Did you know that Quaker Oats changed the classic cookie recipe on the inside of the oatmeal box? Lucky for us I still have the original recipe!
A few weeks ago, Amelia asked me what recipe I used to make some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I told her to just use the recipe in the Quaker Oats lid. After all, it’s a delicious chewy cookie so why mess with perfection? She reported back that the recipe on the lid was terrible. Hmmmm? That’s odd. I quickly texted her a picture of the recipe from my Quaker Oats lid. She responded “Don’t lose that recipe!” It turns out the recipe from her Quaker Oats lid was different from mine. I guess time has changed the recipe we all loved. (I’ve been carrying around this recipe for around 20 years now). So I offer to you the recipe, the way it was. And, I encourage you to save all the recipes you love, just in case they someday vanish.
Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups Quaker Oats
1 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dry mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until well combined. Stir in oats and raisins; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool one minute on cookie sheet then transfer to wire cooling rack. For bar cookies, bake 30-35 minutes in an ungreased 13×9 inch metal baking pan.
Notes: I like to add an additional teaspoon cinnamon, a little bit of freshly grated nutmeg and some vanilla bean. I also like to put my raisins on the tops of the cookies – both for presentation and for ease of removal for those who don’t care that much for raisins.
Eat Well!
~Trish
Cook Plant Meditate 
If anyone is trying to make the Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies recipe on the inside of the Quaker Oats box, and the oats in your cookies are not cooked, this decades old recipe from Quaker Oats is the fix. The current recipe in the box does not produce a good cookie. The newest recipe is missing 2 Tbs butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar.
I like to add in a little fresly ground nutmeg. YUM.
The new recipe was awful. I used to make them and they were so good! Thanks you for this recipe. I will save it and not make the mistake of using their new one. Why on earth mess with excellence?
I hate burst everyone’s bubble but this recipe is NOT the original from the 1960s/70s. That recipe was printed on the back of the carton. (The lid would not have been printed on, too old school– who else remembers the red string you had to pull to release the lid from the cannister-box?)
Anyway, if you want the cookies your granny made in the 70s, look for the recipe with Crisco, and do add the cinnamon! Cloves and ginger are very nice around the holidays. I often add shelled light salt sunflower seeds, walnuts, raisins of course, and have used dried cherries (a sweet surprise), and dried cranberries in my holiday ones. So good and comforting.
Oh yeah, the best way to make these truly old-fashioned is to use Old Fashion Oats! Not quick or instant. The kind you make for breakfast that has to cook for 5 full minutes, and rest (lid on) for another 5 min.
I have made this cookie for years, using the recipe on the lid, and could not figure out why the cookies I have made recently were not as good. Now I know. Thank you, I have saved the recipe!
Glad you found this! I’m not sure why Quaker opted to change the recipe but even the smallest of changes in ingredients seem to have a huge impact on the flavor and texture balance. Enjoy!
Trish
What was the recipe in 2003? The one I have calls for 2 Cups of Quick Oats not 3/ Did
you ever have a raisin oatmeal cookie recipe that used just 2 Cups of oata?
Hi Pat. Thanks for commenting. No, I haven’t seen that recipe or any that call just for two cups.
Best,
Trish
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I made some cookies following the recipe on the box. I thought it seemed different. They were a disaster–fell apart and uncooked. On second batch cooked for 20 min. They were still crumbly but some better (not much however). Save the original recipe and alert all your friends to Quakers recipe for disaster.
Hi Eldred!
Thanks for commenting. The good news is that, if you have dogs, they don’t mind the dry crumbling cookies at all!
Best to you! Happy baking!
Trish
Dogs cant have raisins!!!!
We all know that already
Well I didnt know that!! Thank you, Andy, even though I don’t have a dog. (I did know about chocolate, and turkey, though. I thought dogs ate edverything.)
THANK YOU! I kept mine forever, but my mom “cleaned out the kitchen” and it….vanished. You’re a lifesaver.
I’ve had the original recipe since high school for over 10 years, It was a keeper! And never knew they changed until my little sister mentioned that her cookies were not as good as before and didn’t know what she was doing wrong, that’s when we compared them and saw they had changed it….. Guess they we’re trying to make their cookies more healthy but what’s a few more calories? Not worth it, thanks for sharing:)
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You have provided a public service by posting this recipe treasure. Those vanishing cookies are the basis for my Glover Gardens Comfort Cookies, so I’ve just updated my post to point here to the original. Check it out at: http://glovergardens.com/2015/08/29/glover-gardens-comfort-cookies/ .
Thank you for keeping and posting this old recipe. My mother introduced me to baking over 50 years ago. I suppose she thought her son might need to know a little about cooking. These oatmeal cookies were my first and most loved efforts. I never bothered to write down the recipe because I assumed they would always remain the same. Why change? Kind of like when Coca-Cola changed. Anyway, a few years ago I made some cookies off the label and they flopped. I knew it wasn’t me. Thanks for getting me back on track. On a side point; I never followed the recipe exactly. My mother made me substitute Wesson for the butter. Still worked. Thanks again.
Is Wesson oil the one Florence Henderson hyped? (Mrs Brady Bunch, LoL)
That, and Tang. She later famously said she would never “allow her children to
drink that [stuff].
Thanks so much….new recipe is awful!! I had to throw it all out..I lost the old recipe when I moved a few months ago, so glad to find this…..Cookie Queen
Thank-you for sharing this recipe. I was beside myself. I could not find mine! Thank-you, thank-you. Susie
My grandmother (born in the 1800’s) baked for my grandfather his favorite oatmeal cookies which included first boiling, then cooling/draining slightly, if needed…a cup of raisins. Best darnedest oatmeal cookies I’ve ever baked. I use only the old Quaker Oatmeal Cookie recipes. A Cantrell cookie raider
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Thank you so much, I have lost my original recipe and made some using the one on the lid and ended up throwing them out. Was searching for a different recipe and found your post, will try again in the morning with this recipe. Again thank your for saving us all from bad cookies.
Thank you for your comment. I hope the cookies work out for you. They are my favorite. I still often wonder why Quaker changed their recipe. Or maybe they didn’t and whomever designed the new box tops didn’t transcribe the recipe correctly?
In any case, Enjoy!
Best,
Trish
You are absolutely right!! I have the same recipe. I noticed the change because of the amount of butter used. The old recipe is so much better. Great cookies.
Reblogged this on The Hālau – ʻAha Hūi Lānakila and commented:
Another yummy recipe from our Reiki Grandmaster Trish Lee!
THANK YOU! I made cookies from this recipe so often that I used to know it by heart- but then got out of baking for awhile, and forgot it. But I knew the “new” recipe didn’t look right- “1 stick plus 6 Tb of butter”- WTH!?
Thank you sooooo much TrishLee. I have made the oatmeal cookies for years. Then just about 6 months ago I made them from the recipe on the lid of the container and YUCK !!!
I don’t understand why someone changed the recipe, anyway I am very glad I found your recipe on the internet.
Thanks again.
I don’t understand either, it makes a big difference
When they changed the recipe, I noticed immediately. I had tweeked the original just a tad with a bit fewer oats and added flour and thought it was perfect,,but never wrote it down and couldn’t figure out how to adjust the new recipe,,,now I’m all set again,,,thanks
Was just looking for the original recipe, thanks so much for this. I use craisins in mine, just a bit less sweet.
yes! this is the real “original” recipe! I had made this cookie over 40 years and 8 years ago I lost my recipe in the move. I am soooo happy now that it is confirmed, this is the true original!
Thank you so much. I recently moved back to Virginia from Texas. My family loved the cookies so when asked to make them I couldn’t find my original top so I used the new recipe. Ummmmm no. I found the top but then bought a house and moved again so lol here we go again. Thank you thank you thank you.
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So happy to find this. I used to make these years ago. Made some in recent years and they were not the same. I was sure the recipe had changed.
I knew the recipe on the box was not the original! The cookie just did not taste the same. Not sure why Quaker Oats would change their amazing Vanishing oatmeal cookie recipe. They really need to change the title of the recipe or add revised to alert people. I made these cookies for Christmas and we all noticed that they were not the same. Thank you for posting the original recipe!
Thankful for all of the comments. Was ready to make the recipe on the lid and was somewhat perplexed about the 1 stick plus 6 T. of butter. I am going to follow this recipe to the tea, however, I would love to add chocolate chips in place of the raisins. Has anyone ever made that change in this recipe?
Hi Deborah;
Thanks for commenting. This recipe works great with chocolate chips. I also make them with nuts or, my favorite – butterscotch chips! Good luck and happy baking!
Trish
Thank you very much for saving this! I copied a long time ago, but today when I pulled it from the recipe box I couldn’t read it. Must be age and bad pen quality!
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Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Like others, I used this recipe faithfully and then lost it in a move. I figured, oh well, I’ll just use the recipe on the lid. When I saw it, I knew that it had changed but I couldn’t remember the old measurements. It’s bothered me for a year and today I decided to do a search for it and stumbled across your website. This post should be classified as a public service announcement! Thank you for posting it! You have a new fan!
Thank you so much for saving this recipe! It is my favorite and yes, the new recipe is not very good. I had the lid saved but it got thrown out while I was getting divorced along with all of my other recipes. So excited to get this one back!!! Yay yay yay!! 🙂 ♡
This is far superior to the current version. I now add the eggs last, after the flour and oatmeal. I don’t know why, but the cookies raise better and hold their round cookie shape better (I use a cookie scoop).
Thanks for posting the original recipe. I made the new recipe today and it did not make the same cookie as the original recipe did. I took a screenshot of the recipe on your site! Thanks!
Thank you so much!
I just made oatmeal cookies and felt right away that they were not the same as they used to be , undercooked looking and not as buttery good! So happy I found this!
I agree with everyone else, why would they change a great recipe!
Oh wow! Shame on the Quaker Oats company where my husband happily worked for years. He LOVES my oatmeal cookies that I’ve made for years from QO box recipe. But he said something was wrong the last 2 times I made them. They are dry and tasteless. Investigating online, I found you. Thanks for the recipe!
I came across this problem this morning. I had laid out the ingredients, including the two sticks of butter last night mostly from memory. I haven’t made them in probably a year. So I’m mixing up all the ingredients including the two sticks of butter, then later, double checking, all the ingredients that I’ve gotten everything included, that’s when I realized the recipe was different. So I decided to investigate. Thank you so much for posting this. I see they also reduce the amount of brown sugar.
Everyone loves butter and sugar! I’m not sure why the company changed the recipe but I’m glad I’ve been toting around the old lid for decades. Thanks for commenting!
ZERO clue why they would change such a DELECTABLE, SCRUMPTIOUS, DELICIOUS,
RENOWNED recipe. Why??
I use white chocolate chips and dried cherries (cut in 1/14’s) in lieu of raisins and nuts. I have had several marriage proposals 😎 Not joking!! Another idea for my husband is LOTS of semi sweet chocolate chunks in lieu of raisins. Got to get something healthy into him! I also use ONLY brown sugar!! MY Cookies are FABULOUS! In my opinion and you’ve got to consider those marriage proposals😎
HAHAHA! That’s awesome. I’m not currently accepting more applicants 🙂 but your cookies do sound amazing! Definitely going to try them! Thanks so much for the tips. It’s always nice to get more nutrients in when you can. Happy Holidays!
Thank you, I’m so glad I found this. I had some really good oatmeal cranberry cookies from Aldi, and I I thought surely I could replicate them without all the unpronounceable ingredients. Several reddit posters suggested the Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I found the (new) recipe on the QO website. I have made them as bar cookies twice now, and they are dry and not sweet enough. (Your) Old recipe makes much more sense; I am going to try that next time, and add in an additional tsp of cinnamon. I bumped it up by 1/2 today, and I still can’t taste it. (fresh bottle, no less) I may do what LOSTSOCALGAL says and go with all brown sugar as I know that brings more moisture to the party. Oh, and I only have a glass 13″ x 9″ pan; does metal really make a difference? Thanks again!!