These soft and chewy apple oatmeal raisin cookies are made in one bowl! I wanted to make a cookie twist on oatmeal raisin cookies by adding chopped apple to have a cookie that's perfect for any lunchbox.
I remember making raisin cookies when I was 13, almost 20 years ago. The key was to soak the raisins first for the most plump, tastiest, sweetest bites of raisins among the oats. In this recipe, I used that technique to make a winning apple oatmeal cookie for my kids and husband, just like these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Quick Look: Apple Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Equipment Needed: mixing bowl, cookie sheet
- Time: 20 minutes prep, 10 minutes baking time
- Serves: 20 cookies
- Calories: 141 per serving
- Dietary Info: Dairy-free
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: A classic chewy oatmeal raisin cookie with a fall touch with pumpkin spice flavors and a fresh apple!
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I love these cookies because they are crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. I love that they are loaded with seasonal fruit like apples. And using olive oil brings the flavor profile to the next level, just like my olive oil fresh peach cookies.
My kids love it when I bake with fruit. I always have apples in the fruit bowl to bake with, and so my other go-to apple recipes are my easy snack cake and apple chocolate chip muffins!
Ingredients Needed
When it comes to baking, I often use my core recipes where ingredient swaps are easy to make. The same is true with this recipe - if a similar ratio of sugar, fat, and flour is followed, it will result in a chewy cookie. Therefore, if you are out of something in your pantry, I list the swaps below so you can make these delicious apple oatmeal cookies!
A few things to note about some of the ingredients:
- Apple: I used a green apple and liked that it was a bit more tart amongst the sweetness of the cookie. However, any apple will work! If you love apples, try this apple smoothie and these creamy apple popsicles!
- Brown sugar or coconut sugar: Either of these darker sugars with caramel notes works for these apple cookies.
- Oats: I prefer to use rolled oats instead of quick oats for this recipe for a chunky, awesome texture, but you could use quick oats if that's what you have in the kitchen today! I love using oats in my recipes because they are an awesome source of fiber and they are very nutrient-rich!
- Oil: I use olive oil, however, coconut oil or any other oil would also be fine. I haven't tested this recipe with butter, but I don't see why melted butter wouldn't work. Using oil makes these cookies naturally dairy-free.
- Flour: Use whole-wheat or white flour for this recipe; either works.
- Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice: This warm spice is essential for these cookies! I love the vibrance of flavor when using pumpkin pie spice (it's easy to make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice).
- Raisins: I love the small bites of sweet raisins, but if you aren't a fan, that's okay - swap them out for chocolate chips!
See recipe card below for quantities.
How To Make apple Oatmeal raisin cookies
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175°C). Place all the raisins into a glass measuring cup or small bowl and pour boiling water over them to soften. Let them sit for 10 minutes, then drain.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and use a whisk to confirm everything is incorporated well.
Step 2: Chop the apple into small, bite-sized pieces. I think the smaller the better because you get a taste of apple in each bite.
Step 3: In the mixing bowl with dry ingredients, place the oil, chopped apple, egg, and drained raisins. I use a wooden spoon and my hands to mix it all together.
Step 4: Your mixed dough will look similar to this photo above. It will be thick and will stick together when pressed into a ball.
Step 5: I used a tablespoon amount of dough to form cookie dough balls with my hands, and I slightly pressed down each cookie. I placed them on a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
Step 6: Bake cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175°C) for about 9-10 minutes; they will look puffy and not fully cooked. Let them fully cool on the cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes to get a soft, chewy texture. If you remove them too soon, they will be soft and crumbly, so it's important to let them cool.
Danika's top tips for Apple Raisin Cookies
- Don't skip soaking the raisins - this makes soft, chewy raisins!
- Chop the apple into small pieces, and use a tart apple if you have one.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan until completely cool so they don't fall apart when you remove them from the pan.
More Incredible Cookie Recipes
For more homemade cookies, I would make these pumpkin seed cookies or these on-the-go breakfast cookies next. I also recommend trying out these banana muffins with applesauce, another great apple snack for kids.
🍏Did you make these apple raisin and apple cookies? Would you take 30 seconds to give a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and review below the recipe? I see every single one and helps the growth of Beside the Mountain healthy snack blog.
Apple Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour (whole-wheat or white work)
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ½ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175°C). Place the raisins in a glass measuring cup and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit for 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, then drain the water.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon), baking soda, and salt. I like to use a whisk to mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.
- Chop the apple into small, bite-sized pieces-I like them really small so there's a bit of apple in every bite of cookie. Add the chopped apple, drained raisins, olive oil, and egg to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or use your hands until a dough forms.
- Using a cookie scoop or a large tablespoon, form dough balls and press them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175°C) for 8-10 minutes. They should look puffy and moist, but not wet. It's very important to let them sit on the pan for 10-15 minutes so they can finish setting and firm up (if you remove them too soon, they might break).
Notes
Nutrition
Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
I create snack recipes with healthy ingredients that are mostly already in your kitchen. I'm certified in Holistic Nutrition and I care about giving my kids real food. Let me share my nutrient-dense easy snacks with you.
Cassie says
Yum! I followed the recipe exactly and have made them multiple times! I love that they use olive oil, which I always have in my pantry- ready to use!
Danika Vanderpyl says
Hi Cassie! Thank you for letting me know you have enjoyed these apple cookies!
OpenHeartATX says
I hardly ever leave a review, but I wanted to profusely thank you for this recipe! I'm 8 months into an ulcer recovery. I'm now weaning off pantoprazole (a PPI) after being on it for 5.5 months and this caused INTENSE, terrible rebound acid hypersecretion. It's not uncommon for this to happen to people. I'm doing everything right, but my safe foods have become incredibly limited in this stage of recovery. I was looking for a recipe that I could eat to gain some weight and calories. (I've lost 15 lbs, and I'm only 90lbs now.) I used your recipe with a couple of modifications - less sugars and subbing the oil with 1/2 canola oil and 1/2 applesauce bc too much oil doesn't digest well. I had to chill the dough for 30 min to let the applesauce soak into the oats and thicken the dough. Holy omg, these are AMAZING. They finally feel like REAL food and best of all the don't upset my stomach at all. They are the perfect cakey-cookie texture! THANK YOU!
Danika Vanderpyl says
Hello, so glad you found this recipe and that it was helpful for you! Great to hear from you and keep recovering.
Andrew says
I ate 3 of these in a row they were so good. filling too!
Amy says
Made these tonight and they were absolutely delicious! So chewy and flavourful!
Danika Vanderpyl says
AMY! so glad to hear you made and enjoyed these cookies! I love them too!
Jeff Nicolajsen says
Delicious! full of flavor moist even better when they're Right out of the oven
Jessika says
So delicious! Perfect snack 😋
Danika Vanderpyl says
All the fall flavors in these, glad you think they are perfect.
Gina LeGate says
The cookies are delicious. Mine did turn out a little dry. Is there something I can add to make them more moist?
Danika Vanderpyl says
Hi Gina! You can reduce the flour from 1 1/2 cups to 1 1/4 cups and see how you go! (if this is too wet add one tablespoon of flour).