Brown Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

If you love huge, chonky, tall, thicc, comically big and ICONICALLY good oatmeal raisin cookies, then you have come to the right place. Also, quick tangent, but can I just say justice for oatmeal raisin cookies?? They are given SUCH a bad rap and it is so unfair! These brown butter oatmeal raisin cookies are the perfect balance of soft chewy texture, caramel flavor and cinnamon notes, all wrapped together with that *perfect* sweetness of the raisins.

All that ranting to say, if you’re an oatmeal raisin cookie lover, you are not alone. I see you, I HEAR you, and we’re gonna make oatmeal raisin cookies sexy again.

Read on for the recipe, storage tips as well as any substitutions that may help.

Let’s talk about the size of these oatmeal raisin cookies

When I say these cookies are huge, I mean it – they’re a whopping 100g each. But oh honey, will you not regret that size. Due to having oats and raisins mixed in (two ingredients that don’t interact with the butter and spread out in the oven), these cookies keep their height with almost zero issues, so you can make them as large as you want and not notice a difference in spread in the oven.

Want to go all the way up to 150g? Godspeed. Just don’t go much further than that, because then we might be in cookie cake territory….

What is the benefit of using brown butter?

Brown butter is an amazing ingredient, especially in baked goods like cookies or banana bread. It adds a rich, deep, caramelized flavor that you can’t get with normal butter, and that’s because we are essentially “toasting” the milk solids in brown butter as we cook it.

What happens when we brown butter, is that the butter separates into water and milk solids. Butter is actually about 22% water and 78% milk solids and the milk solids are what create the dark, rich tones of brown butter.

When you cook down butter the milk solids begin to toast, caramelize and develop in flavor. The darker the color the deeper the flavor notes. Perfect for these brown butter oatmeal raisin cookies.

Ingredients you’ll need for these brown butter oatmeal raisin cookies

• 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter
• 2 tablespoons (30g) whole milk
• 6 tablespoons (87g) granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons (73g) brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup and 1 tablespoon (150g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons (17g) cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (120g) rolled oats
• 1/2 cup (80g) raisins

What is the point of cornstarch in cookie dough?

Adding cornstarch to your cookies takes away some of that gluten-forming flour and results in a softer, more tender cookie. Here, it gives your oatmeal raisin cookies some thickness while still giving the center a soft, delicate, and irresistible cookie-dough-like-ness. It’s kind of magic.

Ingredient substitutions

This recipe is really customizable! Here are some substitution suggestions:

• Butter: You can swap it for vegan butter – I recommend using Miyokos Creamery, as it’s the only one I’ve found that actually browns and works best for vegan cookies.
• Whole milk: Can be swapped for 2% milk or plant-based milks like oat, almond, or soy just make sure they’re unsweetened and unflavored.
• All-purpose flour: Can be swapped for King Arthur’s 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour if needed.
• Raisins: Can be swapped with another dried fruit like cranberries, chocolate chips, walnuts or you can omit.

How to prepare the brown butter

Add 113 grams of butter to a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it starts to fizz slightly. Continue to stir until you see the milk solids turn a toasty brown. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of milk until combined and pop this in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool down.

The thing is: you want the brown butter softened for this recipe, but not hard. So make sure to stir it a bit after you pull it out of the fridge before you use it!

My top two tips for baking these cookies

1. Take them out of the oven when they still look slightly underdone. This one really goes for any cookie. After you take cookies out of the oven, the residual heat from the pan will continue to “cook” the cookie. So as it cools, it will settle into a dough that is crispy on the outside but still stays tender in the center for days. So trust the process, and don’t bake your cookies too long!
2. Bake these cookies on the top rack of your oven. The tops brown quicker, giving you that beautiful cookie look when they come out of the oven.

Why is this recipe in grams?

Grams is always my preference for baking, and I hope it will be yours, too. The only way to ensure complete accuracy is through measuring by weight, not volume. One cup of flour can weigh all the way from 120 grams to 160 grams, depending on how it was packed. This ends up causing some volatility and miss-matched results.

I want to ensure you get the best results with this recipe (and I want to keep this recipe fool-proof!) so I highly recommend getting a small affordable kitchen scale if you want to move forward with this particular recipe.

Storage Tips

Here’s the best way to store these cookies, based on each method:

To store the baked cookies in the fridge: These will keep in an airtight container for up to 7 days. I like to wrap each cookie in a layer of wax paper to prevent the from sticking to each other.

To store the baked cookies in the freezer: These will freeze well for up to six months. I like to line them with wax paper so they don’t stick to each other, then place them in a freezer gallon bag. To thaw, remove the cookies from the bag and let them sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Then they should be ready to eat!

Looking for similar recipes?

And that’s it for these brown butter oatmeal raisin cookies!

If you make them, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3