This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy for additional information.
Why You’ll Love My Recipe
A perfectly chewy oatmeal raisin cookie can’t be beat. Try my dad’s version of the classic Quaker oats recipe, loaded with extra raisins, and see for yourself.
If you’ve got some oats left over after making these cookies, why not try making some Oatmeal Bread or Cranberry Oatmeal Bars? Or give these Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies with Raisins a try.
Reader Review
I was drawn to this recipe because of your dad’s extra ingredients because my husband and I also do the same with recipes. I just made a batch this afternoon and they are awesome. I love the extra cinnamon in them as well as the extra raisins. I used half golden raisins and half dark raisins in mine.
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe.
- Total Time: Making these cookies will take approximately 25 minutes from start to finish.
- Variations: This recipe is all about customization. Try different types of raisins, or maybe some dried cranberries. Add some shredded coconut or chopped walnuts or pecans. Throw in a handful of chocolate chips or butterscotch baking chips. Play with the spices a little. Add some nutmeg, cloves, or ginger.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a stand mixer or a large bowl and hand mixer, a medium bowl, a whisk, a mixing spoon, large baking sheets, a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, and some cooling racks.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Raisins: If you have access to extra big raisins where you live, use those! Otherwise, use whichever variety of raisins you like best. The bigger and juicier your chosen raisins are, the chewier your cookies will be. If your raisins are a bit too dry, you can soak them in some warm water and then drain them before adding them to the cookies.
Oats: This recipe calls for large flake oats, but if you’d like to make these slightly less chewy you can use quick oats. They’ll soften more during the baking process but still give you plenty of oat flavour.
How To Make Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and keep beating until thoroughly mixed.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add into the wet ingredients and mix completely.
- Stir in oats and raisins.
- Drop in rounded tablespoons on to cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes and then remove to cooling rack.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Dad’s Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Don’t Overbake: Make sure not to overbake these cookies, or they’ll harden instead of staying chewy. Take them out of the oven as soon as they just start to turn golden brown around the edges. And then make sure to let them cool on the pan for that first 5 minutes so that they don’t fall apart when you try to move them.
Spice Things Up: This recipe calls for cinnamon, but these cookies are a lovely base for even more creative seasonings. Think pumpkin spice or those fall flavours we all love so much. Ginger, clove, allspice, or even a tiny bit of nutmeg would add a whole other level of warmth to these chewy oatmeal cookies.
Storage Instructions
These do not need to be refrigerated. They can stay at room temperature in a sealed container for at least 4-5 days, if you haven’t devoured them by then. Once these are fully cooled, you can freeze them in an airtight, freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Oatmeal Cookie Recipes
Still craving oatmeal cookies?
Try these Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Cookies if you love chewy cookies.
For something crispier, check out these Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies.
Or make a batch of Spiced Apple Oatmeal Cookies.
There you go, everyone. A basic oatmeal cookie with some tasty additions. Try out this recipe and let me know what you think.
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons, softened
- ¾ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, Dad uses 2 teaspoons
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, Dad uses 3 teaspoons
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional if using salted butter
- 3 cups large flake oats
- 1 cups raisins, Dad uses 1 1/2 cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until creamy. Add in the eggs and vanilla then beat until fully incorporated.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Add into the butter mixture, mixing in completely.
- Add in the oats and raisins and stir in by hand.
- Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
- Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets; then remove to wire rack. If you move them too soon they will fall apart!
- Cool them completely in the rack. Store in a closed container at room temperature, or freeze them in a closed container for up to 3 months. (if they last that long, they won't.)
Notes
- The additions in italics above in the recipe card beside the ingredients are the ones that my Dad has changed. Try them for the best version of these cookies!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Kitty says
DELICIOUS! I remember growing up in the 50s/60s when my mother would make these and use Crisco. I followed suit for a while. probably back in the 70s or 80s. I don’t think I’ve made cookies for a few decades! This recipe is fantastic with REAL BUTTER, not margarine or Crisco. I confess that I do not enjoy making things with lots of ingredients, steps, etc., but these were for Valentine’s Day and they came out GREAT (patting myself on the back). I used 2 tsp of cinnamon instead of 1, and 1.5 cups of raisins. I gave them all away because I knew I would eat them all in two days because I am a sweet tooth person and this recipe is DELISH. I love all your recipes.
Martha Ann Harrah says
these cookies are great!. I’ve made the vanishing ones from the oat container. I like that dad adds more vanilla & raisins i do that also. I grind up one cup of the oats in the food processor chopped. Dads recipe is wonderful. they are gone in 2 days. there’s always someone here to sample them from the oven!.