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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Soft chewy oatmeal raisin cookie recipe with rolled oats, soft raisins, and a secret ingredient! The famous NYC bakery, Levain Bakery’s copycat oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.
Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Levain Bakery is the king of cookies. There is a reason for the constant long line that stretches in front of their New York City bakery. I fell in love with their cookies and was determined to create a copycat recipe for their famous oatmeal raisin cookies.
The cookies are Levain Bakery are HUGE. They measure about 6 ounces but you can also make these cookies about 3-4 ounces in size. Large or small, it doesn’t matter, because these are the best oatmeal raisin cookies!
I started with their Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie and it has been my #1 recipe with a 5-star rating. I couldn’t stop there, so I went back to the kitchen to create copycat recipes for their Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie and Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. As the comments started to come in, people began to beg for their Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe.
I went back to my kitchen to figure out how to make these extraordinary cookies. Oh boy, I was beyond happy with the results! The texture of these Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies came out perfect with a nice chew to it, a crispy edge, all without being overly sweet. You could almost eat these for breakfast because of their hearty goodness.
Growing up, my Mama’s favorite cookies were always oatmeal raisin cookies. I always tried to convince her that chocolate chips needed to replace the raisins but somehow she always won the battle. She would pull out her big yellow bowl and I would slip on her vintage floral apron.
I was the dedicated “beater licker” and it was always my favorite cookie dough to eat but I would pick out the raisins! To this day, I go crazy over this cookie dough….and now eat the raisins.
The beauty of the Levain Bakery cookie is that it is thick without being cakey and is the only oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that I have that is still soft and fresh 3 days later. It makes them such a soft oatmeal raisin cookie. It is the secret ingredient that keeps it that way! These are the best oatmeal raisin cookies.
SECRET tips and tricks to make these Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies extra special:
- Use very cold butter. Now, I am not talking about throwing two cubes of cold butter into the mixer and hoping the butter will incorporate into the sugars. Nope. The key is to cut the butter with a knife into small cubes, making it easier to cream with the sugar. Cream for at least 4 minutes on high until light and fluffy.
- Use a mix of cake flour and all-purpose flour. Why cake flour? Levain Bakery makes thick cookies without tasting like a scone. When you use cake flour, it creates a more TENDER crumb on the cookie which creates a mouth-watering texture. Click HERE to buy cake flour online.
- Another game changer is cornstarch. It also helps to create a soft, tender cookie.
- Bake at high heat. You want to shock these Levain Bakery Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with high heat so they don’t spread too rapidly. It helps them keep their shape and make those crispy edges. Here are my favorite baking sheets — USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan or Nordic Ware Baker’s Half Sheet (2 Pack). I love to use Silpat silicone baking sheets. Click for Silpat Brand and or Artisan Silicone Baking Mat. You can find all of my favorite kitchen products HERE.
- If you LOVE walnuts, you can add them to the recipe. Levain doesn’t include nuts but I sometimes throw them in to make my mama happy.
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Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter cut into cubes
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 cups Flour
- 1/2 cup Cake Flour
- 1 1/2 cup Rolled Oats
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups Raisins
- 1 cup Walnuts chopped (OPTIONAL)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 410 degrees.
- In a large bowl, cream together cold butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add cake flour, all-purpose flour, oats, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir until combined. Stir in raisins and walnuts (optional).
- Chill dough for 15 minutes.
- Separate dough into large balls and place on lightly colored cookie sheet. Lightly press on top of dough to smooth out. If you have a scale, you can make them anywhere from 4.5 ounces - 6 ounces. You will fit 4-6 cookies on one large cookie sheet. The dough makes 8-12 extra large cookies.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let them rest for at least 10-15 minutes to set.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Since I created these copycat Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe, my kids keep begging me to make them. I never in a million years would think that my kids would beg for cookies with raisins in them! Miracles do happen. Keep on sharing the LOVE with your friends. Thank you for your amazing support! Find me on INSTAGRAM at @modern_honey
Happy Baking! xo
Hi there, thanks for sharing this recipe. I look forward to try it at home. Is the butter salted or unsalted?
I always bake with unsalted, these turn out delicious with unsalted IMHO! HTH!
Love this recipe! I’ve made them multiple times. We add either toasted pecans or walnuts and I like to soak the raisins in rum and a little hot water for a few minutes then drain before adding to the dough. I’m too impatient to chill the dough do i stand them tall to keep the texture. Last , I make the cookies smaller -2 oz.,which is plenty. These are the favorite cookies in our family!
Made them tonight and wow, they are the best oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve ever had! I didn’t have quite enough raisins so I added 1/2 cup of Craisins and everyone loved them. Thanks so much!
How long would the bake time be for making these cookies 3.5 ounces instead of 6 ounces?
Hi Taylor:
I make them too at 3.5 oz/ea. Depending on your oven, it’s hard to pin point as every oven is different. I ‘think’, if I were you, I would try ‘one’ cookie to do as a test bake and see how your oven bakes it. I think I cooked mine around 5-6 minutes with a full sheet of cookies. Good Luck!!!
Thank you for this unique & delicious Recipe. No other comes close. I’ve baked this Recipe 50+ times!! My wife adores them – so do I. I varied the ingredients slightly for healthy reasons. I put in 1/2 cup Light Brown Cane Sugar + 1 cup Splenda. I also added 1.5 Cups Almond Flour + 1/2 Cup AP Flour. I also dehydrated (in my Air-fryer) & added 1/2 Cup Strawberries, 1/2 Cup Blueberries & 1 Cup Grapes. I finally added 1.5 Cups Raisins, 2 Tsp Cinnamon and 2+ Cups Walnuts. Too much you say??? Not!! They are still succulently scrumptious with a little subliminal “healthy” written all over them. I still live at home, therefore I’d say my wife (taste tester extraordinaire) adores them 😉😀! Try it! Good luck et Bon Appétit mes amis! Life is based on creations!
What an awesome comment, it made my whole day! I love each of the adjustments that you made and I’m thrilled that they turned out well! I’m so happy to hear that your wife loves them too. She must have great taste! Thank you so much for trying out my recipe and for taking the time to comment. I sincerely appreciate it!
ABSOLUTELY! To give you an example of how much she loves them… she had a GI biopsy mid-day today. When she started waking up.. she asked for your oatmeal cookies – AGAIN! I just finished making the mixture…same recipe i made before, but I added dehydrated (60% less sugar) cranberries for a little tartness addition. Unfortunately she’s passed out (effects from the surgery)… sooo the mixture is in the fridge… to be cooked tomorrow! Thank you for your reply by the way…. I’m honored! Until the next time.
Amazing!!!! I made them with cranberries and walnuts because I didn’t have enough raisins. They were so delicious my kids were fighting over them.
Thank you for sharing!!
If i wanted to do chocolate chip oatmeal can i just sub them out for the raisins?
one of my boys is lactose intolerant so poor guy misses out on great treats like this. I made these today with plant based butter and they were FANTASTIC!! So glad he gets to enjoy a baked treat 🙂
These are the best oatmeal cookies I have ever made. I did add about a quarter tsp of Pumpkin Spice to the mix just for fun. My husband, who is a sworn no carbs, couldn’t resist sneaking some.
These are excellent. They taste just like Levain’s cookies and are highly, highly addictive.
Any thoughts on toasting the oats before using in the recipe? Obviously, they should be cooled completely to room temp as to not compromise the structure of the cookie. But Im wondering how toasting it would be.