Category: Cookies & Bars

Raisin Nut Oatmeal Cookies

Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these classic oatmeal cookies are packed with raisins and nuts. Fill up that cookie jar today!

Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these classic oatmeal cookies are packed with raisins and nuts. Fill up that cookie jar today!

There are certain types of recipes that I think everyone should have in their back pocket. Those classics that everyone loves. Chocolate chip cookies. Brownies. Oatmeal cookies.

I’ll be honest, my favorite oatmeal cookie is a more unique one, made with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, and even more surprising, some shredded coconut. It’s my family’s all time favorite oatmeal recipe. That being said, I do enjoy a good oatmeal raisin recipe, preferably with nuts. I think this is one of my favorites – slightly crunchy on the outside but still super soft on the inside. The raisin to nut ratio is perfect for me, but you can always increase or decrease according to your liking.

Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these classic oatmeal cookies are packed with raisins and nuts. Fill up that cookie jar today!

Recipe Notes:

  • While Barefoot Contessa calls for extra-large eggs in this recipe, I typically use 2 large eggs, because that’s what I have on hand. I have not noticed a a difference.
  • I’ve made this recipe with both pecans and walnuts – whichever I have on hand. Don’t want to use nuts? Skip them and increase the amount of raisins by 1/2 cup or more.

Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these classic oatmeal cookies are packed with raisins and nuts. Fill up that cookie jar today!

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Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these classic oatmeal cookies are packed with raisins and nuts. Fill up that cookie jar today!

Raisin Nut Oatmeal Cookies

Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these classic oatmeal cookies are packed with raisins and nuts. Fill up that cookie jar today!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 36 Cookies
Calories 159 kcal
Author Liz

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 c. pecans or walnuts coarsely chopped
  • 1 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 c. light brown sugar packed
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 2 large or extra-large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 3 c. old-fashioned oats
  • 1 1/2 c. raisins

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

  2. Toast nuts on a baking sheet, baking for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool in a small bowl. Then line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat and set aside.

  3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

  4. Lower speed and add eggs and vanilla.

  5. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, a little at a time. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

  6. Returning the mixer to low speed, add the oats, raisins, and nuts, mixing until combined. Using a spatula, make sure these ingredients have been mixed throughout.

  7. Drop dough onto prepared baking sheet, using a tablespoon or a medium (1 1/2 Tbs.) ice cream scoop. With clean palms, press down slightly to flatten just a bit.

  8. Bake 12-15 minutes (mine took 15-16 minutes), until lightly browned. Allow to cool for a minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Notes

Nutrition calculated using pecans and 2 large eggs.

This recipe was adapted from Barefoot Contessa’s Back to Basics but can also be found on Food Network.

Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these classic oatmeal cookies are packed with raisins and nuts. Fill up that cookie jar today!

This recipe was updated with new formatting and new photos in July 2019. The recipe remains unchanged.

Compost Cookies

I’ve been in a mood to clean lately – get rid of the junk around the house that we don’t use or want any more, stuff that’s been sitting around for a while. I decided to take that into the kitchen today, cleaning out the fridge and some of the cabinets. While this recipe didn’t make as big a dent in the baking/snack stash as I would have liked, but luckily, the cookies came out tasty – I’ll definitely be using up stuff with this recipe again soon!

Compost Cookies

Recipe adapted from the Amateur Gourmet

Makes about 24 huge, flat cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 c. unsalted butter
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 3/4 c. light brown sugar
  • 1 Tbs. light corn syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour (I used 1 c. all-purpose flour and 3/4 whole wheat flour)
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 c. sweet baking ingredients such as chocolate chips, buts, Raisenettes, Cocoa Krispies, etc. (I used a mixture of milk chocolate and dark chocolate Hershey kisses and a Bubble chocolate bar, chopped)
  • 1 1/2 c. snack food, such as chips or pretzels (I used pretzels)

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corns syrup on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Mixture should be light and fluffy.

Scrape down sides and add eggs and vanilla on low-speed, beating until just combined.

Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 10 minutes. The mixture will become a pale white color and will double in size as the sugar fully dissolves.

After 10 minutes, lower speed and add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat until just combined, about a minute.

Scrape down sides of the mixture, and again on low speed, add your baking and snack ingredients, beating until combined. Be sure to scrape sides of the bowl, making sure there is no untouched dough at the bottom.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop, drop cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets – leave lots of room because they spread a LOT (I did 6 on one cookie sheet). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. (This step is necessary – the cookies will end up flattened out if you don’t refrigerate them!)

Preheat oven to 400F. Take plastic wrap off baking sheet and bake, 9-11 minutes until cookies are slightly puffy and tops are cracked.

Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring to a plate or tupperware.

Nutella-Blackberry Oatmeal Squares

When I saw this recipe from Elly Says Opa earlier in the year, I knew I had to try it. I love nutella and can eat it by the spoonful, but have done very little baking with it. These bars were wonderful. While I loved the nutella and blackberry jam, for me, the start of the show was actually the cookie part. It was a bit sweet and tasted nutty (I had to think about whether I put peanut butter in them!). Enjoy!

Nutella-Blackberry Oatmeal Squares

Adapted from Elly Says Opa

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 c. light brown sugar
  • 1/2 c. granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 c. Nutella
  • 2/3 c. blackberry or other preserves or jam
  • 1.5 c. oats, divided
  • 1/4 c. chopped hazelnuts, more if desired

Preheat the oven to 350F and butter a 9×9 baking dish (I used my Pyrex).

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and both sugars. Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Add in baking powder and salt, again beating to combine. Add flour a little at a time. Add 1 1/4 c. of oats (reserving 1/4 c. on the side) to the mixture and combine.

Remove bowl from stand mixer and check to make sure you don’t have lots of oats at the bottom of the bowl.

Spoon about 2/3-3/4 of the mixture into the buttered baking dish. Using your hands (or a wooden spoon or strong rubber spatula), press down dough.

Microwave nutella for about 20 seconds, just to make it easier to spread. With a butter knife, spread on top of dough. The spread jam over nutella.

Put your KA bowl back into mixer and add remaining 1/4 c. oats and the chopped hazelnuts, beating to combine. Crumble over nutella and jam.

Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Wait until completely cooled to cut and serve, as the bars will be very soft until they cool.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Bananas are one of those foods that have grown on me over time. I used to hate bananas. Now, I like them just slightly under-ripe, although I still don’t like banana bread. The smell of the ripe bananas, even cooked into banana bread, just turns me off. (I know, I’m weird!). Anyway, I needed to use up a couple bananas that were a bit too ripe for my taste and was looking for an alternative to banana bread. These cookies were great. Just a hint of banana, and are super-soft.

In the future, I’d like to make these again with a little less shortening and with some nuts. These would also be great with a whole wheat flour, to healthify them even more.

PS – I know I’ve got to work on my cookie photos! If you have any suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Domestic Cents

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3 c. oats
  • 1/2 c. shortening
  • 1/3 c. unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1 c. brown sugar, packed in
  • 1/2 c. granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • Optional: nuts or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat both sugars, shortening, and apple sauce. When combined, add egg, vanilla, and mashed bananas.

Add salt, cinnamon, and baking soda and combine.

Add all-purpose flour. Stir to combine.

Add oats. Again, stir to combine.

If you want to add nuts or chocolate chips, stir in by hand.

Batter will be super wet! Drop batter by the tablespoon on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes, until edges are browned and center looks set. The cookies will be very soft.

Nutella Cookies

Slightly crispy outside, soft inside, and Nutella… Need I say more?

Nutella Cookies

Adapted from Recipe Zaar

Ingredients:

  • 2 c. plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt.
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
  • 3/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1/2 c. granulated sugar
  • 1/2 c. Nutella
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and sugars until combined. Add Nutella, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.

Add flour, salt and baking soda in thirds, making sure the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. Dough will be slightly crumbly.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and flatten slightly. Dough won’t spread, so whatever size you make the balls will be the size of your cookies.

Bake 8-12 minutes, until cookies are light golden brown and edges begin to harden.

Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for a couple minutes, before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: Dough is freezable, but will need an extra minute or two of baking time.