These Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with a unique technique that makes them out of this world! Once you try it, you might just never use another recipe. (They can be made gluten-free, too!)
The inspiration for this recipe stemmed from The Best Cinnamon Raisin Cookies, which are wildly popular.
They are made with the same secret, special technique that I use in this Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip recipe. I'm telling you, you won't believe how unbelievable they are!
What's the secret?
When raisins and other dried fruits are used in baking and in other recipes, they're often hydrated first, to soften and plump them up. Typically this is done in hot water.
I do this in hot melted butter -- for an hour! And not just melted butter, the raisins hydrate with vanilla and cinnamon. So not only do they become soft and plump, but they're also infused with those flavors.
Are you in?
The Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- vanilla
- cinnamon
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- eggs
- kosher salt - If you use table salt, use half the amount.
Recipe Tips
- I like using golden raisins in this recipe, but they're just as good with black raisins. (I find the golden variety are a bit softer, even before they're hydrated, and the flavor is slightly lighter.)
- Make these when you have plenty of time. You definitely don't want to shorten the time the raisins soak in the butter. On the flip side, don't let them go more than a couple minutes over because if too much of the butter is soaked into the raisins, the dough won't be the right consistency.
- These Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies can easily be made gluten-free! I've tested this recipe using this Cup4Cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, and the result is fantastic.
- Of course you can make the cookies any size you'd like to -- just be sure to leave a couple of inches between them, as they will spread.
Storing the Cookies
- These cookies should be stored in an air-tight container. If you don't plan to serve them within the first day or so after baking them, you can freeze them.
- They can be kept frozen in an air-tight container for up to a month. (Longer is okay, but the longer they're frozen, the more moisture they'll lose.)
More Unique Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
- Ruby Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pecan Praline Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Everything Bagel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are far from your typical Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies!
I hope you every last crumb. Share and you'll make a lot of people happy. 🙂
Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup old fashioned oats
Instructions
- Prepare the raisins. Add the butter to a medium-sized sauce pot and place it over low-medium heat. Once the butter has melted, turn the heat to low. Add the raisins, vanilla and cinnamon and stir to blend. Cover and let this gently simmer for 10 minutes. Then turn the heat off, keep the pot covered, and let it sit for 50 minutes.
- Preheat oven and prep baking sheets. While the raisins are soaking, preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside, and adjust two racks towards the center of the oven.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. Add both sugars to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Combine all of the ingredients. Once the raisins are done soaking, add the mixture to the bowl with the sugar and mix to blend. Then add the eggs and mix until they are fully incorporated. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until you no longer see any dry spots. Then fold in the chocolate chips and oats.
- Shape the batter. Use a cookie scoop (approximately 2 inch) to drop the batter onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. Gently press each one down about a bit with the palm of your hand. There should be a couple of inches between them.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated 350°F oven until they're set and slightly golden along the edges, about 12 minutes.
- Cool. Let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack or serve.
NOTES
NUTRITION
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2pots2cook
He he; totally in ! I soak them in rum !
valentina
YUM! I love it. Enjoy and thank you! 🙂 ~Valentina
David Duprey
Would it be all right to add a dash of amaretto
Valentina
Hi, David. Absolutely okay. When you steep the raisins in the butter with the vanilla and cinnamon -- I'd 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 1/2 teaspoons amaretto. That was the raisins with be infused with the flavor too. Enjoy! 🙂 ~Valentina
David @ Spiced
What a cool idea! I always plump my raisins before baking, too, and I've been known to use sherry or another liquor for that...but butter? And vanilla + cinnamon? Awesome! I'm totally making a batch of these. I love raisins in cookies, and I can only imagine how good these are!
valentina
Thanks, David. Sherry sound delicious, too! Enjoy and have a great weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
Kim Lange
I love a great oatmeal raisin cookie, but add in some chocolate chips and we are extra happy! These look so thick and drool-worthy Valentina! Pinning!
valentina
Thank you, Kim. It's always hard for me to leave out chocolate. 😉 ~Valentina
Marissa
This is a genius technique, Valentina! Excited to try it for cookies and could even see doing it ahead to stir a couple of teaspoons into my morning oatmeal.
valentina
Thank you, Marissa. I LOVE that idea! I'm going to do it too! Enjoy and hope you have a lovely weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
Christina Conte
LOVE the idea! I've soaked fruit in tea and rum, but never butter! Ooooh, yum!
valentina
Tea! I hadn't thought of that and I will try it. Such a delicious idea. And the rum, of course. Thank you, my friend! 🙂 ~Valentina
John / Kitchen Riffs
I often hydrate raisins in rum or bourbon before using in baked goods, but melted butter is genius. GOTTA try that! Great cookies, too. 🙂
valentina
Thanks, John! Hydrating them in a the rum or bourbon would be amazing. Thanks for sharing that idea! 🙂 ~Valentina
Gerlinde & sunnycovechef
This recipe got my attention, I have to make them soon.
valentina
Thank you, Gerlinde! Hope you love them. 🙂 ~Valentina
Priya
your cookies looks so fabulous valentina 🙂 love the texture totally dear.
valentina
Thanks so much, Priya! Hope you love them. 🙂 ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
Oh, these sounds so good. I need for you to explain to me why I think cookies are so much work? They really aren't but somehow I have it stuck in my head that they are... [insert eye-rolling emoji here] I have everything I need to make these... And a cookie would be a good treat each day as I try to reward myself for being in lockdown.
valentina
You are funny, David. I LOVE making cookies. Cookies are probably the first thing I ever made -- as a kid I was always motivated to make them because I really (really!) wanted to eat the cookie dough. Actually, I can't say that's entirely not true now. I think it's the baking that's a production. Making the dough is usually easy. Shaping and baking are easy too, but you have to keep repeating that process until you've used up all the batter. (Which is why it's helpful to eat it as you go. Ha!) And then transferring to a cooling rack is a production, right? There's never enough room, so there's more repeating -- moving the cooled cookies, adding the freshly baked cookies. It never ends! But it's all so worth the cookies! And yes, it's an excellent quarantine activity. So there you have it. Thanks for your fun comment, David. 🙂 ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
Glad I gave you a laugh! I will take this as a challenge and plan to make them this afternoon, I actually had planned to make them yesterday but discovered we didn’t have the oatmeal. Both of us swear we had some but neither of us could find it. And, since today is shopping day, I can remedy that problem.
valentina
Hope you loved them, David. 🙂
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
I think I could eat those infused raisins all by themselves! They'd be so amazing in a cookie too! Love this idea!
valentina
Thanks so much, Kathy! Sounds good to me. 🙂 ~Valentina
Brenda Blair
Hi, The recipe sounds really good but 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt seems like a lot. Is that the correct amount? Thanks.
valentina
Hi Brenda, Thanks for writing in. Yep, 1 1/2 teaspoons is correct. You can certainly use less if you'd like (they'll still be delicious, promise, but the salt really brings the flavors to life in this cookie. Enjoy! 🙂 ~Valentina
Kristin
So, I am going to leave a "before" and "after" comment, only because I am in the midst of making these and my raisins still have 40 minutes left of soaking time. I have always just soaked my raisins in water, but after seeing a lot of other comments about soaking them in rum and other liquers, I will have to try that also! Your recipe had me at soaking in hot, melted butter with cinnamon & vanilla. My kitchen smells amazing right now!
I am just reeeeaaaaalllllly hoping that my cookies turn out as thick & chewy as your pictures show. For some reason, I CANNOT for the life of me get my oatmeal raisin cookies thick & chewy, which is how I prefer my cookies! I just don't get it. I have perfected the art of other cookies in our high Colorado altitude. In fact, earlier today I made a batch of banana/macadamia nut/toasted coconut cookies that turned out fabulously thick & chewy. But my raisin cookies always suffer! I add about 1/4 c. more flour than the recipe calls for, an extra egg, half the amount of baking soda and a bit less granulated sugar than what the recipe calls for. This is what my grandmother taught me to perfect cookie baking in the Rockies. All except my raisin cookies.
Anyway, I will let you know how mine turn out! Here's hoping & praying!
Kristin
Okay, I am leaving my "after" comment now. These cookies are AMAZING, and they didn't spread as flat as a pancake--yippee!! I have to think that perhaps it might be due to the fact that I purchased these "perfect cookie" silpat cookie mats from Williams Sonoma, and I now bake all my cookies utilizing these mats. I am so, so happy! I finally made raisin cookies that are every bit as thick & chewy as they used to be when I baked them growing up in the Midwest! And the flavor is out of this world after having soaked them in the hot butter! YUM! I'd better stop, as I've already devoured 3! I better run an extra couple miles tomorrow morning 🙂
valentina
Hi Kristin, Thank you so much for sharing -- you made my day. I'm so happy you were able to get the texture and thickness you'd hoped for. Yay! I've decided soaking the raisins in the melted butter with cinnamon and vanilla is my secret weapon. 😉 And 3 is nothing, I'm lucky (whenever I make any cookie), not to eat a dozen right out of the oven. 🙂 Enjoy and thanks again. Warmly, Valentina
Sheri J Ragan
I have made several batches and they are delish! They are our new favorite. Can you put the dough in the frig?
valentina
Hi Sheri. Thanks for writing in. 🙂 Yes, you can refrigerate (or freeze) the dough. It should be wrapped well so no air can get it. The dough should keep refrigerated for at least 5 days. If you freeze it, thaw it completely before baking. Enjoy and I'm so happy you love them. 🙂 ~Valentina
maricela alvarez
Super,super delicious !!!
Valentina
Thank you, Maricela! 😀 ~Valentina