Soft & Chewy Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These soft, homemade sourdough oatmeal raisin cookies are made with tangy sourdough starter, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins. The secret is to chill the dough for 1 hour (or more) for crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, bakery-style cookies.

What’s the draw to oatmeal raisin cookies? The oats? Are we convinced it’s a healthy cookie because it’s an oatmeal cookie?

Surely it’s not the raisins. No one gets excited about raisins except for me ( I love chewy dried fruit!). There’s just something nostalgic about them. My sourdough version hits all the right notes: crisp on the outside, soft in the middle, with an addictive buttery taste.

About Your Sourdough Starter.

For this recipe, you’ll need a 100% hydration starter, which just means it’s fed equal parts flour and water by weight. Active or sourdough discard is fine.

Keep in mind, hydration is irrelevant if you’re not looking at the type of flour it’s fed with too – all flours absorb differently (my sourdough starter is fed with bread flour). That’s why it’s important to pay attention to texture. It should look like thick, pourable yogurt.

Testing Notes: Understanding Chill Time

I tested this recipe 5+ times and I learned something interesting: a minimum chill time of 1 hr. is required to prevent the cookies from spreading too much when baked.

See the picture above? The cookie in the left was chilled for only 30 minutes. The one on the right? 12 hours. This finding is good to know, should your cookies look different than mine.

How to Make Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies {Step-By-Step Recipe}

To Start: Whisk the dry ingredients together, minus the oats. In a separate small bowl combine the wet ingredients. Then mix everything together.

Next, you’ll fold in the oats, raisins, and walnuts (optional, but good!). The dough will a bit sticky, which is normal. Chill for 1 hr. or overnight.

Before baking, here’s a great tip: roll a portion of dough in between your palms – if the texture is tacky (not sticky) you’re good to go. If not, add a tablespoon of flour, mix well, and chill for another 20 minutes.

Note: the consistency of the dough will depend on the viscosity of your starter. It will be slightly different for everyone.

To finish, bake tablespoon size scoops of dough for 10-11 minutes @ 350 F, or until golden brown. Your kitchen will smell incredible!