These soft raisin cookies are the perfect balance of flavor and texture, with juicy raisins and a touch of warm spices. They are such a lovely treat with a cold glass of milk.
When it comes to cookies, there’s something about a soft, chewy texture that hits the spot every time. These soft raisin cookies are the perfect example, thanks to my mom’s recipe that she got from a coworker years ago. They are so comforting and satisfying.
Unlike most raisin cookies that can be on the crispy side or paired with oatmeal, these are melt-in-your-mouth soft, with a delicate spice flavor that enhances the plump, moist raisins. The spices are very mild and stay in the background, similar to my Pryaniki recipe. It’s a classic treat that has been a part of our family’s baking tradition for years, and once you try them, you’ll understand why.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Incredibly soft: These cookies are delightfully soft and chewy, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes them irresistible. They remind me of my Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, so buttery and tender.
No oatmeal: It’s hard to find a raisin cookie without oatmeal, but this is it! 😊 If you're looking for an oatmeal cookie, try my Peanut Butter Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Super easy to make: With simple, pantry-friendly ingredients, this recipe is quick and easy to whip up—perfect for satisfying your cookie cravings without any hassle.
Deliciously flavorful: Each bite is a perfect balance of buttery goodness, a hint of warm spices, and juicy raisins that burst with sweetness. These cookies are pure comfort in every bite!
Ingredients
- Seedless raisins + water
Boiling the raisins in water is the secret to plump, juicy raisins that really take these cookies to the next level. - Spices: ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla: These warm spices give the cookies a cozy, flavorful depth that’s simply irresistible. They come together to create that perfect, homemade taste.
- Butter: While the original recipe called for butter-flavored Crisco, I switched it up with real butter. It adds that rich, delicious buttery flavor we all love, making these cookies extra special.
The complete list of ingredients and their exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Soft Raisin Cookies
Before you get started, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Plump the raisins: Place the raisins in a small saucepan and add water. Bring it to a boil, then cook for 5 minutes. This step is key for softening and plumping the raisins, which makes them extra juicy and delicious.
- Cool the raisins: After 5 minutes, drain the water through a fine mesh sieve and rinse the raisins with cool water to speed up the cooling process. Set them aside to drain while you make the cookie batter.
3. Cream the butter: In a large bowl, cream the butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs: Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.
5. Prep the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture: Gradually add the dry ingredients, just until the flour is incorporated, but be careful not to overmix.
7. Add the raisins: Gently fold in the plumped-up raisins using a rubber spatula. Make sure they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough.
8. Scoop and shape the cookies: Use a portion scoop to scoop out the cookie dough and place it onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. This will help keep the cookies uniform in size.
9. Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes. (10 minutes if your cookies are smaller.)
10. Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. You should get about 36 delicious cookies.
Helpful Tips
Room temperature butter and eggs: For the perfect texture, make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature. This helps the mixture stay smooth, so it won’t curdle, and gives you that perfectly fluffy and creamy dough.
Use a small whisk for the dry ingredients: A small whisk is ideal for fluffing up the flour and evenly mixing the dry ingredients, so you avoid clumps of baking powder or baking soda in your cookies.
Don’t overbake: Be careful not to overbake! The cookies will continue to bake on the hot baking sheet, so take them out when they’re soft, chewy, and just lightly golden.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Feel free to swap out the raisins for chocolate chips, nuts (like walnuts, almonds or pecans), golden raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, or any dried fruit you prefer. Just keep in mind that the flavor and texture will change slightly, but it will still be delicious.
To keep your cookies soft and fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up about 5 days. If you need to keep them longer, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Yes! You can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days before baking. Or bake the cookies and store at room temperature for about 5 days.
Yes! You can freeze both baked cookies and cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Just let the cookies cool completely before freezing, and for dough balls, freeze them in a single layer before transferring to a bag or container. Check out my Freezer Meal Prep for more freezer meal tips.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
If you tried this Soft Raisin Cookies recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating or a comment below. I love hearing from you!
Soft Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups seedless raisins
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Place the raisins in a small saucepan and add water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. This will soften and plump the raisins. After 5 minutes, drain the water through a fine mesh sieve and rinse the raisins with cool water. Set aside to drain while you prepare the dough.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula when needed.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. This helps fluff the flour and evenly distribute the dry ingredients.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Stir until just combined—be careful not to overmix.
- Gently fold in the plumped raisins with a rubber spatula, mixing until evenly distributed.
- Use a portion scoop or spoon to scoop out dough and place onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (1 ½ - 2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie.) Leave some space between each cookie to allow for spreading.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are soft and just lightly golden around the edges. Be careful not to overbake, as they will continue to cook on the baking sheet.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Raisin cookies look amazing!! Can I use unflavored Crisco or half Crisco half regular butter???
Yes, you can, Renee, but the texture will be a bit different.
These cookies were amazing. The only thing I did different was to use 2 variety's of raisins and soaked them in a mixture of 3 to 1 mixture of lemon juice and water.
Thank you, Mark! I'm glad you enjoyed the cookies.
Forgot to mention I also reduced the sugar to 1½ cups.
Been looking for soft raisin cookies cause my kids don't like the chewy oatmeal ones, and grateful to come upon this. Was too lazy to boil the raisins, instead just soaked them while I was mixing the rest. Used only 1 1/2c sugar, and didn't have all spice. Still came out yummy! Ate them right out of the oven! 😋 Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Joan.
Oh I have such great memories eating these cookies. Thanks for posting the recipe!
These cookies always make me think of Mom:).
Hey! I was wondering if I could use 1 c butter instead of the Crisco stuff....
Hi Kristina,
For this recipe, I wouldn't recommend substituting butter for the Crisco. It will be a completely different texture.
Olga, I love your soft raisin cookies.
Thank you, Janie. I'm glad you enjoyed them.