Are you in the “yay” or “nay” group when it comes to raisins in baked goods? I’m most definitely a “nay” and I feel that like nuts, raisins ruin many a baked treat. (At least for me.) I love oatmeal raisin cookies though, even if I have to pick out the raisins. The chewy texture and the sweetness from the raisins are so great, and never quite the same as chocolate chips. So when my friend Carol shared with me her Aunt’s recipe for “raisinless” oatmeal raisin cookies, I was intrigued!
Basically raisins are cooked in water, and all the flavor steeps into the liquid making something she calls “raisin water.” When added to the cookie dough, you get a raisin-like taste without any of the texture I’m not a fan of. Just on their own- these cookies are fabulous. Crisp edges, very chewy middles and a wonderful flavor. (If I hadn’t jazzed them up with caramels, I think I’d toss in some chocolate or butterscotch chips.)
Since I happened to have half of batch of Sea Salt Caramels sitting in my fridge leftover from the weekend, I thought it would be the perfect thing to stuff inside this cookie. A crisp and chewy oatmeal cookie with gooey salty caramel inside sounded too good not to try out- especially since it’s been almost two years since I stuffed snickerdoodles with caramel, and I’ve learned so much since!
The end result was wonderful. The caramel filling keeps these cookies chewy for days and is so fun to bite into. If you can keep it a secret- give some of these away and feel pretty darn special as they ooh and ahh at the caramel surprise!
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter- softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups oatmeal
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 cups of water
- 15-16 Sea Salt Caramels *
- In a small saucepan, combine the water and raisins. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes, or until the water has reached a dark caramel brown. Strain out raisins and discard.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, and mix until well incorporated, add 5-6 tablespoons of the raisin water and mix well.
- Gradually stir in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Chill dough for 30 minutes or until cold and easy to handle.
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat.
- Place small scoops of dough about 2-3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Place a caramel onto each one and gently nestle it in, just slightly.
- Top each with another scoop of dough, and carefully seal the dough around the caramels, making sure there are no gaps.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown.
- Cool for 10 minutes on cookie sheets before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Caroline says
That looks yummy! I sooo agree with you on the raisins!! Thanks for the recipe.
Jen @ Savory Simple says
I’m of mixed opinion when it comes to raisins. I can’t stand them in something like coffee cake but I don’t mind them in chewier desserts like oatmeal cookies. I think they sound great here!
Sharon @ Discovering Blog says
Raisin water…sounds brilliant! I love oatmeal raisin cookies, but don’t love when the raisins get stuck in my teeth. I think I’ll have to give this a try – thanks!
Cassie | Bake Your Day says
I love soft and chewy oatmeal cookies. The salted caramel addition is pure genius too!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets says
I love how high you stacked them!! And raisin water? Never heard of doing such a thing, but my kids would love that!!!
Annie @ Annie's Noms says
Never heard of raisin water! I’m intrigued too, but I’m in the yay category for raisins, I love them, but I may have to make these without!
a farmer in the dell says
These sound absolutely wonderful. Salted carmel anything and I’m sold. I’m a raisin lover. But sometimes they can be a bit much!!!
Mimi @ Culinary Couture says
So, homemade caramels stay soft and the store bought ones don’t?
Audra says
Hey Mimi- in my experience, those Kraft caramels are pretty hard to begin with, and after the cookie cools they go back to their original consistency. The softness of the homemade ones is in your hands. (I like to cook them to 230F to get a really soft texture.) In my experience that works better! :) If you find softer store caramels- that would work too!
Stephanie says
Wow! You just opened up a whole new world to me with raisin water! oh, the possibilites!!
Heather @ Sugar Dish Me says
So listen— I LOVE raisins. And carrots. And all sorts of things that don’t belong in dessert. BUT I really dig the idea of raisin water! Annnnd the caramel stuffing. How can you go wrong with caramel stuffing?
Julie @ Table for Two says
i adore these! they look SO good. anything stuffed with sea salt caramels is a gooey winner! i definitely don’t like raisins so therefore, no raisins in cookies for me!
Mary says
These look delicious! I love raisins and nuts in baked goods though: e.g. peanut butter blondies with chopped peanuts and chocolate chips, pecan pie, butter tarts etc. Couldn’t live without those!
Becca from cookie jar treats says
The idea of adding raisin water sounds very intriguing. I recently found out I love the taste of raisins, but I have had yet to have it in an oatmeal cookie because I’ve always avoided oatmeal raisin cookies. This sounds really nice :)
Tracey says
I love raisins in oatmeal raisin cookies (and in Raisinets!) but the idea of the “raisin water” is really neat for achieving the flavor while eliminating the texture. The caramels stuffed in these cookies look amazing!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
I am with you, I hate raisins in cookies or any baked good, ew. But I am loving the concept of that raisin water, I need to try these!
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
I’m definitely a “nay” when it comes to raisins in baked goods. Like you, it’s a texture thing for me. Stuffing these with caramels was genius. They look wonderful.
Vickie says
These cookies are wonderful, however, I have questions about the caramel. I made a batch cooking the caramel to 240…..way too hard. I think we could’ve pulled fillings with it but still tasted fabulous. I tried a second batch of caramel cooking to just a bit over 230….better but still seem to be firmer than what you describe. Our elevation is 4300 feet and I seem to have issues with candy making anyway. Would you suggest cooking to just below the 230 mark? Oh, and thank you for the recipe!
Audra says
Hi Vickie- I’m not too familiar with high altitude baking- I would google candy-making at a high altitude to see what the recommendations are!