How to Make the Perfect Chewy American-style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ok, I know I’m biased, but this absolutely awesome oatmeal cookie recipe and I go way back.

I learned the recipe while I was working as an assistant cook at a children’s camp in my mid-teens (um, back in the 90s!). I was helping cook for 100+ campers at one of those kid’s camps you see in the movies, you now the ones where the kids make awesome new friends and go camping, canoeing, ziplining, all that fun outdoor stuff.

I use to make double and triple batches of this recipe in an industrial sized mixer using an ice cream scoop to measure the dough out onto very, very large baking trays, making the biggest, chewiest, tastiest oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve ever had.

Oatmeal raisin cookies are the perfect summer-time adventure food. Oats are a source of B vitamins, iron and manganese, nutrients which contribute to energy production. They provide a sustained energy release, so they’ll keep you going for longer. Use quick cook or porridge oats, not pin meal or jumbo oats.

Raisins are a good source of energy, fibre, vitamins and minerals. They’re a plant-based source of iron, which contributes to cardiovascular health, and they contain vitamin C, which aids with iron absorption in the body.

Don’t be tempted to use butter to substitute the vegetable shortening in this recipe. Vegetable shortening is 100% fat; it contains no water. This means that steam isn’t created in the cookie while it bakes, and this will result in a more tender, chewy textured bake. Shortening also has a higher melting point than butter, so it helps the cookies retain their thicker shape. Here in the UK, I find Cookeen is a good vegetable fat to use. Trex is too fluffy for the purposes of this recipe.

Make them oatmeal chocolate chip cookies by replacing the quantity of raisins with chocolate chips. Alternatively, make them half and half. You could also add some chopped nuts, if you prefer.

Take care not to overcrowd your cookie sheet. Make sure you leave approximately two inches around each cookie to allow them to spread and not encroach on each other’s space. I use a big cookie sheet measuring 43 x 29 cm and this allows me to fit one dozen cookies in each batch.

Bake your cookies one tray at a time in the centre of the oven. This allows enough heat to cook the cookies evenly from all sides. If you’re pressed for time, you can use two trays, but, depending on what type of oven you have one tray can block the heat from getting to the second tray, resulting in an uneven bake. If you have to use two trays, place one tray in the middle of the oven and the second on the top rack. Rotate the sheets halfway between baking and add 2-3 more minutes on to the cooking time.

Remove the cookies from the oven when they have set around the edges and have turned golden on top. Leave them on the hot cookie sheet to cool down for five minutes – the cookies will continue to cook during this time on the hot sheet, and it will also allow them time to set on the outside so they won’t break when you transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Allow your cookie sheet to cool down to room temperature between each batch of cookies, otherwise the fat will start to melt resulting in cookies that spread to quickly and end up with too-crispy edges. I tend to pop my baking sheet outside for a few minutes to hasten the process.

If it’s the height of summer and you’re working in a hot kitchen, keep your cookie dough in the fridge between batches so that the fat doesn’t melt.

This recipe makes a lot of oatmeal raisin cookies, perfect for freezing for later.

Ingredients

3 cups of plain white flour

1.5 cups granulated white sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder (use a slightly heaped teaspoonful)

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup vegetable shortening

1.5 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup full fat milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180° C/ 160° C fan/ 350° F and line a cookie sheet with baking paper.

2. Stir together the flour, sugars, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a large mixing bowl.

3. Rub the vegetable shortening into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

4. Stir in the rolled oats and the raisins.

5. Beat the egg, milk and vanilla together and stir into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.

6. Drop the cookie dough onto your prepared cookie sheet in spoonfuls about the size of a walnut. There’s no need to flatten the dough before baking.

7. Bake in the centre of the oven for 12-14 minutes, until golden.

8. Leave the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

9. These cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week, and they freeze well too.