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. In fact, I just made a batch and think the quick cooking version might be better.

These are thin, chewy oatmeal cookies with a rich and sweet flavor. They are not the most beautiful cookies right out of the oven, and you'll have to let them cool and set, but they are delicious. If you want a thicker, heartier cookie, I recommend Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies.
Other Recipes to Consider
Recipe

Thin, Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (114 grams) unsalted butter, room temp
- ½ cup (100 grams) brown sugar, light
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup (95 grams) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ scant 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 wet hands, shape the dough into equal (1 inch) rounds. Bake for 10-12 minutes (mine took 14) or until cookies are brown around the edges.
- Let sit on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to wire racks to Cool
Anna
Thanks for the cranberries tip and the review, Brenda!
Brenda Dugger
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
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
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
Good luck!
Western
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
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
Followed this recipe to perfection. Ended up with round blobs of cookies. Not thin, Not chewy! Very disappointed!
Anna
Katie, I am so glad they came close!
Katie
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
Hi Katie,
Thanks for letting me know :).
Katie
This is by far the very best cookie recipe. I bake it every Christmas and everyone requests them. Yummy
Anna
Thanks for leaving a review, Kitty! I'm so glad you like the recipe.
Kitty
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
Thanks Azura!
Azura
You're right, they're not the most beautiful cookies, but they're the best tasting for sure. Great recipe!
Anna
Thanks for the review, Lana! It's been a while since I made these and I need to bake another batch.
Lana
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
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
Oh my God! So amazing. I soaked my raisins in Captain Morgan rum first. Just perfect
Anna
Hooray! So glad you liked them.
Depressed Dancer
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
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.
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
Just made these for a Father's Day party tomorrow and LOVE them! So happy to have found you!
Linda
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
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
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
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 🙂
http://thesweetgourmand.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/coconut-pecan-date-oatmeal-cookies/
Anna
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
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
These would be great with dried cherries!
Katrina
These look like my kind of oatmeal cookie.
Marie
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
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
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
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
Haha, the floats are cute :0)
"End result was a chewy, rich, sweet oatmeal cookie" - sounds perfect to me!