Old-fashioned oatmeal cookies with raisins are soft, chewy comfort food. These are made with gluten-free oats and flour, so you can enjoy these yummy traditional cookies, whether you can eat gluten or not!
My cookies have less sugar in them than many typical oatmeal raisin cookies. I’m sure you won’t miss it, and you can feel good about reducing your refined sugar intake.
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Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
As a kid, it was always a delight to arrive home from school to cooling racks full of oatmeal cookies fresh from the oven spread out over the farmhouse kitchen table. I don’t remember my mother making any other kind!
Now I enjoy making my own with this healthy oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. These cookies taste as good as or better than any old-fashioned oatmeal cookies!
Gather Your Ingredients
- Gluten-free oats - If you need to strictly avoid gluten, use only certified gluten-free oats.
- Gluten-free oat flour - While oats don't contain gluten on their own, they're usually contaminated by wheat unless you get certified gluten-free oats and flour. Read more about this issue on my Start Here page.
- Tapioca flour - Arrowroot flour could be substituted here.
- Xanthan gum - It acts as a binder to hold the cookies together in the absence of gluten. You could substitute an equal amount of guar gum.
- Raw sugar - I prefer to use the less-processed raw sugar. I feel that it makes these a healthier cookie. However, you could use any granulated sugar you like.
For the exact amounts and detailed recipe instructions, scroll down to the end of this post, or click the Jump to Recipe button at the top.
How to Make Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1. Whisk the flours, cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
4. Stir in oats and raisins.
5. Shape the cookies into balls with wet hands. Then press with a floured fork to flatten.
6. Bake the cookies in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes until golden around the edges.
How to Prep Ahead
This recipe calls for butter and eggs to be at room temperature. Your butter won't cream properly with the sugar and then the other ingredients if it is either hard or melted. Hard butter would be frustrating to work with, while melted butter wouldn't give your cookies the texture they should have. So, set your butter out well in advance of when you plan to bake cookies.
For best results, your eggs should also be at room temperature. This isn't as crucial to success as is room temperature butter, though. Ideally, set your eggs out half an hour before baking.
Storage Tips
Once the cookies have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container on the counter for a day or two. After that, their freshness is best preserved by freezing them.
Freezing Instructions
These oatmeal raisin cookies freeze very well. To store them, seal them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to three months.
Variations
- Oatmeal Cookies - Omit the raisins for simple gluten-free oatmeal cookies.
- Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies - Replace the raisins with dried cranberries for gluten-free oatmeal cranberry cookies.
Recipe FAQ'S
Xanthan gum acts as a binder to hold cookies together. That's the job that gluten does in wheat flour. Without a binder, your cookies will be very crumbly.
If your gluten-free flour already has xanthan gum in it, you'll be fine. If it doesn't, you will need to add xanthan gum or guar gum to hold the dough together.
If you have any questions or comments about the recipe, please do drop them into the comment section below. 🙂
Recipe
Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free oat flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour or arrowroot flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- ¾ cup raw sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups gluten free oats either coarse or fine
- ¾ cups sultana raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease them with butter.
- Whisk together oat flour, tapioca or arrowroot flour, cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.
- With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Slowly beat in the oat flour mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.
- Form dough into balls and press onto prepared baking sheets leaving room between each cookie for a little spreading. Bake for 15 minutes or until starting to brown around the edges. Allow to cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.
Jean says
Oh yum. Oatmeal cookies are my favorite! Love that these are gluten free and I'm pinning this to try for later.
Cathy says
I'm so glad that you like oatmeal cookies! I hope you enjoy these ones.
Terri says
these look so yummy and I love that I could bring them for my gluten-free friends at work!
Cathy says
Thanks, Terri! I think your friends will appreciate these. You'll need to reassure them that you used gluten free oats and oat flour. We're pretty nervous about things like that.:)
Shelby @Fitasamamabear says
They look so yummy! Reminds me of being a kid 🙂
Cathy says
Thank you, Shelby! Me, too!
Fouzia Husainy says
I prefer using oats and oat flour to white all purpose flour in baking, unless I can't help it. I think I can enjoy your oatmeal cookies guilt free as there's no refined ingredients in it. I am thinking of making a whole batch of them - this way I can stop my husband from eating unhealthy ones bought from the store. Thanks so much for sharing. They look so appealing and tempting!
Cathy says
I think your plan sounds like a great one! Thanks for stopping by, Fouzia.
Kristen says
These look fantastic Cathy. Always good to have a go to gluten-free recipe on hand. My fiancé loves oatmeal raisin cookies, and I bet he won't know the difference with or without gluten!
Cathy says
Thanks, Kristen! I don't think anyone would notice the difference with these ones.
Raia Todd says
These look delicious! My kids love oatmeal cookies. 🙂
Cathy says
Thank you, Raia! Oatmeal cookies are great for kids!
Colleen says
I'm with your husband, oatmeal raisin has always been my favourite cookie. But the only good ones are homemade. Even though I love my own recipe, I am trying to use more gluten free ingredients for family and friends that have issues, so I love this, and will be trying it soon. Thanks, Cathy!
Cathy says
That's great, Colleen! This isn't a difficult recipe to convert to gluten free.
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking says
We love oatmeal cookies in our house! These look like they have a great texture!
Cathy says
Yay! I'm glad to find another fan of oatmeal cookies!
Marlene says
What's more comforting than oatmeal raisin cookies, especially when they're still warm from the oven? Add a snow squall outside the window and they're even better!
Cathy says
For sure! I hope you're keeping warm.