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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are soft, chewy and delicious. They get a bad rap for not being the classic chocolate chip, but I think they’re some of the best cookies ever!
I’ve always thought that until kids are 4 or so, birthday parties are more for the parents than the actual celebrant. I mean, do you know any kid who remembers any of their birthdays before that age? I personally don’t, but that’s never stopped me from having parties for my kids every year. When Kenya turned 3 we threw a big one for him. Since we knew he’d have little to no memory of it, we tried to think of a way to give the celebration more purpose.
Instead of asking the invitees for gifts, we suggested people bring a new book to donate to our local children’s hospital. The hospital staff was so grateful, we continued doing it yearly in honor of both our kids birthdays. When Kenya turned 4, he got to deliver his birthday books to the hospital himself and really understood how fun and fulfilling it is to give books to those who might not have access to them.
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Last year I learned about an incredible non-profit organization called Milk & Bookies that teaches young children how great it feels to give back while celebrating the love of a good book. It promotes both literacy and service learning by providing kids the opportunity to select, purchase and inscribe books that are then donated to their less fortunate peers. Milk & Bookies even helps you make the process easy by sending you a big box full of materials for your party so all your little guests can inscribe their books and get all kinds of great things in return, like great “I Donated” stickers to wear, bookmarks and more. I think it’s just about the coolest organization ever!
When we received our Milk & Bookies box, we also decided to make cookies to commemorate one of Kenya and Chloe’s favorite books, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. This is my variation on the traditional oatmeal raisin cookie which uses naturally sweet honey instead of sugar and is packed with so many tender sweet raisins I give them top billing and call it a Raisin Oatmeal Cookie.
The next time you’re throwing a birthday for your little one and don’t feel like having your house filled with more plastic toys that will just get played with once or twice and forgotten, empower your child and do this for their birthday — and of course make a batch of these unbelievably delicious cookies!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup raisins, dried cherries or cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Place the butter and sugar in a bowl or standing mixer and beat for 3-5 minutes on medium high or until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat for another minute on medium speed or until completely combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix to combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix to incorporate.
- Stir in the raisins then using a 1 tbsp mini ice cream scooper or spoon place on a silat or parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes for chewier cookies or 15-17 minutes for more crisp cookies.
- Cool on baking sheet.
Hello,
I’m looking for a really high fiber cookie for my daughter. Could I add in unprocessed bran or something along those lines. She won’t eat raisins as she is only 2.
Thanks,
Lisa
Delicious! I love the taste of the honey instead of sugar.
I’ve just made these with my children so my eldest can take one in her lunch tomorrow for her first day at school.
I just made these today to surprise my boy after school. They are just perfect! They’re chewing and not overly sweet. The honey really complements the flavor of the oats and raisins. Thanks Catherine!
This recipe calls for 1 egg correct?
I used 1 egg.
Thank you so much for this arlecti, it saved me time!
Just curious… aren’t all raisins “Dried”?
This idea is so lovely. Books meant so much to me as a child. Hard to believe people grow up without them.
made these today. they are delicious.
we used whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of craisins & 1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips. any ideas on how to make with a healthier fat?
These look perfect for back-to-school lunches that need to be packed this week. I have all the ingredients and will be making these tonight for my kid’s lunches tomorrow. Can’t believe it’s back to school already, but, it is.
Thanks for sharing the Milk and Bookies site with us! I am definitely getting a “box” of supplies and including this activity as part of a neighborhood back-to-school ice cream social we’re hosting at the end of the month.
Any experience making these with an egg substitute such as applesauce?
Oh, I have all the ingredients to make these, EXCEPT I only have about a cup of oats. Is there anything I can do, like add more flour? Don’t want to mess it up.
I’ll just cut back on adding extra salt 🙂
Shoot I want to make these when my girls wake, but I only have salted butter on hand from our local farm…will that be ok???
I LOVE this idea for a birthday party! Sounds like a great way for the kids to have fun, feel important, and celebrate while donating to a good cause.