I lived in the dorms during my freshman year of college, and with only a small fridge the size of a microwave and no kitchen, I purchased a meal plan and ate most of my lunches and dinners in the dining hall. Although usually somewhat skeptical of the entrées, I could always count on the salad bar for healthier options before stopping by the dessert station for sweet treats. Even then, I needed my daily fix!
Sometimes I felt adventurous and sampled their latest raw vegan carrot cake or tofu chocolate cupcakes, but their cookies were always the best. Chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, tuxedo… Those were the softest and chewiest you’d ever imagine. It was like biting into little circles of heaven!
But with the extra chewy factor and ample amounts of cinnamon, the oatmeal raisin cookies were always the first I’d reach for. I often headed down to dinner with my next door neighbor, who enrolled in many of the same classes and quickly turned into my study buddy. Since oatmeal raisin were his favorite too, we’d grab a plate to nibble on while quizzing each other about mechanisms and equations for our next chemistry and physics midterms.
Thank goodness the rest of the freshmen seemed to avoid that flavor!
So now, quite a few years later, I decided that it was finally time to develop a recipe of my own that rivaled—if not surpassed—those oatmeal raisin cookies. Something incredibly soft, unbelievably chewy, and absolutely irresistible… Exactly the opposite of the boring, bland, or dry reputations oatmeal cookies sometimes attract. And of course, being me and my blog, I wanted to make them healthier.
So… These are it! They’re the Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. They’re chock full of hearty oats, sweet raisins, and lots of warm cinnamon. They’re also just 100 calories with no refined flour or sugar. Trust me, you’ll never need another recipe ever again!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
Now let’s go over how to make these ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies! I’m going to walk you through some important ingredients you’ll need and a few keys steps to help you avoid some of the more common issues. I cover many of these things in the video beneath the recipe too. If you’d rather skip straight to the recipe and start baking, go right ahead!
To start, you’ll need whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour. No refined all-purpose flour in these cookies! You’ll also need instant oats (also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats). Instant oats are smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats. This means they soften faster, which keeps your ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies supremely soft and chewy! You can usually find instant oats in canisters right next to the old-fashioned oats at the grocery store. (And no, they’re NOT the same thing as in those flavored individual brown paper packets!)
It’s extremely important to measure both the oats and flour correctly. Use this method or a kitchen scale if you own one. (I highly recommend the latter! This is the one I own.)
If your cookies turned out dry or failed to spread on the baking sheet, it’s mostly likely because there was too much of either of those dry ingredients, especially the oats. They act like little sponges and soak up moisture, so adding too many will quickly turn the cookies crumbly.
I promise these ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies are worth taking the extra 10 seconds to measure your flour and oats correctly!
Whereas traditional recipes usually call for a full stick (or more!) of butter, you just need 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or butter. That really helps keep your ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies low calorie and low fat, and if you use coconut oil, they’re also dairy-free!
Also unlike traditional recipes that use refined granulated sugar, you’ll actually sweeten your ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies with honey, agave, or pure maple syrup. These are unrefined sweeteners, and they all work equally well!
Then here’s one of my favorite tips for making the best ever healthy oatmeal raisin cookies…
Don’t add your raisins into the cookie dough straight from the package! Instead, hydrate your raisins first. This is super simple to do! Add them to a microwave-safe bowl, cover them with water, and place a lid or plastic wrap on top. Microwave them on high for 1 minute. Let them sit for at least 5 minutes (or while you measure and mix together the rest of the ingredients!). By the time you’re ready to drain them and stir them into the cookie dough, they’ll be exceptionally plump and juicy… Which definitely creates the best healthy oatmeal raisin cookies imaginable!
Now that your cookie dough is all mixed together, chilling is mandatory. Most of the time. If you added the correct amount of oats and flour, the dough should be wet and look more like thick muffin batter. Chilling will help stiffen the dough so it doesn’t spread as much while baking. If your cookie dough is already stiff, skip the chilling and bake it right away.
(The video just above the recipe shows what the textures before and after chilling should look like!)
However, your ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies will only spread some after chilling (not excessively!), so if you want wider, somewhat thinner cookies, make sure you flatten them slightly before baking. Just give them a little pat with a spatula. If you prefer thicker cookies, skip that and bake them right after scooping them onto the baking tray.
Finally, do not overbake these cookies! I always pull mine out slightly early, then let them sit on the warm baking sheet longer. This allows the centers to continue to set without turning the outsides crisp and crunchy. Your ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies will stay soft and chewy for an entire week that way!
These Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies didn’t stand a chance at my house. Even with just me eating (and sneaking) them, they only lasted four days. I hope you enjoy them just as much!
And when you make your own oatmeal raisin cookies, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies!
(My Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is full of sweet and healthy recipes like these oatmeal cookies! You can see a sneak preview of all of the recipes inside here!)
The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (measured like this & gluten-free if necessary)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) honey or agave
- ¼ cup (40g) raisins (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the honey or agave. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the raisins. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten slightly. Bake at 325°F for 11-14 minutes (see Notes!). Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
Here is what the cookie dough should look like just before chilling. It resembles thick muffin batter more than cookie dough!
Here is what the cookies look like before and after baking. They some, but not too much, so be sure to flatten them slightly with a spatula just before popping the baking sheet in the oven.
You may also like Amy’s Other Recipes…
♡ Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Almond Joy Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Raspberry Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy oatmeal cookie recipes!
I was a bit worried how these were going to turn out based on a few comments, but wow! They ended up amazing. I’ve made a handful of different oatmeal raisin recipes for my boyfriend, who loves them, and he said hands down, these were the best. I’m not usually the biggest fan of oatmeal raisin cookies (I prefer chocolate chip) but I have to say…they were pretty awesome. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Awww, that’s so sweet of you to share, Haely! Your boyfriend is lucky to have you! I’m so happy to hear you both enjoyed these cookies. That’s a huge compliment, especially if you aren’t usually a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies! Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know and rate this recipe. It really means a lot! 🙂
These were AMAZING. I split the batter in half and used raisins for one half and chocolate chips for the other half. And used maple syrup instead of honey, and gluten free oat flour in place of the flour. So. Good.
11 minutes worked best for me, with 10 minutes left on the pan.
Thank you, Amy!! Your recipes are the best.
That’s so kind of you to say, Hina! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies. Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know and rate this recipe. It means the world to us! I appreciate you sharing your modifications, too. We always love to hear which recipe tweaks work well…especially if it includes using chocolate! 😉
Typo: The recipe calls for “2 tablespoons of coconut or oil butter.”
Thank you for catching that — all fixed! I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you try making them!
You’re welcome. Cookies were dry. Read your notes. At 11 minutes too soft. Baked 13. Will try 11 or 12 next time.
Used molasses. Cookies were dry. Will reduce baking time.
We’re honored that you tried our recipe, Elise! Baking them for less time will help with that texture. I hope you at least enjoyed their flavor!
We always love hearing about what modifications work out, so I’m interested in learning more about your recipe tweak! Out of curiosity, did you use ½ cup of molasses instead of the honey or agave? Was the consistency of your cookie dough the same as ours before and after chilling? (You can see it in the video above the recipe!)
I used your recipe as a base, but did make some changes.
I only had AP Flour
Pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon
Butter instead of coconut oil
Half honey, half Splenda brown sugar Blend
Chocolate chips because my hubby doesn’t like raisins.
I got 32 cookies out of a double batch of dough, baked for 13 minutes, next time will do 12. They were a little more cakey than yours, but ibthink it’s because of the AP flour and the Addition of brown sugar. Overall, delicious flavor!
We’re honored that you decided to try these cookies, Sheryl! I’m so happy that you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to share and rate the recipe, it really means a lot!
I appreciate you sharing your modifications, too! We love to hear about recipe tweaks that work well! 🙂 For what it’s worth, you’re right about the Splenda brown sugar blend causing that cakey issue. We’d suggest adding 2-3 tablespoons of milk to compensate for that sweetener modification. It might also help to bake them a minute or two less. Just in case that helps you enjoy them even more!
I would recommend using any honey other than wildflower. I only had wildflower honey on hand and the cookies came out tasting like a bunch of flowers. Manuka, buckwheat or any darker honey is best and I only used 1/2 of the honey. Great recipe!
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Emma! I haven’t tried using wildflower honey to make these cookies, so I appreciate you sharing your experience. I’ll keep that in mind! 🙂 I really hope you enjoy these cookies even more when made with a different type of honey!
I’ve made these a couple of times substituting the honey with 1/2c monk fruit/erythritol sugar and 1/4 cup almond milk. While I like them, The dough isn’t anywhere near the consistency of muffin dough, very stiff before refrigeration step. Should I be adding more milk until it reaches that consistency? Thanks in advance
We’re honored to hear that you’ve made this recipe a couple of times now, Kim!
Erythritol-based monk fruit sweeteners (such as Lakanto, one of the most popular brands in that category!) both absorb and dissolve differently in liquids compared to cane sugar and coconut sugar. This is because they have a different molecular structure. (Amy was a chemist before she became a baking blogger, so she loves nerdy baking science things like this!)
As a result, you’ll need more milk to achieve the same consistency if using this sweetener. You have a great baking intuition! 😉 We recommend an additional 2 ½ to 3 tablespoons per ½ cup of erythritol/monk fruit sweetener compared to cane sugar and coconut sugar — or an additional 5-6 tablespoons per 1 cup.
So if you’d like to make a batch of these cookies again with the same sweetener, try using 6 ½ to 7 tablespoons of milk instead! I’d love to hear your results if you try this next time!
I made a double batch and increased almond milk to just under 3/4 c . They are now excellent!! FYI- I added the raisins and 1/4ish of mini chocolate chips. These are my go to for a low calorie nibble to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Yay!! I’m so happy that little adjustment helped, Kim! And what an honor to hear that these will be a go to recipe for you! Thank you for taking the time to share and rate the recipe. It really means a lot! 🙂
ABSOLUTELY amazing cookies!!! I’m not even a big oatmeal cookie fan, or should I say I wasn’t until now. Can’t wait to try your other oatmeal cookie variations. The only thing I changed was swapping whole wheat flour with fresh milled spelt. The raisin trick is a must. Thank you for the great recipes.
Oh my goodness — what a huge compliment, Jennifer!! I’m truly honored that you’d consider yourself an oatmeal cookie fan after making these — and that you’re already looking forward to trying more variations. That’s such high praise! Thank you for taking the time to let me know and rate the recipe as well. It means so much! ♡ I’m looking forward to hearing which variation you pick to try next too!
My little sister is sick and so my mom didn’t want us to have much sugar. But she loves cookies. These are perfect for her to have for breakfast! Easy two bowl recipe, a little sticky that’s for sure but it’s worth it! And I love that they don’t have any added sugar. Just wonderful. I used avocado oil instead of melted butter. Worked just as great! Will make these again. 💖🍪
I agree!
You’re so sweet and thoughtful to make these to share with your sister, Hailee! She’s really lucky to have you. I’m so glad you enjoyed these oatmeal cookies! That’s the best kind of compliment, if you already think that you’ll make them again. Thank you for taking the time to let me know and rate the recipe — it means so much! ♡ I hope your sister feels better soon too! Sending you both big hugs!
I tried the recipe but it didn’t work out well. It is a lot of flour and the cookies aren’t soft nor chewy.
I’m honored that you tried my recipe, Avril! That sounds disappointing and not like how these cookies are supposed to turn out, so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. In order to do so, I have some questions for you! 🙂
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients — especially the flour, oats, and sweetener?
Did you use regular whole wheat flour or the homemade gluten-free blend provided in the Notes section?
If neither, what’s the exact flour that you used? Was it coconut flour, by any chance?
Which sweetener did you use — honey or agave?
Did the consistency of your cookie dough match what’s in my video before and after chilling? (The video is above the recipe box!)
If not, would you describe what it was like?
How long did you bake your cookies?
How much did they spread while baking?
Was their flavor okay, and it was mainly the texture that didn’t turn out as expected?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I should have a much better idea of the culprit (and how to fix it!) once I know your answers to all of them! 🙂