At Ajpal, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

stack of five raisin oatmeal cookie up close

How To Get Perfect Chewy Cookies

Sometimes even the best chewy cookie recipe turns out less than perfect – I’m adding my favorite tips for easy, deliciously chewy cookies that are great every time you make them!

High moisture content does; so the recipe, baking time, and temperature must be adjusted to retain moisture. Binding the water in butter, eggs, and brown sugar (it contains molasses, which is 10 percent water) with flour slows its evaporation. The dough needs a little extra flour, which makes it stiffer. The stiff dough spreads less, less liquid evaporates, and the cookies are thicker.

Mass also helps cookies stay moist–big dollops of dough make softer and chewier cookies than tiny spoonfuls of dough. Bake these thick cookies for a shorter time at a high temperature to firm them quickly and minimize spreading. Most important, don’t bake them too long–remove from the oven when the cookie rim is brown and at least 1/3 of the center top remains pale. The cooked centers will be soft.

Can Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Be Frozen

If you’ve ever wondered can oatmeal raisin cookies be frozen, you’re not alone! I am often asked what foods can be frozen – and these Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies can be frozen both as dough (separated as formed cookies or as a ball), and after they have been baked.

How to Freeze Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

To freeze these oatmeal raisin cookies, you need to first decide if you’re freezing the cookies, or the cookie dough.

Next, if you’re freezing the dough, you’ll need to decide if you’re freezing cookies that have been shaped (so you can pull out a couple at a time you need a sweet treat); or if you’re saving an entire batch of cookies to make later.

How to Freeze Pre-Shaped Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My favorite way to freeze cookie dough is in pre-portioned cookie balls – so I can take out a couple if I want just a few cookies and not a whole batch.

To freeze pre-shaped cookie dough:

Lay cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Arrange shaped cookies on parchment paper so they aren’t touching (so they don’t stick together).

Freeze until solid – about 5 hours.

Remove from baking sheet and place in large ziploc bag, preferably with any extra air squeezed out.

For extra frostbite protection, place the ziploc inside a second large ziploc when placing back in freezer.

Store for up to 3 months.

Let cookies defrost to soft when ready to bake – then continue with baking directions in recipe below.

How to Freeze Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough

If you’re making big batches of goodies ahead of an event, it might be easier to just freeze the dough in one big chunk. To freeze dough that hasn’t been formed into cookies, I’m listing my best tips below:

Add dough to a large ziploc bag.

Squish dough down so it lays flat in the bag – it should look like a thick rectangle instead of a thick blob.

Freeze, laying flat, for about 4-5 hours until the shape is firm. At this point you can move it around in your freezer to go wherever if storing this recipe flat isn’t convenient.

When going to bake, let dough fully defrost by storing in refrigerator overnight.

Store up to 3 months.

When baking frozen cookie dough, let it fully defrost, and then continue with baking instructions.