oatmeal raisin cookies, and the browned butter adds the most wonderful, nutty depth of flavor that’s simply delicious.
- Granulated Sugar + Dark Brown Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture to the cookies.
- Egg. Adds structure, and emulsifies the dough so it doesn’t crumble.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour. Adds structure and stability.
- Old-Fashioned Oats. Old-fashioned oats have a hearty texture that’s wonderful in these cookies.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
- Baking Soda. Leavens the cookies for a subtle rise.
- Cinnamon. Flavor.
- Raisins. Raisins and oatmeal are so good together, with the sweet chewiness of the raisins and the hearty oat texture. If you like, you can also add chopped pecans and chocolate chips to these cookies, which are both so good with the oats.
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for about 4-5 minutes, swirling occasionally to see the bottom of the pan, until the butter is very fragrant, and nutty, golden brown solids have formed on the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the brown butter, scraping up all of the browned bits, too, into a medium-sized mixing bowl, and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- After cooling the brown butter, add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and lightened in color.
- Separately, combine the flour, oats, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and stir together into a dough. Stir in the raisins.
- Divide the dough into 12 portions (slightly less than what would fill a cupcake scoop), roll into balls, and flatten the balls slightly with the palm of your hand.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Place the pan in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for about 8 – 8 1/2 minutes. They should appear set around the edges, but underdone in the middle. Do not over bake, or they will end up dry; they will set up to the perfect soft and chewy consistency as they cool.
- Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftover cookies should be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Since oats are very absorbent, oatmeal cookies tend to dry out faster than other cookies, but a slice of plain sandwich bread in a cookie jar does wonders to keep them soft. The cookies can also be wrapped well and frozen for 3-6 months.
Old-fashioned oats, not quick oats or steel-cut oats.
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Soft and Chewy High Altitude Brown Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup raisins
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for about 4-5 minutes, swirling occasionally to see the bottom of the pan, until the butter is very fragrant, and nutty, golden brown solids have formed on the bottom of the pan. Pour the brown butter, scraping up all of the browned bits, too, into a medium-sized mixing bowl, and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- After cooling the brown butter, add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and lightened in color.
- Separately, combine the flour, oats, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and stir together into a dough. Stir in the raisins.
- Divide the dough into 12 portions (slightly less than what would fill a cupcake scoop), roll into balls, and flatten the balls slightly with the palm of your hand.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Place the pan in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for about 8 – 8 1/2 minutes. They should appear set around the edges, but underdone in the middle. Do not over bake, or they will end up dry; they will set up to the perfect soft and chewy consistency as they cool.
- Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Leftover cookies should be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Since oats are very absorbent, oatmeal cookies tend to dry out faster than other cookies, but a slice of plain sandwich bread in a cookie jar does wonders to keep them soft.
- The cookies can also be wrapped well and frozen for 3-6 months.
- If your raisins are old and dry, you can re-hydrate them with water. Simply cover the raisins with water in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and let the raisins sit in the warm water while the browned butter is cooling. Drain the raisins before adding them to the dough. The hydrated raisins will add more moisture to the cookies, and I find that they need to bake an additional 3-5 minutes as a result. (The drained raisin water can be used as the cooking liquid for oatmeal later – it adds a wonderful flavor.)
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I live at 7200 ft and these cookies turn out PERFECT every time. My husband is always asking for them. 😊