Sadelle’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
This oatmeal raisin cookie recipe is full of cinnamon and plump raisins and was created by Sadelle’s bakery in New York City.
A few weeks ago, my husband texted me a link to a story the Wall Street Journal had recently posted about the best oatmeal raising cookie recipe that they had ever tried. Naturally, it piqued my interest. Anytime something is labeled as “the best”, I feel like it’s my duty to try the recipe immediately. Plus, my husband loves oatmeal cookies, and I tend to only make chocolate chip cookies, so I was a little overdue on making a new batch of oatmeal cookies. As it turns out, these cookies totally lived up to their hype!
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I was immediately curious about this recipe when I read through it – the mixing technique is one I have never done before – the egg is mixed in at the very end, after the flour and even the oats and raisins! There is quite a bit of cinnamon in these cookies (four teaspoons – it’s not a typo!), and I was skeptical that it might be overpowering. Finally, once you mix the dough and shape the cookies, they are chilled – wait for it – for FOUR days! The recipe says that it’s not required but strongly recommended, so I played along and went with the four-day rest in the refrigerator.
These cookies are PHENOMENAL. My husband and I agreed that they actually are the best oatmeal raisin cookies we’ve ever tried. I shared them last Sunday and the rest of my family raved about how good they were… there was a definite consensus!
While I love the heft of the oatmeal raisin cookies from Cook’s Illustrated, the abundance of plump raisins, warm flavor from the cinnamon and super chewy texture puts this new recipe on top for me. If you’re in NYC and have had these cookies, you have to let me know how they compare!
One year ago: Slow Cooker Root Beer Baked Beans
Five years ago: Garlic Knots
Sadelle's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (145 g) raisins
- Hot water
- 1¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) fine sea salt
- ¾ cup (170.25 g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 cups (162 g) old-fashioned oats
- 1 egg
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Soak for 30 minutes, then drain.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed until combined. With the mixer still on low speed, mix in the oats, followed by the drained raisins, egg and vanilla extract.
- Use a ¼-cup measuring cup to scoop the dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Flatten each blob slightly with the bottom of the measuring cup. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 days.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but still soft in the middle, about 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Has anyone figured out fixes for the cookies being too dark? I love the taste of these, but they come out so dark. I might start to play with the recipe to see if I can change that.
I was almost dissuaded by some of the comments, but am so glad that I made them. My husband says they are best ever. I agree. I altered the method slightly. I chilled the shaped dough balls in a sealed container for about two hours, then baked. My raisins were soaked in hot orange juice and some maple syrup in a ziploc for an hour, then drained.
The cookies are even better after being stored in a ceiled container overnight. I am not a raisin fan but love these. Thank you!
The idea of putting cookie dough in the fridge for 4 days is absurd. I’m surprised that people actually do it.
Too much salt in this recipe and too much sugar. The one cup of brown sugar is sufficient, you don’t need the additional white sugar. (Americans always use WAY too much sugar.)
In the end, there’s nothing exceptional about these cookies.
There is no reason the dough cannot be refrigerated in bulk, in a container, in a bag, in plastic wrap. A sheet tray in the refrigerator for 4 days does nothing but inconvenience the household. This kind of silly/pointless notion is what makes people dislike fine baking and cooking and view it as troublesome and difficult.
Professional baker 32 years and counting.
I am so disappointed! After making room in the refrigerator for four days, our anticipation was repaid by cookies that spread across the pan, making oatmeal raisin bars. No idea if I did something wrong, but I won’t be attempting again. Now I don’t have dessert for our picnic . . .
Eileen, that could be the butter you are using. I LOVE Kerrygold butter on my toast. It has a wonderful flavor. But when I have used it in cookie recipes that I have tried before, my cookies came out flat, which seemed to affect the taste as well. So, when baking cookies or making frosting, I use Land O’Lakes and my cookies are thicker and much better tasting. Just a thought.
I’ve baked these cookies many times and they taste amazing. The 4 day marinade allows all the raisin and cinnamon flavors to soak through the dough. I’ve applied this technique to other cookie doughs and love the result. I decrease the salt to my preference. I use a golden baking pan lined with parchment paper on the middle rack on convection mode to produce crisp even browning results. I only bake on one rack at a time to get the best even baking results. A light colored insulated baking sheet also produces great baking results on cookies for me. Since every oven and baking pan differs, I always turn the oven light on and watch the cookies toward the end to make sure I pull them out at the right time when the edges have turned a golden brown.
Hello!
Just baked these cookies and they turned out fantastic! I admit, I did not wait the full 4 days in the fridge (in fact, I only waited a few minutes-sorry, I’m impatient), but they still turned out scrumptious. Additionally, as it is hard right now to find all purpose flour I substituted bread flour and they have a nice chewiness to them. Maybe that helped them hold together a bit better, as my cookies are quite large and thick. My butter was a little less than room temperature as well, so maybe that helped too? Anyway, delicious and will definitely make again! Thanks BrownEyedBaker!
I’ve made these cookies quite a few times now. I am surprised by other comments because they have always come out perfectly soft and chewy for me. I am a believer of salt and think most baking recipes could use more salt to balance the sweet (maybe a personal taste). I’ve given these cookies out for Christmas with rave reviews. Thank you for the recipe, it’s a favorite!
I made these and sadly am disappointed. Disappointed because they bake up looking nothing like the pictures. They bake up dark and have a smoother texture unlike the pictures which are light in color and look to have a chunkier texture. When I pulled them from the oven their puffiness deflated. The taste was good but they are too unattractive a cookie to make and serve. I won’t make these again. :(
Too much Salt. I made these but taste too much salt.
Iv’e made these several times & don’t know what I’m doing wrong. While they are delicious they spread so thin that they are like crisps instead of cookies. I follow the recipe exactly. HELP!
This is a very, very crumbly cookie dough. Have you experimented with adding any liquid to the ingredient list? Would you have any suggestions? A very tasty cookie but difficult to portion out without the ball of dough falling apart. Thanks
Do you think using rum instead of water would make these even better . . . ?
Do you have to refrigerate the cookie dough for 4 days?
Hello, I”ve made these cookies twice and each time they came out just like the picture but they had a funny aftertaste. i think it’s the baking soda, but i don’t know. Do you have any suggestions
Saw this recipe several years ago in our “local rag” with 1 important twist. Heat raisins slowly in, your choice, red wine, fruit juice, brandy. Your choice, if you use fruit juice freshly squeezed is best.
If I want to ultimately freeze these, would you freeze after the 4 day refrigerator rest (to then be baked individually) or after they’re baked?
Hi Laura, You could do either, may just need to add an extra minute or two if you bake from frozen. Enjoy!
Great cookies, thank you for another wonderful recipe Michelle. These are uniquely awesome oatmeal cookies.
Tip for the ” I can’t fit the cookie sheets in my fridge”.
Portion and flatten the cookies like the recipe states, get whatever size sheet you can fit in your fridge, you know balanced on the butter and a jar of pickles, you know where I’m going. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, transfer to a gallon freezer bag, and separate cookies with some parchment. Easy, now you have room for that leftover pizza.
I do this same thing for Michelle’s Favorite, well now “our” favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.