There are oatmeal cookies, and then there is this recipe for rum raisin oatmeal cookies, soft and hearty and full of rum soaked raisins. Perfect with a cup of fresh mint tea!
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Why we love this recipe
Who doesn’t love a nice oatmeal cookie, especially one stuffed with plump juicy raisins, right?
And who doesn’t love some rum raisin ice cream? 🙋🏼♀️
So one day I decided to put the two of them together. A soft, substantial, warm from the oven oatmeal cookie, packed with raisins that had spent an hour soaking in some rum.
If a tropical vacation turned into a cookie, it would be this one…and if you want to pile some rum raisin ice cream in between two of these cookies and make the world’s best ice cream cookie sandwich, I say YAY YOU!
ingredients you need for this recipe
ingredient notes and substitutions
- Rum: You need to use the real thing…rum raisin extract is actually too intensely flavored for the raisins.
- Rolled Oats: Don’t use instant oats and definitely not steel cut oats – just good old regular rolled oats are what you need.
- Butter: I use salted butter for this recipe, but unsalted will also work.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
here’s how you make this recipe
STEP 1: Put raisins in a small bowl and pour rum over them. Let them soak for an hour or two, then drain the rum (and what you do with the drained rum is entirely up to you!) I soaked mine for about 3 hours in a nice bath of rum until they were soft and, well, rum-infused. The Southern husband kindly tested a few of them along the way to make sure they were coming out the right way. He’s helpful that way.
STEP 2: Preheat oven to 350.
STEP 3: Beat the butter together with both white and brown until things are nice and creamy, about two minutes. Add a couple of eggs and some vanilla and beat until combined.
STEP 4: Put some flour, baking soda and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir gently with a whisk until those ingredients are well combined.
STEP 5: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture with mixer on low speed (thereby avoiding a cloud of flour spreading over your kitchen counter). Add in some rolled oats and those raisins.
STEP 6: Put tablespoons of cookie dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
STEP 7: Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then put on rack to finish cooling. Make sure to eat one while they are still warm! Or two.
Soft, delicious oatmeal cookies with just a hint of naughtiness baked in.
Recipe FAQ
You can…these will then turn into fabulous traditional oatmeal raisin cookies.
Rolled oats are also called “old-fashioned oats,” and they are the most common kind. They have been steamed and flattened out. You want to use regular rolled oats and not the instant kind, because they have the best type of texture for this cookie. Want to know more about the different kinds of oats? Here’s a great run-down on oats from The Kitchn.
Pop your question in the comments section and I will answer pronto!
Other cookie recipes we love
Looking for more cookie inspiration? Here’s our complete collection of cookie recipes!
Could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
PrintRum Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
4.9 from 10 reviews
There are oatmeal cookies, and then there are these rum raisin oatmeal cookies, soft and hearty and full of rum soaked raisins. Yum!
- Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Soaking Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 12 minutes per batch
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: About 40 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raisins
- 1/2 cup rum
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups rolled oats (not steel cut)
Instructions
- Put raisins in a small bowl and pour rum over them. Let them soak for an hour or two, then drain the rum (and what you do with the drained rum is entirely up to you!)
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Beat the butter together with both sugars until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Put flour, baking soda and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir gently with a whisk until well combined.
- Add flour to butter mixture with mixer on low speed. Add in oats and raisins.
- Put tablespoons of cookie dough on cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then put on rack to finish cooling. Make sure to eat one while they are still warm! Or two.
Notes
-
- Rum: You need to use the real thing…rum raisin extract is actually too intensely flavored for the raisins.
-
- Rolled Oats: Don’t use instant oats and definitely not steel cut oats – just good old regular rolled oats are what you need.
-
- Butter: I use salted butter for this recipe, but unsalted will also work.
Samson Lee says
Great cookie recipe. I’ve made it several times now and ALWAYS a hit with the wife and kids. I just tried a different rum and that also really changed the flavors.
Kate Morgan Jackson says
I’m so glad it’s a hit – and yes, different kinds of rum is a fun way to change up the flavor! Happy baking. :)
Neisha says
Hi after you drain the rum of the raisins can you add the rum to the cookie dough?
Kate Morgan Jackson says
Hi Neisha! Honestly I wouldn’t – it will make the dough a little too soft. But you can pour it into a pretty glass and have it as a cocktail! :) :)
Neisha says
Good Morning Kate,
I actually made the cookies last night, I went a little crazy with the bourbon lol because the cookie was soggy.
Thank you for responding back I’ll be sure to try out different pastries on your blog.
Andrew says
Delicious! I added ginger powder and used half nutmeg, half cinnamon. Also added toasted pecans. The raisins were very plump and juicy, although the rum was barely noticeable. I did soak them in the fridge for a couple days because my baking plan changed, that is likely why.
Kate Morgan Jackson says
Andrew! I love your additions; :) I think you are right about the rum – and if you want to increase the rum flavor even more, you can add a little rum extract to the dough. Yum!
Lupe says
I’m giving this recipe 5 stars because the flavor is excellent, however, they spread so much that I could barely get them off the parchment. They don’t look anything like your cookies. I followed the recipe to the letter, not sure what went wrong. I want to try them again, but not sure how much extra flour to add. Any advice?
Kate Morgan Jackson says
Hi Lupe! There are a few reasons why cookies flatten out in the oven. Lining the cookie sheets with parchment or a silicone mat can help keep them from spreading because it diffuses the heat from the cookie sheet a little. If the butter is SUPER soft, that can also cause cookies to spread a little too much. Here are some things to try: add 2 more tablespoons of flour to the dough, roll the cookie dough into balls when you put them on the cookie sheet, and if they still are spreading too much when you take them out, use the side of a knife to nudge them back into a taller shape. Hope this helps! :)
Lupe says
Thanks for responding! I will try your suggestions. I was thinking of refrigerating the dough as well.
I took some of the flat cookies to work, everyone loved them, had no idea that they were technically a “fail”. They really are delicious!
Kate Morgan Jackson says
Yay you! As long as whatever I am making tastes good, I consider that a win. :)
RS Wolff says
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times in my rotation of cookies. I use a run that has a strong banana flavor and it makes these cookies delectable.
A real pleaser with the family.
Kate Morgan Jackson says
I’m so glad to hear this! And I think it’s just about time for me to bake up another batch here in my kitchen. :)
Susan Williams says
I assume you’re using regular oats and not quick oats? I’m planning to give these a try!
Kate says
Hi Susan! Yep, regular old-fashioned rolled oats, not the quick ones. The quick ones are quick because they are chopped finer, and I like the consistency of the regular rolled oats. Happy cooking baking! :)
Jennifer Aubuchon says
These Are Delicious!!! I soaked The raisins (White) in Vanilla Rum for 2 hours. I also put in 2 tsp of Vanilla, and 1 1/2 c of brown sugar. I threw in 1 C. Milk Chocolate Chips. Amazing!
Kate says
Hi Jennifer – I just love your variations on this cookie recipe – I’m going to have to give those a try next time I make them. Happy summer! :)
Christina says
Could u use rum extract instead?
Kate says
You can – just don’t soak the raisins and substitute the rum extract for the vanilla.
Debbie says
This recipe makes the best cookie dough, if you like eating it raw! The cookies are moist and sweet. I found that underbaking them yielded the most rummy taste.
The dough was extra soft, so I added an extra handful of oatmeal after the first sheet of cookies came out of the oven.
Unfortunately, the underbaked cookies, as good as they tasted, weren’t really presentation quality (for a party or gift). I ended up baking them to a toasty brown, and they lost the rum flavor. And after a day even the underbaked cookies lost their rumminess.
Fun to try; thanks for sharing the recipe.
Kate says
Hi Debbie! Thanks for all this great feedback (and hurray for cookie dough!). Maybe add a teaspoonful of rum extract along with the real rum next time to max out that rum flavor? These were my dad’s favorite cookie, and we lost him 2 years ago on this very day, so it means so much to me that you tried this recipe. xo!
Debbie says
Kate, thanks for the suggestion, I’ll give rum extract a try! Sorry to hear about the loss of your dad. I’ll raise a cookie to him. :)
Kate says
Thanks Debbie – xo!
Chef Tom says
Very good cookies
Kate says
Thanks Tom! There’s nothing like the taste of rum raisin. :)
Serena Butch says
As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to make them in memory of my own Dad, who LOVED rum raisin ice cream. These cookies are so delicious! I will always soak the raisins in rum from now on… A sophisticated variation of an old favorite. Thanks for sharing.
Kate says
I’m so glad! Hurray for our dads…they deserve all the cookies in the world. :)
Nutmeg Nanny says
Aw that’s a wonderful photo :) these cookies sound perfect!
Kate says
One of my favorite pictures of all time. :)
nessa says
Great picture! These cookies look drool-worthy!
Kate says
Aw, thanks! They were pretty scrumptious. :)
Traci says
I love how you tied in your Dad to these cookies. It’s always interesting to read how much of a role food plays in our memories. I love your cookies too. They turned out so beautiful.
Kate says
That is so true! My favorite food memory is my grandma’s molasses cookies…they take me right back to her kitchen!
Joanne says
Aww love how this post is kind of a tribute to your dad!
Also, just a thought…but using these cookies to sandwich some rum raisin ice cream. YES.
Kate says
OMG…brilliant. (Of course, coming from you!)
Karen Nelson says
Cookies = Yum!
Picture = Delightful!
Dads = Priceless :-)
Kate says
Yes! I probably should have saved this for father’s day, but I couldn’t resist. :)