Sometimes the thing that you need most is uncomplicated, unadultered, and right in front of your face.
Take this cookie recipe for instance: I needed something quick to throw together, something tasty and consistent. Oatmeal cookies! Genius idea. Now to find a dependable recipe. I begin scouring the internet (on my blackberry, mind you) for something to strike my fancy all the while drumming on my giant tub of Quaker oatmeal. I find nothing and scrap the project.
Then I stare at my oatmeal tub in disbelief and facepalm for being THAT oblivious. There was a tried and true recipe right on the tub! Duh! So oatmeal cookies from Quaker oats it was!
It’s day 5 of my Christmas Extravaganza and I’d like to share this recipe for cookies with you. They are simple, quick (no refrigeration time) and they taste great out of the oven and even better after a day or so! Perfectly chewy and irresistible!
Quaker’s Best Oatmeal Cookies
Slightly adapted by me
Yields About 2 dozen, depending on size (I like mine a bit bigger, 2 TBSP scoop)
1 1/4 sticks margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon (heaping if you love cinnamon)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked. NOT instant)
1 cup plump raisins
*NOTE: some readers have commented that these cookies were crumbly and needed more fat. I did not personally have this issue, but if you find that you are, adding an extra egg can help as well as adding additional butter.
Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg, mix well. stir in oats; mix well. Fold raisins in until just incorporated
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie or 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.
*Feel free to make these a bit more Christmas-y by using dried cranberries instead of raisins and white chocolate chips. Or Omitting the raisins and adding bittersweet chocolate chips, adding nuts… whatever! These cookies are your oyster!
Shipping Safe: YES. Wrap tightly or place in a tin for safe travels.
Make Ahead and Freeze: YES. Make the dough and place rounds of raw cookie dough on a baking sheet to flash freeze. Pop in a zip baggie and keep in the freezer. When ready to bake, add an extra minute or two to baking time.
The Whimsical Cupcake 
A classic cookie! Your oatmeal raisin looks delicious!
Wow, these look really great…this is one of our favorites around here…yours look better than mine…going to have to carefully follow your recipe and see if I can get mine to look like this!
1 and 1/4 sticks of margarine or cups?
Kathleen, Sticks! Thank you for catching that. I have updated the recipe.
ooga booga
what measure did you use for ” 1 1/4 sticks of margarind or butter”
“stick” or cup?
tks
There is no way you followed this recipe, I made these today and they looked nothing like your pics, they barely stayed together and stayed in the spoonfuls I scooped out and were super crunchy…like a granola bar…..I looked at the recipe on my oatmeal box and it called for 2 eggs not one….very bummed I had to take these to my son at college for his birthday because I did not have time to make anything else!
Leigh, I assure you that the recipe I posted is the one that I used personally. I did bake larger cookies than suggested (I used a 2 TBSP scoop instead of 1 TBSP, as I noted before the recipe began) I’m very sorry that these did not turn out for you. Incorrectly measuring your flour could also toughen up these cookies.
the Quaker website calls for 1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks).
I agree, these cookies did not turn out good at all, something has to be wrong with the recipe. Bummed as well.
I agree with Leigh…. it was a crumbly mess and after the first batch I threw it down the garbage disposal. Too much oatmeal needs either another egg or more butter to hold it together.
I agree with Leigh. Super crumbly and I followed the recipe exactly. I ended up adding some water until I felt the dough would hold together and then I would test bake one. They are super tasty but agree there needs to be a liquid of some sort added.
Recipe definetly needs two eggs, not one. Did not turn out the way the picture looks and I followed the recipe exactly.
Oatmeal raisin cookies
These cookies turned out great for me! They were exactly as pictured above so I’m not sure what caused the problems a few others were having, perhaps over working the flour, maybe. Yes they are dense when you put them on the pan but the baked texture is what I was looking for–moist and soft on the inside with very slight crunch on the outside. I changed them up a tiny bit for a friend going through chemo and having digestive issues. Swapped out raisins for chopped prunes(no one knows the difference-great for kids!) and drizzled with a coffee glaze-YUMMY! So thanks for the recipe it was a hit with my friend and with the 15 or so folks that came for a party the following day!
It should be 1-1/4 cups not sticks, which would be 2-1/2 sticks. That’s why they aren’t turning out good. If you look at the Quaker recipe that is the difference.
Yes you are right, the same recipe on t he Quaker website calls for 1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks). just noticed that . Thanks.
I agree with everyone above. The recipe calls for 2 eggs not 1. The recipe can be found on Quer QuakerOats.com. I knew something wasn’t right and luckily check the comments section before I lost the whole batch. simple enough fix.
Needs Baking Soda! 1 tsp
I almost missed the baking soda too because it’s in the same line as another ingredient. However, I followed the recipe as written and it worked for me. Not sure if the type of oats matters but I used old fashioned oats.
I should have read all the reviews before using yhis recipe. The first batch was a crumbly mess. So I quickly read the reviews and added an egg and more butter. The second batch turned out to be oatmeal raisin balls instead of cookies. Very disappointed
I followed the recipe exactly and my cookies turned out perfectly! I have made 4 batches so far without any problems. I only used 1 egg and 1 1/4 sticks not cups of softened butter. This is my new favorite recipe! Everyone has raved over them!!
I see where people say they were crumbly and blah blah blah. One trick I’ve learned with cookies is to always add a splash of milk, regardless of recipe. The milk softens the cookie and keeps them as soft as if fresh out of the oven for days (if they even last that long! My cookies typically don’t, lol). I did that here and voila! No more crumbly cookie dough, instead I got the perfect cookie. These were delicious, thanks so much!
I just tried these cookies this evening I added two eggs and two sticks of butter, although they had the oatmeal cookie taste they were more cake like, but my daughter loved them so I’m satisfied, I will continue to browse for a different recipe.
I found this recipe via Pinterest. Lesson learned that just because something on the internet is titled “The Best” doesn’t mean it actually is. Should have read the comments first, but it was Christmas and I was in a hurry. These came out more like the crumble topping on a streussle than the consistency of a cookie. Checked the recipe on the Quaker Oats website. Sure enough, the other reviewers are correct. It calls for twice the amount of eggs and butter that you have listed here. I will not be making these again. It would be nice if you updated your recipe and/or pins for future bakers who stumble upon it.
Hi Kim! At the time that I made these cookies, I also followed the recipe on an actual tin of Quaker Oats and these are how they turned out for me. I did not update the recipe to align with what the website showed because that is not what I used. I’m not sure what caused the difference but I will make these again as written and report back.
I so wished I had read the comments 😦 I did add the extra egg, 1 1/2 stick of softened butter, quick oats. They came out flat dry and crumbly. I cooked the second batch a bit less than the first just to see if that would help. They were not as flat but still crumbly and dry tasting. I measured everything and followed the recipe very closely to make sure I did everything you said. I am sorry but I was very disappointed in this recipe.
Not sure what everyone else had problems with but I just made these and followed the recipe exactly and they were DELICIOUS and perfectly chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside! Thanks!
I’ve also followed the recipe & had wonderful cookies! Moist & soft center, with a slight crispy outside.
I too didnt read the comments first but did after dough was mixed…i tried one sheet full of as listed but was very crumbly…but they did hold together and bake just not soft. I added 1 more egg and they were perfect. I used as written just w 2 eggs. 2.5 sticks of butter would be wayyy too much. 1 1/4 is good
I made the cookies as recipe states with two eggs instead of one and removed them immediately while still hot onto a cool plate. While they were thinner than the picture (probably because of the butter difference), I have thoroughly enjoyed these cookies. I may try adding the right butter amount next batch or maybe not. Thanks for sharing.
I made these and they were perfect! I did however cream thoroughly the butter and sugar til very light and fluffy then added egg and beat til all was light and fluffy….if this is not done and butter, sugars and egg merely stirred together, the result will be a very crumbly mess….the air needs to be there to handle the flour and oats (I used old fashioned oats)….I’m 70 yrs old so this creaming step just comes automatically to me…the instructions weren’t real clear about this step….maybe that could have been a problem for some. I thought it was a great cookie! (try adding black walnuts if you like them…makes ’em even better)
These did not turn out like cookies. They’re dry and crumbly. I added an extra egg and butter from the note but the results were still dry. I’m very disappointed that I have to throw all of them out.
These were dry for me, too. I only used 2 cups of oats, and a little more butter. They were fine, but still not like I hoped. I’ll use a different recipe next time.
I made these using the recipe as posted. I did add a splash of milk at the end with the raisins just to make it easier on my mixer (but it was really only a splash). I did 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, and mine turned out exactly as pictured and described. They are delicious. I’m pretty sure my splash of milk contributed nothing and they would have turned out pretty much the same without it. I think other people are going wrong with either the type of oats they are using or they see a crumbly batter and think it’s wrong. It will be crumbly–they are cookies not cake. You have to put the dough back together. I smooshed the two tablespoons of dough together and flattened the top before baking.
I forgot to add that adding more egg is going to make them drier.
Made these today after reading everyone’s comments. I only had 1 egg on hand, so increased the margarine to 1 1/4 cups. They came out perfectly! Moist & flavourful. Will definitely make these again!
As someone who has lived Iain a very humid state, as well as a dry arid state,,the barometric pressure on the day of baking makes a huge difference in how your cookies turn out. For example, I bake bread every week, won’t do it on a day of rain, the yeast doesn’t work correctly. Just like the baking soda doesn’t work correctly. I too really cream my butter/sugars until very fluffy, makes a big difference.
Not a good recipe. ..mine came out crappy! …I followed the instructions step by step. ….horrible
Made the recipe as written and had no problem either, crispy and toasty on outside and moist in center. Very yummy and love the post. I used my Kitchenaid mixer and so maybe the other reviewers did not mix thoroughly enough the batter. Thanks!
So yummy mine were huge. I did the 2 tablespoonfulls. Added a small handful of coconut as well as pecans…. Hot damn! I just threw in 2 sticks of butter and went for 2 eggs I wasn’t going to chance them Comming out crumbly. Fantástico, thank you
I made these cookies and they were a bit dry. I consulted the recipe of on the Quaker Oats container which recommended one stick of butter and two eggs. I’m going to try that next time.
My oatmeal box said 2 eggs so I’ll go with that. Thanks for the inspiration!
What a mess. Should have read the reviews before wasting all my ingredients to bake these cookies. You should delete the recipe…
I’m sorry you feel that way. This worked out for some and not for others. I posted the recipe as it was on my oatmeal box. The recipe was posted years ago, Quaker may have updated the ingredients since then. No need to be rude.
I just made these cookies with a dry cinnamon raisin oatmeal mix that I originally thought was cookie mix lol. I used 1 cup of butter after reading the suggestion about making them more moist. They are SO GOOD!!!!!!! I left them in the oven about 10 minutes and they were still soft and chewy. I’m so glad I made these! Thank you for the recipe.
I made these with my Kitchenaid mixer, creamed sugars, butter, egg and vanilla together then added the dry ingredients. I increased butter to 2 sticks and they were perfect. I also flattened them with a fork prior to baking.