Oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite classic cookie – even over chocolate chip. It’s probably that they are so soft and chewy, yet sweet and hit the spot. Here is my twist on that familiar classic made even better with freshly milled flour. BONUS: there is a sourdough option – a true sourdough option, not just a discard recipe.
The Base
The Changes
- Sugar: 220 grams of sugar PLUS 1 tbsp molasses
- Flour: 125 grams of barley flour
- Extract: vanilla extract AND ceylon cinnamon extract
- Mix-ins: raisins and 135 grams of freshly rolled oats
- Method: CHILL the dough before scooping out and baking
- Spices: 1/2 tbsp (1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and just a dash of freshly ground nutmeg)
When I first created the Drop Cookie Base, it was before I did a ton of experimenting on flour absorption rates and so I don’t use this exact base anymore. I usually drop the sugar by at least 100 grams, and I drop the flour by 75 grams. Sometimes I’ll add a tablespoon or two of liquid to the dough, and I let it sit at least 30 minutes before baking to be sure the dough isn’t too tough – otherwise the cookies will end up dry after the bake.
This oatmeal cookie recipe uses those ideas and I wanted to use more oats than flour. I probably would use more – but I ran out making some sourdough oatmeal bread… a recipe coming to you soon.
Sourdough Option
Add a scoop of sourdough starter to your dough – approximately 50 grams. Mix it into the dough, and place it in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. The next day, scoop the cold dough onto your cookie sheet, and place into a preheated air fryer or oven and bake. I did convection at 375 F for 8 minutes and they turned out great! I used the medium scoop from Pampered Chef.
These turned out even better than the cookies baked the first day without the starter. Trust me – add a little starter and wait until the next day. They are WAY better.
Can I Use?
I always get these types of questions. Can I use this type of flour? Soft white flour would be what’s most often used in oatmeal raisin cookies, but I wanted the nutty flavor of the barley to shine through since my other half doesn’t care for nuts in his baked goods. You could also use spelt – that would go nicely here. But if you want the flavor of the oats to shine through the most – soft white wheat is where it’s at.
What about the sugar? You can use coconut palm, sucanat, turbinado, or white sugar. You can use date sugar but you’ll need my sweetener swap calculator for that. Honey would also be really good here, but you MUST use the molasses or the cookies won’t taste great – brown sugar flavor is required. Trust me on that! You could even cut the sugar a little more, in my opinion.
Can you use a vegan butter alternative? Sure! You can also swap the eggs for flax eggs, chia eggs, applesauce, or mashed potatoes if you know what you’re doing.
Mixins – consider swapping the raisins for cranberries and adding walnuts or pecans and chocolate chips. You could also use 1 banana in place of the two eggs, and now you’ve got a nice breakfast cookie going on. If you choose a whole food sweetener, bonus points to you, my friend!
Get Creative!
I hope the base recipe and method, along with many ideas for how to change things up and not get bored inspire you. Please try new things, and share your successes, learning, and more with others.
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