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!
These were insanely delicious – I used 2 bananas instead of honey/agave and they still turned out great!
That’s such an amazing compliment, Jess! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed these cookies. Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know and rate the recipe, it really means a lot! 🙂 I’m so glad you shared about the bananas, too. We love to hear about recipe tweaks that work well!
Wow! What a great recipe! You cannot tell at all that these are “healthy” cookies. My toddlers and I loved them.
I’m so happy to hear that you all enjoyed these cookies, Stephanie! Finding those healthy treats that the littles love is always a win! Thanks so much for taking the time to share and rate this recipe, it really means a lot! 🙂
This recipe exceeded my expectations by a huuuge margin! Honestly, this could be the first time a recipe I accessed online turns out this good — granted I did follow it religiously. Thank you for your efforts in creating this! love it.
Wow, that’s such a sweet compliment, May! I’m so happy to hear that these cookies turned out better than you expected. Thank you so much for taking the time to share and rate this recipe, it really means a lot! 🙂
Delicious!!! Both myself and my husband love them. I added pecans. Want to try chocolate chip cookies and peanuts in next batch. Thank you so much.
I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed these cookies, Becky! Thanks for taking the time to share and rate this recipe, it really means a lot! I love the idea of adding pecans, too! I’ll have to give that a try! 😉
Yep, I did it 🙂
I’m a terrible/sh*t in the kitchen… I use a delivered food service most of the time.
My wife died a couple years back, soooo I’ve been ~trying sortof…
Desire maybe 1 every other day mid-afternoon, tired of the sugar pumped cookies from the supermarket.
Well I ‘bit the bullet’ and gathered All and followed your basic instructions.
Total time start-to-finish (including supermarket run) ~90minutes.
Result is fabulous (yep, just finished and scarfed 1st cookie, yum).
fwiw, live at ~7000 ft above sea level; Baked @ 17 minutes seemed good.
I’m on my to kitchen for another.
Thx from a rookie goof.
I’m so sorry about the loss of your wife, RJ. I’m sure she would be proud of you for branching out to bake some treats at home! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed these cookies! We really appreciate you taking the time to let us know and rate our recipe, it really means a lot! Thanks for the notes on your elevation and timing, both are very helpful and we love to hear the feedback! Keep baking! We’d love to hear if you decide to try another one of our recipes sometime! 🙂
I ended up using almond flour, quick oats and maple syrup (that’s what I had on hand), and raisins of course..cooked a little longer. Turned out great!!! Definitely a keeper as usual with your recipes ☺️, thank you!! I just hope my husband doesn’t eat them all tonight lol 😆
You’re such a sweetheart, Krista! I’m so happy you loved these cookies and really honored that you’d also consider this recipe a keeper. Thank you for taking the time to share and rate it too — it truly means a lot! ♡
…and I’ve often had similar thoughts about these cookies around my family. You’re not the only one! 😉 I hope there are still some left over for you to eat too!
Recipe sounds delicious, but I’d like to know if I made a double batch would I just follow the recipe and two times the ingredients?
I am going to try this recipe as it sounds delicious, but I’m wondering if I can do a double batch and just do a simple two times the ingredients?
It means a lot that you’d like to make a double batch of these cookies, Debbie! Yes, you can easily do so by multiplying all of the ingredients by two. You shouldn’t need to make any modifications to the instructions (chilling, baking times, etc). 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of them!
This recipe was amazing! I added in chopped pecans and flaxseeds to add some extra crunch and nutrients. Subbed oil as well.
Making again!!
We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed these cookies, Atara! Thanks for taking the time to let us know and rate this recipe. It really means a lot! I appreciate you sharing your modifications too! We love to hear about recipe tweaks that work well. I love the flavor and crunch of pecans myself so I’ll have to give that a try sometime! 🙂
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to bake!
I live at 4500 ft above sea level, does anyone by chance know high altitude adjustments for this recipe?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Julie! I live around sea level, so I don’t have personal experience with high altitude baking. However, I’ve had multiple readers at higher elevations report that my recipes worked exactly as written, and when they tried using typical high altitude adjustments, that actually made their baked treats turn out worse. I’m not entirely sure why that is (the ex-scientist in me is really curious!), but that was their experience!
I’d love to hear what you think of these oatmeal cookies if you decide to try making them! 🙂