Oatmeal Cookie Recipe with Raisins and Walnuts – Low in Calories and Fat

This skinny oatmeal cookie recipe is soft and chewy with the crunchy taste of walnuts and sweetness of raisins and sugar free maple syrup.

At only 70 calories, it’s a real diet winner!

There is something about oatmeal cookies that screams comfort food to me.  I think it goes back to my early childhood when my mother made us oatmeal for breakfast in the fall and winter, and oatmeal cookies for an afternoon snack. 

Be sure to check out this list of healthy recipes if you are looking for more options for clean eating and weight loss recipes.

More oatmeal cookie recipes

Whatever the reason, it’s one of my favorite wholesome sweet treats now. Do you love oatmeal cookies as much as I do? Let’s make them! Here are a few other oatmeal recipes to try, as well.

• No bake peanut butter chocolate Oatmeal cookie
• Chocolate peanut butter Oatmeal bars
• Healthy peanut butter Oatmeal cookie

Making this oatmeal cookie recipe

These chewy oatmeal raisin cookies have lots of great ingredients that make up their delightful flavor. Best of all, the cookies are light enough to include in any healthy eating plan, since they only have 70 calories!

These cookies make a great breakfast on the go and a super snack.  They are filled with the goodness of old fashioned rolled oats, raisins and walnuts and the fat and sugar is kept at a minimum to still give a great taste.

Making skinny cookies like these is fun, knowing that when you are done, you will be able to indulge without feeling guilty. Best of all, they are very easy to make.

Ready in just minutes

If you find yourself itching for the taste of an oatmeal cookie, this version can be on the plate in just minutes. I just whisked my dry ingredients together first. Then creamed the wet ingredients, folded in the dry and added the oats, nuts and raisins.

It took less than 15 minutes. Using a small cupcake scoop makes it easy to get the dough onto the baking sheet and in the oven. There is no need to even flatten them.  This mounded shape is what makes them nice and soft!

How do I keep these cookies so light in calories?

The trick to keeping the calories so low on these healthy oatmeal raisin cookies is making the right substitutes. Most of the calories in cookies comes from fat and sugar. 

This chewy oatmeal cookie recipe only adds 2 tablespoons of butter.  In place of the butter that would normally be in an oatmeal cookie, I use 1/3 cup of applesauce. This saves a ton of calories but still keeps the cookie moist.

You will see many healthy oatmeal cookie recipes that ask you to replace refined sugar with maple syrup. While this does make the cookie more healthy, it doesn’t save on calories. Any type of sugar is high in calories.

To offset this, I use only 1/3 cup of sugar and then use Log Cabin sugar free maple syrup.  It adds the sweetness that the cookie needs without the calories that pure maple syrup would give them.

I also keep both the nuts and raisins to 1/3 cup each.  Both nuts and dried fruits are very calorie dense, so they should be used sparingly if counting calories is your aim.  There are enough to give the taste and texture in each bite though.

Why do oatmeal cookies have traditionally raisins in them?

Oatmeal cookies with raisins first appeared in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook of 1896. (affiliate link)  The oatmeal cookie descended from the Scottish oatcake and eventually American cookies improved the recipe by adding raisins.

Oatmeal raisins cookies are one of the most popular cookies in the USA now. There is even a National Oatmeal Cookie day on April 30!

After Fannie Farmer’s cookie appeared, the oatmeal raisin cookie started becoming more prominent in the early 1900.  It is thought of as a healthy food because of the fiber and vitamins that the recipe contains.

Even though we think of it as a “healthy cookie,” the normal version still has nutritional value similar to a chocolate chip cookie unless you make substitutes to slim it down somehow.

How do these chewy oatmeal raisin cookies taste?

In a word – YUM!  These tasty cookies are soft and chewy with a hint of sweetness that is very satisfying and an extra wholesome flavor that comes from the old fashioned oats. 

They have a light crunch from the walnuts and the raisins give them a lovely texture.

I like the softness of the cookie.  Since I used a small cookie scoop for the batter, the dough starts off in a little ball and doesn’t settle much which gives it a nice soft texture that is delightful.

Nutritional Value for these oatmeal raisin nut cookies

These cookies are a boon for those watching their weight. Each cookie has only 70 calories, with just 0.6 grams of saturated fat and only 3.5 grams of sugar. They can easily fit into many diet plans, too.

The cookies are low in sodium and have 11 grams of carbs.

Would you like a reminder for this oatmeal cookie recipe with raisins and walnuts?  Just pin this image to one of your cooking boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.

Admin note: this post for making oatmeal cookies first appeared on the blog in January of 2019. I have updated the post to add all new photos, and a video for you to enjoy.

Yield: 30 cookies

Oatmeal Cookie Recipe with Raisins and Walnuts

Print

This easy oatmeal cookie recipe is soft and chewy with the crunchy taste of walnuts and sweetness of raisins and maple syrup. At only 30 calories, it's a real diet winner!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats (check your label to make sure they are gluten free)
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup Log Cabin sugar free maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 º F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk well.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar.
5. Add the egg, then the Log Cabin maple syrup, applesauce and vanilla extract.
6. Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and gradually add the flour mixture until just combined.
7. Stir in the oats, raisins and chopped walnuts.
8. Use a small muffin scoop to drop spoonfuls of the oat mixture onto the prepared baking sheets.
9. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies just start to brown on the edges.
10. Allow to cool for 3-4 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely..
11. Store these chewy oatmeal cookies in an air tight container on the counter.
12. The cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

30

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 70Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.6gUnsaturated Fat: 1.3gCholesterol: 8.3mgSodium: 78.7mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 0.9gSugar: 3.5gProtein: 1.6g

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