Chewy Brown Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Name: Chewy Brown Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 49 min
Yield: 24 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) (227 g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons; 1 cup, packed (210 g) light or dark brown sugar; ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar; 2 whole (100 g) large eggs, at room temperature; 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract; 1½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled; 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda; 1½ teaspoons (4 g) ground cinnamon; ¾ teaspoon (4 g) fine sea salt; 3 cups (270 g) old-fashioned rolled oats; 1¼ cups (190 g) raisins, plumped if dry (see step 1); ¼ cup (60 ml) hot water, just boiled, for plumping raisins only (optional)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Thick, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies with crisp edges, plump raisins, warm cinnamon, and a nutty depth from browned butter. A short chill keeps them from spreading too thin.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 24 min
Wait: 1 hr 15 min
Total: 2 hr 4 min
Makes: 24 cookies (about 3 inches / 7.5 cm each)

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Ingredients

24 servings

1 cup (2 sticks) (227 g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 cup, packed (210 g) light or dark brown sugar
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
2 whole (100 g) large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
1½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled
1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
1½ teaspoons (4 g) ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon (4 g) fine sea salt
3 cups (270 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1¼ cups (190 g) raisins, plumped if dry (see step 1)
¼ cup (60 ml) hot water, just boiled, for plumping raisins only (optional)

Equipment (8)

Medium light-colored saucepan or skillet for browning butter
Large mixing bowl
Medium mixing bowl
Whisk and rubber spatula
2 large rimmed baking sheets (13×18-inch / 33×46 cm)
Parchment paper
Cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons / 30 ml) or tablespoon measure
Wire cooling rack

Steps

Before you start

Plan on about 2 hours total: the dough needs at least 30 minutes of chilling, and the browned butter needs about 20 minutes to cool.
Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not instant or steel-cut. Instant oats make a pasty cookie, and steel-cut oats stay hard.
Take the eggs out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead so they mix in smoothly.
Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

1
Plump the raisins
- Place the raisins in a small bowl.
- If they feel hard or dry, cover with the hot water and let stand 10 minutes, then drain well and pat very dry with paper towels.
- If they are already soft and plump, skip the soaking.
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Ready when: Raisins are soft and plump when squeezed, and fully dry on the surface
Tip: Wet raisins make the dough sticky, so dry them thoroughly.
2
Brown the butter
- Melt the butter in a medium light-colored saucepan over medium heat.
- Once melted, it will foam.
- Keep swirling or stirring for 5 to 7 minutes, until the foam subsides and the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown and the butter smells nutty.
- Immediately pour all of it, including the brown bits, into a large heatproof mixing bowl.
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Ready when: Amber-colored butter with toasted brown specks on the bottom and a nutty aroma
Tip: Don't walk away: butter goes from browned to burnt in under 30 seconds.
3
Cool the butter
- Let the browned butter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until warm but not hot to the touch (about 100°F / 38°C) and slightly thickened.
- Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl, then stir in the oats.
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Ready when: Bowl feels barely warm on the bottom and butter is opaque and slightly thick
4
Mix the wet ingredients
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the cooled butter and whisk for 1 minute until smooth and glossy.
- Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and continue whisking for 30 seconds until the mixture is thick and lightened in color.
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Ready when: Mixture is smooth, thick, and no streaks of egg remain
5
Make the dough
- Add the oat mixture to the wet ingredients.
- Fold with a rubber spatula just until no dry flour streaks remain.
- Add the drained raisins and fold until evenly distributed.
- The dough will be thick and a little sticky.
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Ready when: No dry flour visible; raisins evenly spread
Tip: Overmixing makes cookies tough, so stop as soon as the flour disappears.
6
Chill the dough
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 48 hours.
- Chilling lets the oats absorb moisture and keeps the cookies thick.
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Ready when: Dough is firm enough to scoop and hold its shape
Tip: If chilled longer than 1 hour, let it stand 10 minutes at room temperature before scooping.
7
Preheat and portionOven 350°F / 175°C
- Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
- Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon (about 35 g) mounds and place them 2 inches (5 cm) apart, 12 per sheet.
- Lightly press each mound down slightly with your palm.
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Ready when: 12 evenly sized mounds per sheet
Tip: Scoop onto cool pans; dough placed on hot pans spreads too much.
8
Bake first batchOven 350°F / 175°C
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack at 350°F (175°C) for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
- Remove when the edges are set and golden brown but the centers still look soft and slightly underbaked.
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Ready when: Golden edges, centers puffed and soft with no wet shine
Tip: Cookies finish setting on the hot pan, so pull them slightly early for chewy centers.
9
Cool the cookies
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer with a spatula to a wire rack to cool at least 10 minutes more.
- Bake the second sheet the same way, using a cooled pan with fresh parchment.
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Ready when: Cookies lift off the pan without bending or crumbling

Good to know

Tips

Weigh the flour if you can; too much flour is the most common cause of dry, cakey oatmeal cookies.
Underbake slightly: pull cookies when the centers still look soft for a chewy texture.
For uniform cookies, use a cookie scoop and bake only one pan at a time.
Tap the pan firmly on the counter right out of the oven to deflate puffy centers for a denser, chewier cookie.

Make ahead

"Dough keeps covered in the fridge up to 48 hours. Or scoop onto a tray, freeze until solid (about 1 hour), and store in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F (175°C), adding 1 to 2 minutes."

Storage & reheating

"Room temperature in an airtight container up to 5 days. Freeze baked cookies up to 3 months; thaw at room temperature, or warm 5 minutes in a 300°F (150°C) oven to refresh. Not recommended to refrigerate, as it dries them out."

Substitutions

raisins → dried cranberries, chopped dates, or semisweet chocolate chips. Use the same amount; skip the soaking for cranberries and dates unless very dry.
unsalted butter → regular softened unsalted butter (no browning). Cream with the sugars for 2 minutes instead of cooling; flavor is milder and cookies slightly puffier.
all-purpose flour → 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Texture will be a bit more crumbly; chill the dough a full hour.
ground cinnamon → 1 teaspoon cinnamon plus ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Gives a warmer, spiced flavor.