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Quaker Oatmeal Cookies

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The classic Quaker oatmeal cookies recipe from the old-fashioned oats box or canister, plus tips for making these cookies come out perfectly!  These are also known as Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Quaker Oatmeal Lid with Quaker Oatmeal Cookies recipe

Quaker Oatmeal Cookies

Is there anything better than the classic Quaker Oats oatmeal cookies?  Probably not, at least in the oatmeal cookie category.

My mom made a variation of these when I was a kid.  She loaded them up with lots of extra goodies like coconut, pecans, and chocolate, calling them “cowboy cookies.”  Many’s the time I popped open the storage container to grab a handful of those cookies!

When I reached for the my canister of old-fashioned oats to take a closer look at the recipe, I wondered where the original recipe for Quaker oatmeal cookies came from.  When was it invented?  When did it start appearing on the box or canister?

Quaker Oatmeal cookies pictured on the side of the Quaker Oats container

One article claimed that “by early 1900s a recipe for the delicious treats appeared on every container of Quaker Oats.”  This anecdote is repeated, often word-for-word, on other websites.

The official Quaker Oats history says only that an oat cake recipe began appearing on the box in 1908.  Oat cakes are not the same as the later Quaker oatmeal cookies.  Here’s a recipe from the BBC if you’d like to see how oat cakes are made.

Quaker Oats Oat Cakes image in Quaker Oatmeal Cookies recipe

From QuakerOats.com

So, there certainly were oat cake recipes printed on the box back in the early 1900s, but I haven’t found a source yet that reveals when exactly the famous Quaker Oats oatmeal cookie recipe, also known as “Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies,” first appeared.  If you have information on this, please leave a comment below.

You can watch the official video to see exactly how to make this recipe right here.

Surprising Things You May Not Know About Quaker Oatmeal Cookies

  1. The recipe does not specify salted or unsalted butter.  This explains why salt is optional.  I use unsalted butter and I don’t add salt, but this is a personal choice.
  2. You can use Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats or Quick Oats.
  3. You can make an adjustment to the flour to make these cookies at high altitude.  Use 1 3/4 cups of flour rather than 1 1/2.
  4. You can swap in whole wheat or white whole wheat flour for any or all of the all-purpose flour.  I’ve been doing this for years and it works like a charm.
  5. You can add more mix-ins, such as chocolate chips, shredded coconut, pecans, walnuts, cranberries, etc.
  6. You can make this recipe as bar cookies in a 13 by 9 pan.

Other Ways to Use Quaker Oats

Bookmark this recipe so you can have it without having to dig up an actual Quaker Oats canister.

Quaker Oatmeal cookies pictured on the side of the Quaker Oats container
5 from 4 votes
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Quaker Oatmeal Cookies • Straight from the Quaker Oats Box!

The classic Quaker oatmeal cookies recipe from the old-fashioned oats box or canister, plus tips for making these cookies come out perfectly!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes
Servings 4 dozen
Calories 92 kcal
Author Katie Moseman

Ingredients

  • 14 tablespoons butter softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoons salt optional
  • 3 cups Quaker Oats quick or old-fashioned, uncooked
  • 1 cup raisins

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 F.  In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.

  2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

  3. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.

  4. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

  5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

  6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack.  Cool completely.  Store tightly covered.  Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Recipe Notes

For high altitude, increase flour to 1 3/4 cups.

Nutrition Facts
Quaker Oatmeal Cookies • Straight from the Quaker Oats Box!
Amount Per Serving (23 g)
Calories 92 Calories from Fat 35
% Daily Value*
Fat 3.9g6%
Cholesterol 16mg5%
Sodium 78mg3%
Potassium 52mg1%
Carbohydrates 13.2g4%
Fiber 0.8g3%
Sugar 6.1g7%
Protein 1.4g3%
Vitamin A 100IU2%
Calcium 10mg1%
Iron 0.5mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Quaker Oatmeal Cookies
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Comments

  1. Annette

    5 stars
    Nice to have this handy without having to find a box! I love the Quaker vanishing oatmeal cookies recipe.

    Reply

  2. Adela Torrez

    oatmeal cookie recipe calls for brown sugar but nowhere in the directions does it say when to add the brown sugar just the white sugar you mix it with the butter.

    Reply

  5. Candy

    Just your oatmeal cookie recipes oo back of box “”old fashion oatmeal cookies” possible late,late 1950’s or early 1960’s it was you best cookies were hollow (air pockets) they were yummy would you be able to send me that one I have moved and can not find. Thank you so much

    Reply

  6. Susan

    The butter , your pictured lid reads 1/2 C (1 stick) plus 6 Tbls, isn’t that 14 Tbls total not 18? Why they aren’t writing it simply as 1 3/4 stick butter I can’t understand. Anyways my older lid from the 70’s lists butter as “1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened” which equates to 16 Tbls. The other ingredients are identical.

    Reply

  8. Elaine katz

    i am making an oatmeal cookie bar right now. i have baked them before in an oblong
    pyrex dish at 350 for about 25 minutes. i take it out when the top sides are getting
    brown. the center kind of sinks in a bit but that’s okay! i put in some coconut & mini
    chocolate chips. i also soak the raisins in warm oj before adding them. they plump up
    & taste better…to me!

    Reply

    • Katie Moseman

      Yes, definitely. I have made the cookie dough ahead of time several times. I usually go ahead and form the cookies before I refrigerate, because it can be trickier to scoop up once it’s gotten firm.

      Reply

  10. Jerilyn Zwolinski

    I have an old quake oats container that has the recipe printed on the back side but it doesn’t call for cinnamon and it has shortening and water in the recipe, tried the newest one that I used to see on the containers that used butter instead of shortening and no water and didn’t like it, I use the one with the shortening and water every year. I make some with chocolate chips and raisins.

    Reply

    • Anna P

      Would you mind posting the recipe? I have been looking for the recipe my mom used to make in the late 1970s. Maybe she subbed vegetable oil for the shortening? the cookies definitely had no cinnamon and baked up somewhat flat with crispy edges, Smelled amazing baking…

      Reply

  11. Centavo

    Famous Oatmeal Cookies (Quaker
    INGREDIENTS
    3/4 cup shortening
    1 cup brown sugar ; firmly packed
    1/2 cup granulated sugar
    1 egg
    1/4 cup water
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1 cup all purpose flour
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    3 cups uncooked oatmeal
    INSTRUCTIONS
    Beat together shortening, sugars, egg, water and vanilla until creamy. Stir together flour, salt, and soda; add to creamed mixture; blend. Stir in oats. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated 350-degree F oven for 12-15 minutes. 60 Servings

    NOTES
    You can add raisins and cinnamon if you MUST (but I think they’re SO much better without).
    Found on Big Oven,:cammie1stephens by cammie1stephens
    Quaker Oats first printed this cookie recipe on their oats package in the mid-1950s. You can add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a cup of raisins if you want, but my family prefers them without.

    Reply

  12. Gayden Harper

    The original recipe is:
    2 cups oatmeal
    2 cups oleo
    2 cups sugar ( one brown, one white)
    2 cups flour
    2 eggs
    2 cups pecan pieces
    1 tspn baking soda

    I make a batch of these every 2 weeks for a senior citizens prayer group.

    Reply

  13. Kat

    Thank you so much for this site. I lost my old handwritten cookbook with all of my recipes when I divorced and left it for my daughter to use. It was then lost by my ex during a move. So, I needed the oatmeal cookie recipe tonight for work I thought the one on the Quaker lid was the same as the one I had used years ago. I made a batch and they were horrible!!! I searched and finally found someone that agreed with my deduction that there wasn’t enough fat in the recipe. The new batch is on the way and look the way a cookie should. Thank goodness!

    Reply

    • Katie Moseman

      Apple oatmeal? Like the kind that already has flavoring and sugar mixed in? I’d stick with plain rolled oats for the best result. Flavorings and extra sugar might make the recipe not work right.

      Reply

  16. Kate

    I have coconut sugar. Can I use it in place of both sugars? It’s 1/2 white sugar and 3/4 cup brown. It’s a 1:1 ratio on the coconut sugar.

    Reply

  17. Shannon

    I use 1 crisco flavored butter stick instead of the butter. I also only use 1/2 cup of both regular and brown sugar and blend it together with the crisco. I soak the raisins first in water (just enough to cover them and drain them right before I add them to the recipe) with 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract (please use the real stuff, it’s so worth it!). I also use Saigon cinnamon (it’s a little stronger) but you can use regular cinnamon. Other than that I follow the recipe

    Reply

  19. Joyce Langdon

    I love the Vanishing Cookie recipe! I used the shortening one in the 70’s, then changed to the butter one when it came out on the lid when shortening was getting a bad rap. 🙂 I was looking if someone could tell me if there is a way to keep them from spreading so much-I understand the nature of butter.. but seemed to read somewhere that maybe putting it in the fridge for awhile or something could keep it from spreading quite as much? Or would shortening be any better? I make Teddy Bear Cookies with the Quaker Oatmeal Vanishing recipe, but they spread way too much, even tho I love the taste. Your roll a bigger ball, flatten, then smaller balls for snout and ears with mini chocolate chips for eyes, big chocolate chip for nose.. Want the taste, not the spreading of the cookie. 🙂

    Reply

    • Katie Moseman

      It’s unusual that they spread so much. I usually stick with Land O’ Lakes butter, as it’s always been reliable for me, but sometimes too much sugar can be the reason for spreading. Maybe dial back the sugar just a touch?

      Reply

    • Katie Moseman

      The nutrition calculation is my own, based on the whole recipe’s ingredients divided by 48 cookies, which means 1 cookie per serving as listed on my nutrition info box below the recipe box. It’s not official, though.

      Reply

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