These whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies are soft and chewy and are just as, if not more delicious, than the traditional version! If you don’t have whole wheat on hand, these can be made with all-purpose flour. I’ve also made these as gluten-free oatmeal cookies, which are just as delicious!
Looking at this recipe in the summer when it’s too hot to bake? Try these no-bake oatmeal cookies! They’re SO good. :D They’re also 100% whole grain and naturally gluten-free + vegan.
(The pictures were updated in April 2016 in case you’ve made these before and are confused by the different pictures!)
I know that oatmeal raisin cookies aren’t all that exciting for most people. But they’re so homey. And they make me think of school lunches, visits with grandparents, and baking with my mother.
People are stuffing all kinds of sweets into other sweets these days, and although I’m not exactly against it, I really love simple traditional goodies. You know, the kind our grandmas made. Today I was going through my recipe index and realized that I only have one such recipe: banana bread. No chocolate chip cookies, blueberry muffins, or chocolate brownies. All I’ve posted are more complex and, okay, more interesting versions of these. But sometimes I just want a plain brownie!
I realize that almost everyone already has their favorite recipe for such baked goods, but do most people have favorite healthified versions which taste just as good as their white flour counterparts? Nope! At least I hope not because every now and then, I’m going to post some traditional favorites that have been given a little nutritional makeover. I hope you all won’t find this boring!
This recipe substitutes coconut oil for butter, uses about half of the sugar a lot of recipes use, and is 100% whole grain. I used whole spelt, which I really prefer and recommend, but you can also use whole wheat. Regular whole wheat works as well as white whole wheat. Whichever you choose, these oatmeal raisin cookies don’t taste the least bit whole grain!
And even more important for me – the texture! These whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies are SO thick and chewy. And they don’t have that slightly cakey feel that some healthy cookies have. At least if you don’t over bake them, which I did, thinking that they weren’t done.
Should you prefer more traditional cookies, check out these quaker oatmeal raisin cookies!
Are there any traditional favorites that you’d like a healthified version of? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do!
100% Whole Grain Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 18-20 large cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) whole spelt flour, whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup (168 grams) coconut oil (unsalted butter works, too, but the cookies are chewier with coconut oil)
- 1 1/3 cups (266 grams) raw sugar, coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups (260 grams) quick oats
- 1 1/4 cups (190 grams) raisins (you could sub in some chocolate chips for a portion of the raisins or just place a few on top after baking, like I did in the picture)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla and stir.
- Add the dry mix to the wet mix and stir just until combined. Stir in the oats and raisins, again stirring just until combined.
- Form the dough into 75-gram balls, about two inches or slightly over 1/4 cup in size, and place 4" apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press the balls down slightly with the palm of your hand. If your dough is too soft to roll into balls, refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until scoopable.
- Bake for 13-17 minutes or until the middle appears to be set and the cookies have evenly browned.
- Let cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.
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141 comments on “Chewy Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies” — Add one!
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I had both quick oats and large flake oats and I picked the large flake oats because I thought they were healthier but in retrospect I should have put them through the food processor a bit to make the dough easier to roll, but regardless they are very yummy! Chewy and because I used the large oats, they were crunchy as well and my daughter who initially turned her nose up at the idea of using raisins enjoyed them as well. Thanks Erin!
Been cooking these for my office – they love them! And I love your blog. Keep the recipes coming……
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for the feedback. And I'll do my best with the recipes. ;)
Mmm! We just baked these this morning and they're perfect. Like seriously the perfect oatmeal cookie base. I used cranberries since the raisins I have atm aren't so great and I knew I'd be disappointed in them. They're so good with cranberries :D We'll be making these again and again, they're so good :) And just what we needed, thank you Erin!
Oh yay! I'm so happy to hear that you liked them! I read this comment from my phone when I was still really sick and was so happy to get it. It was seriously the highlight of my day. Thank you! And I'm so sorry to hear that you all are sick, too. Today is my first day back online after a horrible last week. At least it can only get better, right? Right?! :)
Oatmeal raisin cookies are so comforting! I need some of these :D We've all been sick again at our house so some serious comfort cookies are needed! I need to make these soon. I have the recipe all ready to go to the kitchen and everything :) Will let you know how we like them when I get the energy to make them!
I have to say, the chocoholic in me just can't say no to a good oatmeal raisin cookie. Your's look fabulous Erin!
yum.. looks so delicious.. i love chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.
Thanks! :)
MMM I just love healthier cookies so I feel less guilty! :D Great recipe =)
Thanks! And me too. Less guilt = better. :)
The more cookies I make, the more I really appreciate the simplicity of a perfect chocolate chip cookie or a perfect oatmeal and raisin cookie & these really look perfect!
Me too! I would have never wanted oatmeal raisin cookies a few years ago. But now… yeah, I'll take one. Simple is so nice sometimes!
YUM! I love oatmeal cookies, but I like butterscotch chips instead of raisins. Have you given these to a German? We made some in Austria and people looked at us like we were crazy when we told them we used oatmeal. :)
Hahaha. I know. They just don't get it. But what can we do? Educate them! Yes. You come over here and we'll educate the German speaking people, okay? :)
I love how these look. Some of my favorite cookies are oatmeal cookies, and anything healthier just makes you able to eat more right ;) These look great, and I think it is great to go back to the basics and original recipes sometimes. Its perfect!
Well of course you can eat more! ;) And I'm happy someone agrees about going back to the basics sometimes. It's just nice every now and then!
thick and chewy (but not cakey) healthy cookie. how on earth do you do it Erin? my gosh. I love this recipe SO much. did you know oatmeal raisin cookies are my #1 favorite cookie EVER? I can almost taste these through the screen… :)
Really?! I would have never guessed! But I'm guessing your real favorite is oatmeal Raisinette? :) You should give these a try! You'd love the texture!
Oatmeal raisin cookies are a favorite at our house, so I love how you healthified these!
Thanks! :)
I don't think this is boring and I think it is a great idea to nutritionally boost your old recipes, god knows I could do the same :-) I have old recipes using quite a bit of unrefined sugar and even confectioner sugar :-( Oh well.
I think oat flour its also great. Lately I have been using that quite a bit in some of my baking!!
Well I didn't even have a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. I created it just so I could have one. :) And sometimes you just need powdered sugar! I also love oat flour. thanks for the reminder. :)
I love Oatmeal Raisin cookies and I love healthifying recipes! So this recipe is a winner in my book. :)
Yay! Thanks for your nice comment. :)
I really feel like I can smell these through the screen! :)
Oh yes! I forgot to mention the smell. Not as nice as fresh bread but still so good!
Sometimes I like traditional baked goods as opposed to all these other foods stuffed into each other. And I like oatmeal cookies. I've recently started liking raisins, so I don't see why I wouldn't like them in a cookie :) The only thing that gets me is the coconut oil. I know there are surplus amount of coconut oil down here in South Carolina, but it comes in like giant containers and I wouldn't know what to do with it later.
What?! I've seen those buckets of coconut oil online and they just perplexed me. I can buy it about a cup at a time over here and I just assumed that if I can get it easily, so can everyone in the US. :( Just use real butter in place of the coconut oil! And yay… raisins. You like something fruity! :)
Well we /do/ have coconut oil. I see it all the time in store, but I only see the giant jars. I guess I will venture out and buy a jar one of these days.
You can get whatever size you prefer on EBAY.
Not boring at ALL! I love oatmeal cookies, be it with raisins or chocolate chips or any other stuff I find in the drawer.
I had to grin a little at your instruction of melting the coconut oil. Usually it is so warm here that our coconut oil is always liquid at room temperature. But tonight it actually cooled down a little and I noticed past of the oil in the bottle had solidified. So now I know what coconut oil looks like for you :)
Yay! I'm happy that you don't think they're boring. :) And I buy the coconut oil that comes in the refrigerated section. I just assumed that it's supposed to be refrigerated! But they also sell it at the Asian food stores and when I leave that at room temperature in the summer, it's also liquid. I like it that way. :)
No way! After the chickpea cookies, you're gonna do THIS to me? OMG, I think I'm gonna have to have someone close this place down. Seriously. Have you seen these cookies? I mean, have you SEEN them? Hang on, let me take another look…
OMG, WOW! I am so making these.
Like NOW… (sounds like dejà vu!)
For real, I wish I could whip up a batch right this minute, but I'm gonna have to be a good girl and wait. Besides, I have a post to write! Definitely pinning though, and probably more than once, too!
To think I was coming here to grab a link so I could link to this place in my post on the ahem, aforementioned chickpea cookies. And this is how you repay me? Shame!
Alright, let me just find that link quick quick then I'm outta here, before I drown in my own drool!
Hahaha. You should be a professional food blog comment leaver. I questioned the purpose of this for a moment, and then I had it. Your purpose as a professional food blog commenter would be to make people happy. Spreading glee in the food blogging community. The food blogging community should hire you. It'd be like you're a lobbyist, only not. Because you'd be working for us. :D Thanks again for the most excellent comment. :) They always make me so happy!
LOL! You're funny Erin! I think most people would think I'm absolutely crazy if I were to leave comments like this on their blogs! You get the best of me, that's for sure! ;) Glad my comments make you smile and know that the feeling is quite mutual! :)
I will have to try this. I love a good oatmeal raisin cookie!
I hope you do! :)
Such a fabulous looking recipe. Gotta love a chewy chocolate cookie!
Oh, but this one has no chocolate. You could always add some!