Chewy, sweet, loaded with oatmeal and raisins with just a hint of cinnamon, I’m a bit biased but I think these Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are the perfect cookie. This one bowl recipe is simple to make and takes less than an hour from start to finish.
This recipe was originally published in Dec. 2022. I've since updated it with new photos and additional tips for success.
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If you’ve been following Make It Dough for a while, you’ll know that oatmeal cookies have a special place in my heart. It was the first thing I ever baked on my own and is what made me fall in love with baking. Luckily, my bf’s favorite is oatmeal cookies, so they are highly requested at my house and I get to make them all the time.
Absolutely delicious, my husbands most requested cookie.
- Deanna Ra
Ingredients and Substitutions
Egg: This recipe was developed using large eggs (about 50 g without the shell).
Oil: Any neutral-flavored oil will work, don't leave this out or your cookies will be crumbly.
All-purpose flour: the low protein content of all-purpose gives these cookies their chewy, tender texture, don’t substitute another type of flour, such as whole wheat in this recipe as it would affect the texture of the cookies
Old-fashioned rolled oats: Do not substitute quick oats or your cookies may turn out gummy.
Chocolate chips: As always quality matters, use the best quality you can find/afford, my favorite are these 60% cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips from Ghirardelli, they are larger than your normal chocolate chip so they make the cookies extra chocolatey and delicious.
Raisins: Feel free to substitute another dried fruit. Dried cherries or dried blueberries would be delicious in these cookies!
See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information.
Test your leaveners for freshness
Baking powder and baking soda have a limited shelf life and will eventually lose their effectiveness. To see if yours still work, combine a pinch of baking powder with a drop of vinegar. If the mixture fizzes, then your leaveners will work.
Baking with sourdough discard
Sourdough discard adds a great flavor to these cookies. Since you are not using it to make bread, your sourdough starter does not need to be activated or fed for it to work in this cookie recipe.
You can use your discard directly from the fridge. Older discard will have a tangier, acidic flavor than freshly-fed sourdough starter. Both will work for this recipe, you’ll get a slightly different result but your Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies will still be delicious.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Dough mixed by hand - no special equipment needed.
- One bowl recipe made with pantry staples.
- Browned butter adds a delicious nutty flavor.
- Sourdough discard adds moisture that keeps cookies tasting fresh for longer.
- No waiting for butter to soften - less prep required.
- Cookie dough requires no chill time - cookies in under 1 hour!
If you love oatmeal cookies, try out my recipes for Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies or Sourdough Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies.
How to Make Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Step 1: Make the dough
Brown butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk cinnamon and sugars into the butter. Add in sourdough discard, egg, oil, all purpose flour, baking soda and salt in that order. Fold in the chocolate chips, raisins and oatmeal.
Step 2: Bake
Portion out the cookie dough using a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoon portions). Flatten the cookies slightly and bake them for 10 minutes at 375 F.
Baker's Tips
- Weigh your ingredients. For the best results, use a kitchen scale to measure out your ingredients instead of using cups and tablespoons.
- Both active sourdough starter or sourdough discard will work for this recipe. If you don't have any sourdough starter just add 37 grams of water and 37 grams of flour to your cookie dough.
- Use a large cookie scoop. Using a cookie scoop to portion your dough evenly, ensures uniform sizes that bake at the same rate.
- Don’t overcrowd your baking sheet, These cookies will spread and flatten during baking, so be sure to leave space between the dough to prevent them from sticking together.
- Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven. I found in my testing that baking the dough on the bottom rack of the oven caused flatter cookies.
- Use a light-colored baking sheet. Dark baking sheets retain more heat and may cause your cookies to over bake or even burn.
- Don't over bake your cookies. When you remove the cookies from the oven, they might seem under baked and even a little wet, and that's perfectly normal. The residual heat from the hot baking sheet will keep baking the cookies. Be cautious not to overbake them or your cookies will become hard and crisp instead of soft and chewy.
Recipe FAQs
The potency of the flavor of discard depends on your unique starter. Older discard will have a tangier, acidic flavor than freshly-fed sourdough starter. In my experience sourdough added a delicious tang that doesn’t overpower the flavor of these cookies.
Absolutely! You can make the cookie dough up to 3 days in advance. Portion out your cookie dough and refrigerate them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap.
Absolutely! I love keeping an emergency freezer stash of these cookies.
To freeze your cookie dough:
1. Portion your dough out using a cookie scoop
2. Freeze your cookies in a single layer on a small baking sheet
3. Once fully frozen, transfer cookie dough balls into zip lock back
4. Cookies should last in your freezer for up to 1 month
Absolutely! Simply use the same proportion of freshly fed sourdough starter in the recipe. Your starter won’t add a strong tangy flavor to your cookies, but will still work.
If you don’t have a starter, but still want to try out this recipe, simply add 37 grams of all-purpose flour and 37 grams of water to your cookie dough.
These cookies last about 7 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
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★★★★★
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Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 4 grams ground cinnamon
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 200 grams brown sugar
- 75 grams sourdough discard
- 1 egg large
- 28 grams vegetable oil or any neutral-flavored oil
- 120 grams all-purpose flour
- 4 grams baking soda
- 8 grams kosher salt
- 300 grams old-fashioned oats
- 130 grams raisins
- 100 grams chocolate chips
Click US Customary to view volume measurements
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Brown butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the butter until it begins to smell nutty and turns the color of graham crackers, about 5 minutes. Transfer the butter to a large mixing bowl and allow it to cool.
- Stir in the sugars: Whisk in the cinnamon, brown sugar and granulated sugar until completely incorporated. It may look a little grainy, this is totally ok.
- Make the dough: Add in the sourdough discard, egg, oil, all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Stir the mixture using a spatula until no traces of discard and egg or dry bits of flour remain.
- Fold in oatmeal and mix-ins: Fold in the oatmeal, raisins and chocolate chips until everything is well distributed.
- Portion out the dough: Using a large cookie scoop, portion out the dough (3 tablespoon portions) and place them on the prepared baking sheet, about 1-inch apart to allow them to spread. Flatten the cookies lightly.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies look dry and the edges look set. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Don’t move your cookies too soon or they may break apart.
- Enjoy and store: Enjoy them warm, once the cookies have set completely. These cookies get even better once they have cooled completely and their flavor has fully developed. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Tips
These recipes were developed and tested using grams for precise measurements. To increase your chances of success, I recommend investing in a kitchen scale. I've included rough volume estimates (in tablespoons and cups), but they might not be totally accurate.
Remember all ovens are unique, these recipes were tested in my oven which runs cooler than others. You might need to lower the temperature if your bake appears to be browning too quickly. Monitor your bake closely and make adjustments if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist or dietitian, any nutrition information provided is an estimate.
Joy says
Great flavor. Easy instructions. But mine turned out very flat.
Sydney says
I found this recipe when I was looking for ways to use up my sourdough discard. These cookies were so fun to make and turned out beautifully! They’re now a family favorite and I will definitely be making them again! Thank you for the recipe!!
Hannah Dela Cruz says
You're so welcome! I'm so so so glad you loved them.
Sharon Brinker says
Delicious! I made up my dough, but was too tired to make cookies. I put dough in fridge to bake next day. Next day, to my dismay, dough was crumbly and too hard to scoop for cookies, so I put all the dough in a 9x13 and baked for 25 min. My new fav bars!
Hannah Dela Cruz says
I'm so glad they still turned out great as bars! You could try leaving the dough out at room temp for a few minutes to see if that helps next time.
Deanna ra says
Absolutely delicious, my husbands most requested cookie. They are so good slightly thawed out of the freezer. The only thing I ever change is the raisins for other dried fruit.
Hannah Dela Cruz says
Thank you for the feedback! I am so glad you guys love this recipe. I always appreciate hearing about your experiences with my recipes.
Hibi says
The cookies smell great and love the ingredients! Wondering if I happened to mix all my last step ingredients together, what’s the science behind that cookie versus adding in mix-ins at the end? I folded it all together on accident and missed that step. 🙁
Hannah Dela Cruz says
So happy you loved the cookies! Mix-ins are typically added at the very end of the mixing process to avoid overworking the flour, which can result in a denser texture. Adding everything at once can make it harder to evenly incorporate the ingredients without excessive stirring, which could affect the final texture of the cookies.
Chloee Whyte says
I made these last night and they were even better than I could have imagined! I reduced the oats because I found 300g to be too much, and I used whole wheat flour and coconut sugar instead of white. yum!! will make again.
Hannah Dela Cruz says
I'm so glad your substitutions worked and you enjoyed the recipe!
Lonnie Wayne Harper says
I made them using volume measurements as stated in recipe. Turned out nicely. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. My sourdough batter is 1,125 days old that I used.
Hannah Dela Cruz says
You're welcome! Thank you for trying my recipe!