Soft-Batch Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

January 22, 2021
Richard Makin
Recipes

Updated: February 02, 2022

1 hour
40 cookies
0.0

These perfectly golden soft-batch vegan oatmeal raisin cookies are easy to bake and even easier to eat! They’re caramelised and crispy on the edges but soft and gooey inside, packed with plump, juicy raisins and a hint of spice. Perfect for with a glass of plant milk!

Ingredients

250g raisins
1 TBSP psyllium husk powder + 6 TBSP water
230g vegan butter, room temperature
2 tbsp soy milk
120g light brown sugar
100g dark brown sugar
160g granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
330g plain white flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp flaky sea salt
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
160g porridge oats
160g rolled oats

Instructions

Place raisins in a medium bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave them to soak for 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the psyllium husk powder with the water. Whisk well to combine and set aside to thicken.
If using a stand mixer, fit with the whisk attachment. If using a hand mixer, fit with the beater attachments. Place the room temperature vegan butter into the bowl and whip until light and fluffy or for at least 3 minutes.
Add the thickened psyllium husk powder and soy milk. Whip for a further 2 minutes to make sure everything is completely combined. Add the sugars and vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
In a separate medium bowl place the flour, baking soda, flaky sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well to combine. Set aside.
If using a stand mixer, swap the whisk for the beater attachment. Add the flour mixture to the vegan butter mixture and, with the beaters on low speed, combine the two. Do not overmix, beat just until combined.
Add the oats and beat again until just combined.
Drain the raisins well through a sieve and then spread out on a layer of paper towel to catch any excess moisture. Add them to the cookie dough and mix briefly to combine.
Using a cookie scoop or a small dessert spoon, divide the cookie dough into walnut-sized balls (I got 40 cookies out of this recipe)
Place the balls of dough onto a lined baking sheet and place in the fridge for 30 mins. Preheat the oven to 175c/350f (fan) while the cookies cool.
Once the cookies are cooled, arrange on a new baking sheet lined with baking parchment with at least 8cm between each ball of dough and bake for around 10-13 minutes.
[Alternatively: Allow the unbaked cookies to chill for 2 hours before placing into a large ziplock bag and freezing for up to a month. When ready to bake, remove the frozen cookies you need, place on a baking tray and allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking].
Once baked, remove from the oven and tap the tray lightly on the counter – the cookies should lose some rise after tapping – this is good!
Slide the baking parchment off the baking sheet and onto a wire cooling rack. Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes or while you bake the remaining cookies before serving.

The biggest mistake people make with oatmeal raisin cookies is allowing the raisins to burn! They often protrude from the dough and are much drier than you might think, so they turn black and bitter in no time. In this recipe, we soak the raisins in boiled water until plump and super juicy. This way they’re perfectly moist once baked.

oatmeal raisin cookies vegan ingredients

Another trick for perfectly light but chewy cookies is to whip your vegan butter before adding any other ingredients. This fills the dough with lots of tiny air bubbles which keep things light, but it also helps the sugar to dissolve fully, which means a nice even chewy texture.

Be sure not to overwork the dough. If you mix the dough too much after adding the flour, the cookies will end up dense and tough. Mix until everything is just about combined.

Finally, oatmeal raisin cookies are best when ever-so-slightly underbaked. If you pull them from the oven and they’re still slightly jiggly and soft in the centre, don’t worry – this is fine! As they cool the middle will set and you’ll be left with a gorgeous chewy cookie.