I have so many oatmeal cookies I often forget about Thin Chewy Oatmeal Cookies. It's perfect for when you are craving really chewy cookies. Originally from a fun book called One Bite Won't Kill You, this recipe gives you cookies that are not only thin and chewy, but that bend before breaking. The secret is a lot of sugar.
Thin Chewy Oatmeal Cookies Oats Type
This is a halved version of the recipe, so if you want more than 24 cookies you'll need to double it. The original recipe calls for old fashioned oats, but quick cooking oats work well too. Lately I've been using a mixture of both types of oats, but that's not necessary. Just use what you have.
These are thin, chewy oatmeal cookies with a rich and sweet flavor. They are not the most beautiful cookies. I think of them as the Brutti ma Buoni or Ugly But Good Cookies of the oatmeal cookie world. Unfortunately I can't fix the recipe because people love it the way it is.
Other Recipes to Consider
Recipe
Thin, Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp (114 grams)
- ½ cup (100 grams) brown sugar, light (100 grams)
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup all purpose flour (95 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh nutmeg optional
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats or quick cooking if necessary
- ¾ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and both sugars with an electric mixer; beat in vanilla and egg.
- Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the oats, followed by the raisins.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop up rounds of dough, packing tightly. Arrange a few inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake one sheet at time for 10-12 minutes (mine usually take 14) or until cookies are brown around the edges and appear cooked in the center.
- Let sit on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to wire racks to Cool
Anna says
Mine are always thin and chewy. I wish we could get together and bake because it would be fun to determine why mine are always thin and chewy and yours weren't. Thanks for the comment!
Kris says
Taste was good but not anywhere near thin and chewy.
Anna says
Thanks for the review!
Pat says
Just made these cookies and they’re delicious! Crisp on the edges and chewy in the center. I added both semisweet chocolate chips and walnuts to half of them. So good.
Leia says
Thin and crispy and chewy just how we like them! Added chocolate chips instead of raisins the 2nd time. Sooo good. Next time we might add both! Thanks for sharing the recipe, it’s definitely my go-to now.
Anna says
Thanks for the cranberries tip and the review, Brenda!
Brenda Dugger says
Thin and chewy just like the recipe describes. Delicious! I used a small ice cream scoop instead of roll in balls and dried cranberries instead of raisins. You’ll want to double the recipe it’s so good.
Anna says
Sue, thanks for leaving the note! I'll see if I can find a chocolate chip pecan similar in shape to this one. There are some scattered around the blog, but I get what you mean and it would be nice to pair these cookies up with some cookies that match them in size (smaller) and shape.
Sue R Jensen says
These are THE best cookies I have ever made. Everything about them leaves you wanting more. Now to do the same thing for a chocolate chip pecan cookie.
Anna says
Good luck!
Western says
I will forego the raisins, and sandwich my homemade coffee/date spread between two of these. If they come out as anticipated, I’ll post an update with filling recipe!
Anna says
I'm surprised to hear that, Tim! Sorry the recipe didn't work for you. I'll try to figure out what could have gone wrong with your batch and post an update. I haven't had any issues with these and all the reviews have been good, so I'll troubleshoot when I get a chance. These are supposed to be very thin and chewy, but definitely not round blobs.
Tim says
Followed this recipe to perfection. Ended up with round blobs of cookies. Not thin, Not chewy! Very disappointed!
Anna says
Katie, I am so glad they came close!
Katie says
I have searched high and low trying to find an oatmeal cookie that compared to my grandma's! Unfortunately she past away before I could get her recipe and sadly nobody had her recipe. Well! These are SO close to her recipe!! I'm so excited to find this recipe! They are delicious! Thank you for a great recipe! My family and I are loving these!!
Anna says
Hi Katie,
Thanks for letting me know :).
Katie says
This is by far the very best cookie recipe. I bake it every Christmas and everyone requests them. Yummy
Anna says
Thanks for leaving a review, Kitty! I'm so glad you like the recipe.
Kitty says
The absolute best!!! I have people beg me for these cookies. I add a pinch of clove but these are truly the best oatmeal cookies ever.
Anna says
Thanks Azura!
Azura says
You're right, they're not the most beautiful cookies, but they're the best tasting for sure. Great recipe!
Anna says
Thanks for the review, Lana! It's been a while since I made these and I need to bake another batch.
Lana says
These are fabulous!! Hubby requested thin and chewy, and that they are... he demolished these. I helped. Chewy inside, slightly crispy on the outside too.
laurie phillips says
Hey, I say these very thin oatmeal cookies and got a craving...but they were like paper thin...so I am going to soak the raisins in the extract and egg mixture and chop the raisins into 4th to make it very thin and crispy ...wish me good luck.. I will be back to give you an update.
brenda bornsheuer says
Oh my God! So amazing. I soaked my raisins in Captain Morgan rum first. Just perfect
Anna says
Hooray! So glad you liked them.
Depressed Dancer says
Oh oh oh! There is nothing second best about these cookies! If these are second best I might die and go to heaven at the best ones.
You've helped me end my long and arduous search for the perfect oatmeal and raisin cookie. They even survived being made with lactose free butter substitute!
Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
AJ says
These came out perfectly! I was searching for a thin and chewy oatmeal cookie after having one with butterscotch chips (yum!) at a friend's house. Delicious!
Steph V. says
These were phenomenal! Thin, chewy and crispy- followed the recipe exactly (plus I soaked my raisins in some good bourbon and also threw in some toasted chopped almonds for a little extra crunch!) They literally disappeared within hours.
Thank you for sharing!
kristen says
Just made these for a Father's Day party tomorrow and LOVE them! So happy to have found you!
Linda says
Excellent Cookies. I did it without the raisins and added pecans instead. Worked out great. Getting ready to make some more with the raisins. Thanks
Melia Kuhna says
I made these the other night and they were excellent..Thank you for sharing this recipe with the world... I give these a five star ***** and I'm off to make another batch!!!
Melia Kuhna
Author: Duplicity & Keep Your Enemies Close
Chris says
Anna,
Thanks so much. I made these and they were exactly what I was looking for in terms of texture and taste. I had been searching a long time for something thin and chewy. Wow!
Chris
Emily says
I just made some oatmeal cookies adapted from Alice Medrich's recipe using coconut oil and refrigerating overnight so the dough can absorb the moisture... it came out incredibly delicious!! If you ever want to try out another oatmeal cookie, I heartily recommend these 🙂
Anna says
Jen, I'll have to check. I've made sooooo many recipes out of that book. I probably made them at one time, but moved on. That's not to say I didn't like them, but I tend to try a recipe and go to another one. The ones I do go back to are in my Top 10 Lists.
Jen says
I made KA's Ultimate Chewy Oatmeal Cookie last night. Have you made that one? I'm so used to making cookies the way I like them (thick, crispy outsides and chewy inside) that I thought I made them wrong. I forget that there are other types of cookies out there. I think they turned out pretty well.
Anna says
These would be great with dried cherries!
Katrina says
These look like my kind of oatmeal cookie.
Marie says
Anna - do you feel these would work well with dried cherries? My soon to be three year old has just announced that he no longer eats raisins. Arrgh! He used to eat them by the fistful.
Anna says
Priscilla, that's good to know your mom's looked pretty much like this. At least I know I made them right ;). Ann Hodgman seems to like thin, rich and buttery cookies. Another recipe she has is a copy cat of those David's cookies. I made it a long time ago and found them too rich and buttery. But these are just right.
The full recipe had 3 cups oats, so for your mom's recipe, you'd sub 1 cup coconut for 1 cup oats. For the above, you'd sub 1/2 cup coconut for 1/2 cup oats. Makes sense.
Priscilla says
P.S. My Mom's recipe was for the full batch, so the coconut substitution for the half-batch here would be 1/2 cup coconut for 1/2 cup of oats.
Priscilla says
This was my Mom's favorite oatmeal cookie and I still have it in my recipe box with "Mom's favorite" next to it. My favorite variation is walnuts and dried apricots (the ones that are a little tart, not the Turkish ones). Her recipe also said you could sub 1 cup coconut for one cup of the oats. I usually use old fashioned oats, but they look pretty much the same as your picture.
VeggieGirl says
Haha, the floats are cute :0)
"End result was a chewy, rich, sweet oatmeal cookie" - sounds perfect to me!