Chewy Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more.

This soft, chewy gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies recipe is the perfect one to satisfy your nostalgic cookie craving! Loaded with oats, raisins, cinnamon, and even some chocolate, it’s easy, delicious, and classic!

a stack of gluten-free oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies on a white background

One of my favorite parts of gluten-free baking is re-working classic recipes to make them gluten-free. We’ve tackled delicious gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, fudgy brownies, no-bake cookies, and more, but today we’re unlocking the secret to soft, chewy gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies.

Whether you like them with a little chocolate (like I do!), or you prefer to make them with all raisins, these gluten-free cookies have all the classic flavor an chewy texture you crave.

Here’s what you need to make these chewy gluten-free oatmeal cookies…

Ingredients for gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies
Gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies on a white plate

Here’s What You Need To Make These Cookies:

  • Gluten-Free Rolled Oats. Make sure to buy certified gluten-free rolled oats for these cookies to avoid any cross contamination. We like One Degree, Trader Joe’s, and Bob’s Red Mill brands!
  • Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour. We’re keeping things simple with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. Our very favorite is this one from King Arthur Flour. We use it for all our cookies, cakes, and bars!
  • Baking Powder & Baking Soda. For just the right puff and spread.
  • Cinnamon & Kosher Salt. These two add classic oatmeal cookie flavor. The cinnamon is LOVELY with the raisins!
  • Softened Butter. The butter should still be cool to the touch, but your finger should make an indent when you press into the butter. If it’s shiny or greasy looking, that’s too soft!
  • Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar. These two add just the right blend of softness, sweetness, and chewiness. I’m using light brown sugar, but if you like a stronger molasses flavor, you can use dark brown sugar instead!
  • Eggs. Room temperature eggs blend in better & preserve the creamed butter and sugar mixture, so be sure to pull them out in advance when you set out the butter!
  • Vanilla. Plenty of vanilla extract infuses these cookies with delicious flavor.
  • Chocolate chips. Do you like chocolate chips with your raisins? I do! I use a 50/50 mix of semisweet chocolate chips and raisins. If you prefer your cookies with all raisins, just swap out the chocolate chips for more raisins!
  • Raisins. Ideally, your raisins shouldn’t be rock hard. (If they are, check out the FAQ below for a softening tip!)
making gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies step by step

How To Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Step By Step:

  1. Blend The Oats. Start by adding the oats to a food processor (or blender in a pinch). Pulse just a few times to break up the oats. You don’t want to pulverize them into flour–just break them up a bit. 
  2. Combine Dry Ingredients. Add the oats to a medium bowl, along with gluten-free flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside. 
  3. Cream Butter & Sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl), cream the butter with brown sugar and sugar with the paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy. 
  4. Add Eggs & Vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing to fully incorporate before adding the next egg, and then the vanilla extract. 
  5. Add Dry Ingredients A Little At A Time. Mix in 1/2 of the dry ingredients, then add the second half, stopping the mixer when a few powdery/dry spots remain.
  6. Stir In Mix-Ins. Add the chocolate chips and raisins to the dough and stir mix in until they’re well distributed and no dry spots remain in the dough.
  7. Chill 2 Hours. Cover the cookie dough and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, up to 1 day. (This allows the flour and oats to absorb some of the liquid from the dough, which will keep the cookies from spreading too much. If you skip this step, your cookies will spread much more and won’t have quite as soft & chewy a texture.) 
  8. Preheat The Oven & Prep The Pan. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  9. Scoop & Shape The Dough. If the dough is too hard to scoop (if you chilled longer than 2 hours), pull the dough out of the fridge 10 minutes or so before scooping to allow it to soften. Use a large cookie scoop to measure 3-Tablespoon balls of dough. Smooth the balls out in the palms of your hands and place 6 cookie dough balls on one prepared baking sheet. (Return the rest of the dough to the fridge in between batches for best results)
  10. Bake & Cool. Bake one pan of cookies at a time for 10-12 minutes, or until they’re almost set in the centers. You can fill in any open spots with a few more chocolate chips or raisins and use a large round cookie cutter to gently coax the cookies into perfect circles if desired, then allow the cookies to cool 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat baking process with remaining dough, alternating baking sheets with each batch so you don’t put cold dough on a hot baking sheet. 
  11. Serve & Store. Enjoy the cookies right away, or store in an airtight container at room temperature 3-4 days or freeze up to 2 months. 
Gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies on a white plate

FAQ + Tricks For The BEst Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

A Trick For Dry Raisins. For best results, you want to use raisins that aren’t TOO dry and old. If your raisins are pretty dry, you can soften and rehydrate them a bit by adding 1 Tablespoon hot water to the raisins in a small bowl. Stir and let them sit for 5-10 minutes. Drain off any extra liquid, and add to your recipe as directed.

Make Sure You Get Gluten-Free Oats! If you have Celiac disease or gluten intolerance, listen up! To avoid cross-contamination, make sure to pick up certified gluten-free oats. We have great luck with Bob’s Red Mill, Trader Joe’s, and One Degree.

Can I Use Quick Oats Instead? Even though we’re breaking them up a bit, I prefer using gluten-free rolled oats because they’ll give you that classic chewy texture. Remember that you’re just trying to break them up a bit, not make oat flour!

Try Them With Nuts! If you like, you can swap out the chocolate chips for chopped toasted pecans (or almonds or walnuts) for a nutty crunch.

WE ♥

🌟 Leave a star review below when you try our chewy Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe! We can’t wait to hear what you think!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
a stack of gluten-free oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies on a white background

Chewy Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.5 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You
  • Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
  • Yield: 24 Cookies 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

This soft, chewy gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookie recipe is the perfect one to satisfy your nostalgic cookie craving! Loaded with oats, raisins, cinnamon, and even some chocolate, it’s easy, delicious, and classic!


Ingredients

Scale

Dry Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups (225 grams) gluten-free rolled oats
  • 2 cups (240 grams) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour, weighed or scooped & leveled
  • 1 Tablespoon (8 grams) cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks/16 Tablespoons) butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar (packed)
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix-Ins:

  • 1 cup (170 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup (160 grams) raisins
  • Optional: a few extra chocolate chips & raisins to top the cookies at the end

Instructions

  1. Blend The Oats. Start by adding the oats to a food processor (or blender in a pinch). Pulse just a few times to break up the oats. You don’t want to pulverize them into flour–just break them up a bit. 
  2. Combine Dry Ingredients. Add the oats to a medium bowl, along with gluten-free flour, cornstarch. baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine, then set aside. 
  3. Cream Butter & Sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), cream the butter with brown sugar and sugar for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy. 
  4. Add Eggs & Vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing to fully incorporate before adding the next egg, and then the vanilla extract. 
  5. Add Dry Ingredients A Little At A Time. Mix in 1/2 of the dry ingredients, then add the second half, stopping the mixer when a few powdery/dry spots remain.
  6. Stir In Mix-Ins. Add the chocolate chips and raisins to the dough and stir mix in until they’re well distributed and no dry spots remain in the dough.
  7. Chill 2 Hours. Cover the cookie dough and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, up to 1 day. (This allows the flour and oats to absorb some of the liquid from the dough, which will keep the cookies from spreading too much. If you skip this step, your cookies will spread much more and won’t have quite as soft & chewy a texture.) 
  8. Preheat The Oven & Prep The Pan. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  9. Scoop & Shape The Dough. If the dough is too hard to scoop (if you chilled longer than 2 hours), pull the dough out of the fridge 10 minutes or so before scooping to allow it to soften. Use a large cookie scoop to measure 3-Tablespoon balls of dough. Smooth the balls out in the palms of your hands and place 6 cookie dough balls on one prepared baking sheet. (Return the rest of the dough to the fridge in between batches for best results)
  10. Bake & Cool. Bake one pan of cookies at a time for 10-12 minutes, or until they’re almost set in the centers. You can fill in any open spots with a few more chocolate chips or raisins and use a large round cookie cutter to gently coax the cookies into perfect circles if desired, then allow the cookies to cool 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat baking process with remaining dough, alternating baking sheets with each batch so you don’t put cold dough on a hot baking sheet. 
  11. Serve & Store. Enjoy the cookies right away, or store in an airtight container at room temperature 3-4 days or in the freezer up to 2 months. 
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Chill Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

8 Comments

  1. I made these for my granddaughter today (sure gluten free would be awful). Boy, was I wrong!! They are delicious. I can hardly wait to visit her this week with a special treat for her. She will love them.

    One question…for me, they’re a little too sweet. Can I cut down on the sugars?






    1. I’m so glad you loved them!

      Sugar is considered a wet ingredient, so reducing it will also reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe. This can impact the spread of the cookies (they’ll spread less with less liquid), so keep that in mind as you reduce the sugar. I’d start by reducing by no more than 1/4 cup sugar (granulated sugar), then leave the brown sugar where it is. Then, you can evaluate if you still want them less sweet. If you want to reduce the sugar further, you may need to play with the amount of flour a bit so they’ll still spread for you.

      Cheering you on and hoping your granddaughter loves them!

  2. They taste pretty good, but mine spread a ton. I put them onto the cookie sheet before I chilled them for 2 hrs, I don’t know if this affected them spreading out, and I also used Bob’s Redmill 1-1 because that’s what I have on hand. But hubby and kids like them!






    1. Hi JS. Yes, you’re exactly right. As I mentioned in step 7 (the chilling step), you MUST chill them the full time or they’ll spread too much. Chilling the full 2 hours will solve this problem for next time!

    2. I rolled them this time after I scooped them, I think that was the problem before, I just used my cookie scoop. Much better result 🥰 thank you!