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Market Oatmeal Cookies

One hearty oat dough, split into raisin and chocolate chip

Chewy oatmeal cookies with visible oats and soft centers. One dough splits into raisin and chocolate chip, home scale from the market formula.

By Henry Hunter Jr., founder of Crust & Crumb Academy and Baking Great Bread at Home.

Prep
25 minutes
Bake
12-14 minutes per tray
Total
About 1 hour 10 minutes, including a 30 minute chill
Yield
18 hearty market-size cookies, half raisin and half chocolate chip
Difficulty
beginner

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

  • 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 225g (2½ cups) old-fashioned rolled oats — Rolled, not quick or instant. Quick oats turn the cookie pasty.
  • 175g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 138g (⅔ cup) light brown sugar, packed
  • 63g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
  • 50g (1 large) large egg
  • 3g (¾ tsp) baking soda
  • 5g (2 tsp) ground cinnamon
  • 2.5g (½ tsp) fine sea salt
  • 5g (1 tsp) pure vanilla extract

The Split (choose one for each half)

  • 88g (⅔ cup) raisins, plumped in warm water 10 minutes then drained — Plumping keeps them soft instead of hard little bullets
  • 88g (½ cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
  • Digital Scale
  • Half Sheet Pans
  • Parchment Paper
  • Cookie Scoop (optional)
  • Wire Cooling Rack

Method

Mix the Base Dough

One base dough carries both cookies. Cream well, then stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears.

  1. Cream the Butter and Sugars. Beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Add the Egg and Vanilla. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth and glossy.
  3. Add the Dry Ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together, add to the bowl, then stir in the oats. Mix just until combined.
  4. Split and Fold. Divide the dough in half. Fold the plumped raisins into one half and the chocolate chips into the other. Two cookies, one mixing job.

Tip: Old-fashioned oats only. They give the chew that makes this cookie read as hearty.

Scoop and Chill

Cold dough holds its shape and bakes thicker. This is the step most home bakers skip and then wonder why their cookies spread flat.

  1. Portion the Dough. Scoop into balls of about 61g each, 9 from each half.
  2. Chill. Chill the scooped dough for 30 minutes, or overnight if you want to bake tomorrow.

Wait: Dough Chill

Bake and Cool

Pull them while the centers still look soft. Carryover heat on the tray finishes them chewy.

  1. Bake. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are set and golden and the centers still look soft.
  2. Rest on the Tray. Let the cookies sit on the hot tray for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack.
  3. Cool Fully Before Bagging. Cool completely before bagging or they steam and go soft.

Tip: Underbake on purpose. A cookie that looks done in the oven is dry by the time it cools.

Bake the Cookies

A moderate oven sets the edges while the centers stay soft.

Oven: 175°C / 350°F.

Bake time: PT13M

Equipment: Half sheet pans lined with parchment

  1. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 12 to 14 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway if your oven runs uneven.

Storage

  • Room temperature: Sealed bag or container for 5 to 7 days, still chewy.
  • Refrigerated: Not recommended, the fridge dries cookies out.
  • Frozen: Freeze baked cookies up to 2 months, or freeze the scooped dough balls and bake from frozen adding 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Refresh: Ten seconds in the microwave brings back the day-one softness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use quick oats instead of rolled oats?

You can, but the cookie turns pasty and soft instead of chewy. Old-fashioned rolled oats are what give this one its texture. If quick oats are all you have, cut them to 200g and expect a softer cookie.

Do I have to chill the dough?

Thirty minutes makes a real difference. Cold dough spreads less, bakes thicker, and holds a soft center. If you're in a hurry, 15 minutes in the freezer gets you most of the way there.

Why plump the raisins?

Ten minutes in warm water, then drained, keeps them soft in the baked cookie. Skip it and they bake into hard little bullets that pull moisture out of the crumb around them.

Can I make all raisin or all chocolate chip?

Yes. Use 175g of a single mix-in and fold it into the whole batch instead of splitting.

My cookies spread flat. What happened?

Usually warm dough or over-softened butter. The butter should be soft enough to dent, not greasy. Chill the scooped dough and bake from cold.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 cookie (about 61g)): 245 calories, 33g carbohydrates, 3g protein, 11g fat, 2g fiber, 130mg sodium.