These oatmeal molasses raisin cookies (or World War II cookies) are a quick and easy one-bowl cookie that is chewy and flavorful. My grandmother passed down this recipe, so you know they must be delicious. Many people even love them more than regular oatmeal raisin cookies.
If you love cookies, try my peanut butter cookies, macadamia nut cookies, molasses cookies, and oatmeal peanut butter cookies.
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If you're unfamiliar with these cookies, you have been missing out on something that was my childhood staple and favorite. They were always on hand or easily baked upon request when I visited my Grandma.
I'm a fan of all types of cookies, from classic chocolate chip to typical oatmeal raisin and even more unique varieties. However, these WWII cookies hold a special place in my heart.
🌎 Origin
During World War II, there was rationing on fats and sugars. This, of course, made baking cookies difficult.
Butter substitutes, such as shortening, oil, or margarine, were often used. Additionally, molasses was used in place of brown sugar, which was nearly impossible to find (even harder to get than white sugar).
The type of sugar (or sugar substitute) used in cookies can affect their chewiness, but the addition of oats makes the cookies perfectly chewy.
🥘 Ingredients
- Butter - Salted butter that is softened at room temperature. Many WWII recipes use oil, which will work fine (I recommend coconut oil), but I've always found that butter is the best fat for making cookies.
- Sugar - White granulated sugar.
- Eggs - Beaten eggs that are at room temperature.
- Molasses - You can add more if you like, which will cause your cookies to be even chewier. I recommend using light molasses.
- Baking Soda & Powder - The leavening agents that cause the cookies to rise.
- Salt - A small amount of salt.
- Cinnamon - The perfect spice to add flavor.
- Flour - Typical all-purpose flour will add structure to your cookies.
- Oats - I recommend using old-fashioned oats.
- Raisins - You can also use craisins and dried cherries or add walnuts or chocolate chips.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Oatmeal Molasses Raisin Cookies
I make these cookies using my one-bowl method, so they are perfect for beginners. You will need a baking sheet, parchment paper, a stand or hand mixer, and measuring utensils.
This recipe will make two dozen cookies.
Prepare the Dough
Step 1: Preheat. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
Step 2: Cream the butter. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, cream ½ cup (115 grams) of butter and 1¼ cups (250 grams) of sugar together until smooth.
Step 3: Add wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients: 2 eggs and 6 tablespoons of molasses. Stir, then add ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Combine thoroughly.
Step 4: Finish mixing. Add 1¾ cups (219 grams) of flour and stir in gently to wet mixture. Add 2½ cups (250 grams) of old-fashioned oats and 1 cup (145 grams) of raisins, then stir until all ingredients are combined into a sticky cookie dough.
Portion & Bake
Step 5: Portion. Using a tablespoon, portion out the dough into 1-1½ inch dough balls and place cookies onto a baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart to allow the cookies room to spread during baking.
Step 6: Bake. Bake cookies at 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) for 12-15 minutes, or until cookies are browned on the edges (the baked cookies are lighter brown in appearance than the dough).
Step 7: Cool. Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to set up on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Use old-fashioned oats. I prefer old-fashioned oats for these cookies as they yield a chewier cookie. Using quick oats will give you a moister cookie.
- Add mix-ins. You can use dried cranberries or cherries instead of the raisins and add chocolate chips or nuts if desired. I've tried them with craisins before, and they were delicious!
- Skip chilling the dough. I made this a one-bowl recipe for drop cookies, so you don't have to bother with chilling them, making these cookies quick, super easy, and easy to clean up after.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Room temperature butter and eggs allows your cookies to bake quickly. If you are making cookies in a hurry you can soften butter by placing near your preheating oven and warm up the eggs by putting them in a cup of warm water.
🙂 😀 Testimonials
Regular oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite anyway, but this recipe with molasses takes them to a whole new level! I also love ginger so I subbed 1 teaspoon powdered ginger for the cinnamon. Delicious!
Diane
>>>See All Of My Recipes Here!<<<
🥡 Storing
Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for approximately 1 week and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
The dough can be mixed and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freezing
Both the dough and the cookies freeze very well for later use. Place either the dough or cookies in a large freezer bag or airtight container to store in the freezer.
I have thawed the frozen dough or cookies up to one month after freezing with very good results.
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe Card
Oatmeal Molasses Raisin Cookies (World War II Cookies)
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, salted (softened, at room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs (beaten, at room temperature)
- 6 tablespoon molasses (or more, be generous for chewier cookies)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup raisins (substitute dried cranberries or cherries, if desired - you can also add chopped walnuts or chocolate chips)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃) and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the ½ cup butter, salted, and 1 ¼ cups sugar together until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients: 2 large eggs beaten at room temperature and 6 tablespoon molasses. Stir, then add ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Combine thoroughly.
- Add 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour and stir gently to create a wet mixture. Add 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats and 1 cup raisins, then stir until all ingredients are combined into a sticky cookie dough.
- Using a tablespoon, portion out the dough into 1-1 ½-inch dough balls and place them onto a baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart to allow them room to spread during baking.
- Bake cookies at 350℉ (175℃) for 12-15 minutes, or until cookies are browned on the edges (the baked cookies are lighter brown in appearance than the dough).
- Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to set up on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
Janet Elizabeth Bonanno says
Angela, Molasses make this oatmeal cookie the best breakfast cookie. The flavor is natural and not bitter. I added cranberries, golden raisins and a variety of nuts.
Thank you,
BB says
Added 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg & 1/4 tsp ground cloves. They are so delicious and would definitely make them again! Thank you for the recipe
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Sounds delicious! I love the added spices.
Jo says
Delicious! I used 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 1 1/4 cups.
They didn't spread while baking, but still came out very good.
The first batch I overcooked. The second batch I baked for 10 minutes
and they were perfect. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
Wayne Lind says
Wonderful!!! Only thing, what a sticky dough to handle. Well worth the effort. THANK YOU
Wayne
Nakusp British Columbia
Renee says
Good morning....I was wondering if I could use chocolate chips in place of the raisins? Some of us in my family are not very fond of raisins.
Thank you,
Renee
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, you can definitely make this swap! You can use chocolate chips or a combo of chips and crushed nuts like walnuts, almonds, or pecans. They're all quite tasty. Enjoy!
Janice says
My cookies baked perfectly ..great flavor..but in a couple hours they became very hard and dry...inedible..the squirels are having a party!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
That does indeed sound weird, I've never had these cookies be anything but chewy. I would suspect that perhaps they were fine while warm and just baked, but that the cookies may have over-baked. If it was my batch of cookies, it would also be entirely possible that I forgot an ingredient! 🙂
Marixi says
Made these yesterday. So good! Here are my modifications:
Used 1/2 C brown sugar and 1/2 C white sugar
Used 5 T molasses
Used 2 C flour (by accident)
The most important modification I made that brings the recipe over the top IMO is I soaked my raisins in warm water for about 30-40 minutes. Drained and patted them down to dry. It really plumped them up.
Added walnuts and dark chocolate chips.
what I love about this recipe is that I could make a full batch of cookie dough with one stick of butter, which is all I have left in my fridge. These came out delicious and I really loved the flavor. I think the only things that I would change next time is: use the proper amount of molasses and add vanilla, and use the proper amount of flour.
Grandma S says
I have been making these cookies since I was a child, over 60 years ago. They are one of my favorites. Yes, they do spread a lot, that is how the recipe is. I use 2 cookie sheets and let the baked cookies sit for a few minutes before I take them off so they are not so soft when removed. I also cream the soft butter, eggs, vanilla, sugar and molasses in my stand mixer and then, on low speed add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Hand stir in the oatmeal and a generous cup of raisins. It was also a sneaky way to add fiber to my kids diets!
Misty D. says
Ok, I haven’t actually baked these cookies yet but I know they are going to be fantastic! A few weeks ago my husband & I stopped at a tiny gas station as we were driving through Missouri and I impulse-bought 2 oatmeal raisin cookies that were at checkout. Those were literally the most delicious cookies I’ve ever eaten! The taste of molasses was obvious so I came to the internet to find a recipe & there you were!! The comments are fantastic so I’m very excited to be making your cookies very soon!
Paulette rowe says
I used steel oats that’s what I had, best cookie I ever made
Diane K. says
Regular oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite anyway, but this recipe with molasses takes them to a whole new level! I also love ginger so I subbed 1 tsp powdered ginger for the cinnamon. Delicious!
Soledad says
Primera vez en mi vida que hago galletas de avena y quedé satisfecha con lo facil que es elaborarlas y lo deliciosas que me quedaron. Yo le puse 8 cucharadas de melaza y me quedaron muy bien. Pero creo que mejor respetaré las cantidades exactas. Excelente receta!!
"First time in my life that I make oatmeal cookies and I was satisfied with how easy it is to make them and how delicious they were. I put 8 tablespoons of molasses and they were very good. But I think I'd better respect the exact amounts. Excellent recipe!!"
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
¡Me alegro de que te haya gustado la receta de las galletas!
"I'm glad that you liked the cookie recipe!"
Ron says
Wonderful recipe. I also added hemphearts,fine ground flax and chia seeds. Also skor bits
Gryphonisle says
Nice flavor and texture, easy to make. Realizing that todays leavening agents are more stable than they were in the War era, I combined the baking powder and soda with the flour as you would today and added the flour mixture to the creamed ingredients without incident. All in all a nice cookie to add to my collection.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Wonderful! So glad that you like these cookies!
Rachel says
I am eating these cookies right now and they are SO GOOD! I realized I was out of eggs after promising my 4yo we could make them, so we substituted a single over-ripe banana. That obviously changed the flavor profile and consistency a bit, so I can't claim we made them exactly how you said. But they are delicious!
Rachael says
This is an amazing recipe! I followed it exactly and came out with a batch of beautiful and delicious cookies! This ones going in the recipe box. Thank you!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thank you so much for the kind words I love these cookies too!
Isadora says
We meaning me and my brother love makeing it.
AEmilia Jarvis says
I can find, and have watched, your video easily but CANNOT obtain the recipe no matter how I search for it.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Looks like you've found the post, the recipe card is at the bottom of the page (above the comments section). I did add the link to my youtube video - thanks for letting me know it was missing! ~ Angela
Teresa says
The butter was softened and the eggs were at room temperature. I did not refrigerate the dough for the first batch. I added a little more flour then the recipe called for. I tried refrigerating the dough after they spread out so much they weren't edible. I looked at some other recipes for similar cookies and saw that they called for a lot less molasses. I did not add any more then stated in the recipe. The dough was sticky and very thick. I am very disappointed in this recipe and will not try it again.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I'm sorry to hear that your results were poor. Without having been there, I cannot say what may have gone wrong? As you can see, the exact recipe and method was baked as photographed in the video here in the page. Again so sorry to hear that your cookies flattened!
Teresa says
I made these cookies exactly as you directed and they spread so flat they weren't edible. I them refrigerated the dough for one hour and the same thing! The dough was definitely cold and stayed cold while I shaped them. What could I have done wrong!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Teresa, since this is one of those cookies that are best made with room temperature ingredients, I have never refrigerated the dough. So that shouldn't be the issue. May I ask if the butter was softened, or melted? Either way, when making a new recipe of cookies, I like to bake a test batch of 2-3 cookies. Add flour as needed to work best for your oven, altitude, humidity, etc. These are great cookies, so I do hope you try them again! Message me for any other thoughts or questions, I'll be glad to help 🙂