Gluten-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
gluten-free | tree nut free | refined sugar free
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | March 27, 2025
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While I love a good oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, these gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies came pretty close to tying for the ‘favorite cookie’ title! They are a chewy, sweet, soft oatmeal cookie that contains sweet bursts of raisin goodness in every bite. I love whipping up a batch of these cookies and then keeping some in the freezer for whenever I need a sweet dessert or a delicious snack. They are super easy to make and use wholesome, healthy ingredients you probably already have in your homestead pantry!

Pioneer Recipe

These gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies are a pioneer recipe! Yes, the early pioneers did bake cookies! Probably not as often we do nowadays, but nonetheless, cookies were a special treat during the frontier days. While I don’t know for sure that oatmeal raisin cookies were on the cookie menu back then, I do know that this recipe contains ingredients that the early pioneers would have used in their baking.

Dried fruit was a staple back in the early pioneer days because fresh fruit was hard to transport out to the frontier. Raisins would have been one of the many fruits that got stocked in the chuckwagon! I haven’t come across a heritage oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, but I did come across some other heritage recipes that used raisins, including bread pudding, ‘spotted pup’ (sweetened rice), pork cake, and mincemeat.

As a modern pioneer, I just make sure I use wholesome, simple ingredients to make these cookies with. Gluten-free oats and gluten-free all-purpose flour ensure that these cookies are free from gluten. Coconut sugar and maple sugar are natural sugars that are lower on the glycemic index. Organic, grass-fed butter is easier to digest and more nutritious than any other kind of butter.

Aside from containing pioneer ingredients that are both simple and wholesome, these cookies are also made to be allergy-friendly! These oatmeal raisin cookies are….

• gluten-free
• peanut free
• nut free
• corn free
• refined sugar free

Want to add more allergy-friendly cookies to your homestead cookie jar? Make sure you get The Pioneer Chicks Cookie Cookbook that has over 40+ allergy-friendly cookie recipes in it!

Modern Pioneer Cookie Baking Supplies

Glass or Ceramic Mixing Bowl

I always like to use a glass or ceramic mixing bowl in my homestead baking! Plastic is not only unsustainable, but it can also leak chemicals into our foods. Not to mention it is not the hardiest material for a mixing bowl that gets used and washed on a daily basis!

My favorite mixing bowl is a large, glass mixing bowl. While my handheld beaters do scrape up the sides a little bit, I generally try to keep the beaters from hitting the sides of the bowl too much. Another favorite mixing bowl of mine is a large ceramic mixing bowl.

Both bowls are sturdy, hardy, and can be heated or cooled is needed. They are easy to wash and can even be put in the dishwasher!

Wooden Handled Silicon Spatula or Wooden Spoon

A wooden spoon is the perfect pioneer baking tool! However, most of the time I do resort back to modern baking times and use a wooden handled silicon spatula. Wooden spoons are nice for mixing ingredients, or stirring soups, pudding, and other liquid-based foods, but I have a hard time scrapping the sides of a bowl sufficiently with a wooden spoon.

I like my silicon spatula for scrapping the sides of a mixing bowl and getting all the dough or batter out of the bowl. A nice clean swipe with a silicon spatula works wonders for getting the rest of the cookie batter into a manageable ball for scooping. Or running the silicon spatula around the edges of my small saucepan ensures I get all the melted chocolate out for spreading on gluten-free moose bars.

Either way, both a wooden handled silicon spatula and a wooden spoon are modern pioneer baking essentials in my homestead kitchen!

Metal Measuring Cups

I prefer to use metal measuring cups because they are hardy and sustainable. Again, I try to avoid plastic as much as possible, so metal measuring cups are the perfect substitute.

I know of people who have a hard time finding metal measuring cups that the handles don’t break off, but I have had great success with stainless-steel measuring cups or these sturdy metal measuring cups from Hearth and Hand. They are easy to clean and hold up for all of my baking needs.

Metal Measuring Spoons

Just like with the measuring cups, I prefer to use metal or stainless-steel measuring spoons rather than plastic measuring spoons. The metal measuring spoons I have now are sturdy, easy to clean, and I have been using them ever since I started baking!

Ceramic Cookie Sheets

I avoid Teflon and non-stick cookie sheets as much as possible. Non-stick coatings contain chemicals that can leach into the food when it is baked. They also outgas when exposed to high heat, which is not good for us to breath in or be around.

Since I always cover my baking sheets with nonbleached parchment paper, using cookie sheets that are not non-stick has never been a problem for me! Metal or ceramic cookie sheets are my preferred baking sheets of choice.

My favorite cookie baking sheet is a large 11×14″, rimmed metal cookie sheet. It fits a dozen cookies and bakes evenly.

Nonbleached Parchment Paper

Another cookie baking essential in my homestead kitchen is nonbleached parchment paper. I use this stuff for everything, not just cookies! It works great as a natural non-stick surface. I always line my cookie baking sheets with non-bleached parchment paper and have never had any sticking issues.

I can also recycle the parchment paper when I’m done using it or I can repurpose the parchment paper for stacking the cookies in storage containers or for photography purposes!

Non-bleached parchment paper is a natural brown in color. While bleached parchment paper works the same way, it has been treated with chlorine to make it white in color, more like traditional baking paper. Bleached parchment paper may leak dioxin into foods when used for baking.

Non-bleached parchment paper is healthier and more sustainable!

After you make these gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies, save that parchment paper for whipping up a batch of these grain-free double chocolate cookies or these gluten-free monster cookies!

Electric Handheld Beaters

Lastly, electric handheld beaters are another cookie baking tool that I use quite frequently in the homestead kitchen. While there are some tips for beating cookie dough (more on that in a minute), handheld beaters do come in handy for creaming together ingredients and making a smooth cookie dough.

I prefer handheld beaters over a stand mixer because they take up less storage space, are easier to control, and make clean-up simpler.

Baking Tips: IMPORTANT!

Cookie Dough Creaming Tips:

While creaming cookie batter is certainly a great idea, it is important to keep in mind that creaming certain ingredients can influence the end results of the recipe. Creaming together the butter and sugar makes the mixture light and airy, which is perfect for cookies. Beating in the eggs actually messes with the protein composition of the eggs and will make cookies spread out more when baked.

For this recipe, you can choose to cream together just the butter and sugar, or you can cream everything together before adding the flour and oats. These cookies will naturally spread a lot anyways.

Softening the Raisins:

Softening your raisins before putting them into the cookie batter is totally optional, but it is an old-fashion trick for having moist, soft raisins in oatmeal cookies. To soften the raisins, place them in a bowl and cover them with lukewarm water while you make the cookie batter. Before adding them to the batter, strain them from the water.

To Chill or Not to Chill?

These cookies don’t need to be chilled! However, if you want a thicker oatmeal raisin cookie, you can cover the cookie dough and place it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. This will result in the cookies not spreading as much, yielding a thicker cookie. Keep in mind that thicker cookies may need to be baked for longer, so you may need to add 2-3 more minutes of bake time. I like my oatmeal raisin cookies to be soft and chewy so I don’t chill my cookie dough!

To Flatten or Not to Flatten?

These oatmeal cookies flatten themselves when they are baked. You can place scoops of the cookie dough on the baking sheets and you don’t need to worry about going back and flattening them. If you chilled your cookie dough, you may want to flatten the cookie balls just slightly so that your cookies aren’t too domed when they bake.

Use Parchment Paper:

Parchment paper not only makes clean-up go so much quicker, but it also provides a layer between the cookies and the baking sheet. This prevents the cookies from over-browning or spreading out too much when baked.

Ingredient Alternatives:

There are a few ingredients that you can make substitutions for in this recipe. I don’t recommend replacing the butter the egg unless you really want to experiment, but here are some of the ingredient alternatives that you would be safe doing:

• coconut sugar = brown sugar
• maple sugar = cane sugar
• gfJules gluten-free breakfast flour = King Arthur gluten-free all-purpose flour

These gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies are super easy to make and even easier to eat! You will have a hard time stopping at just one cookie! These cookies are my go-to recipe when I want to change things up from my usual peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Where to Find the Ingredients

• Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats
• Redmond sea salt
• Bob’s Red Mill baking soda
• Simply Organic cinnamon
• Madhava coconut sugar
• gfJules gluten-free breakfast flour
• King Arthur gluten-free all-purpose flour
• Simply Organic vanilla extract
• Woodstock organic raisins
• Supplies: unbleached parchment paper, handheld beaters, stainless steel cookie sheet

These gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies are the perfect healthy modern pioneer dessert that are made with simple, heritage ingredients! Since these cookies contain dried fruit rather than chocolate chips, they are a great recipe to make when you are trying to avoid cane sugar (a sugar commonly found in chocolate chips). I love having one of these cookies warm, when they come straight out of the oven, but I also find them sweeter after they have cooled or been chilled for a little while. Either way, they are the perfect soft and sweet cookie for snacking on after homestead chores!

Want more tips for baking like a modern pioneer? Get started on your modern pioneer journey with our Modern Pioneer Starter Package! Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have too!