These oatmeal raisin cookies are just the way Grandma made them, except with butter instead of shortening! They're made with old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, and plenty of raisins.

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

My favorite cookies in the whole wide world are these oatmeal raisin cookies. They’re a little chewy in the center and a little crispy at the edges. Each bite is loaded with oats and sweet bursts of raisins.

My grandmother used to bake oatmeal raisin cookies with me from the time I was old enough to stand on a chair and hold a spoon. Making these cookies taught me how to measure, how scrape down the sides of a mixing bowl, and the purest pleasure of all—licking the bowl.

Whoever helped with the cooking got first dibs on the bowl, so guess who was the first to volunteer to help?

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What kind of oats to use?

Old-fashioned rolled oats or quick rolled oats are the best to use for oatmeal cookies. We’ve always used Quaker brand, so if you use a different brand, you may find you need to adjust the recipe. Do not use steel-cut oats (they’ll be too hard) or instant oats (they’ll cook up too mushy).

Butter vs. Shortening?

My grandmother used shortening, not butter, when making her cookies (see her original oatmeal cookie recipe). These days I almost always use butter. Either will do; the shortening cookies I think tend to be a bit chewier.

Storing or Freezing these Cookies

Once cooked, keep the cookies stored in a covered container on the counter. They’ll stay fresh for several days.

You can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 2 days (cover tightly with plastic wrap), before scooping and baking. Or, you can scoop out individual cookies onto a baking sheet, freeze them until firm, then transfer them to a storage container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Frozen balls of cookie dough can be baked from frozen (no need to thaw), but might need a few extra minutes of baking time.

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