These raspberry chocolate oatmeal cookies are quickly becoming one of my favorite cookies. There’s rich bittersweet chocolate chunks, tart raspberries, and umami flavors from miso and soy sauce in every bite. Mama Lin absolutely loved these cookies, particularly the tart raspberry pieces scattered throughout the cookie. They are kid tested (that’s me) and Mama Lin approved!
COOKING NOTES FOR RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES
When developing the recipe for these raspberry chocolate oatmeal cookies, I drew inspiration from several cookie recipes I’ve made in the past. The cookie dough in this recipe is adapted from Amy Ho’s mini egg crackle cookie recipe. Instead of adding mini eggs and rice krispies to the cookies like Amy did, I added freeze-dried raspberries and lightly toasted rolled oats.
WHY USE FREEZE-DRIED RASPBERRIES?
Freeze-dried raspberries have a strong tart flavor that cuts right through the sweetness of the chocolate oatmeal cookie dough. The raspberries also add another layer of bright flavor to the cookies.
CAN I USE FRESH OR FROZEN RASPBERRIES INSTEAD?
Yes, but I don’t like the cookies as much. Although using fresher raspberries add a brighter red color to the cookies (see photo above, right), the texture of the cookie is different. When I tested a batch using frozen raspberries, the berries added moisture to the cookie dough, making the cookies slightly soggy and soft, which I didn’t like. Also, the flavor of frozen raspberries was much weaker than freeze-dried raspberries.
Between fresh or frozen raspberries, I’d recommend using frozen ones because fresh raspberries are more fragile.
WHERE TO FIND FREEZE-DRIED RASPBERRIES
Freeze-dried raspberries are more difficult to find than other freeze-dried fruits. Some grocery stores carry Natierra organic freeze-dried raspberries, which are good but expensive. Trader Joe’s and Target sell freeze-dried raspberries at a more affordable price point. I’ve found the ones Trader Joe’s sells are more vibrant than Target’s.
If freeze-dried raspberries are difficult to find, feel free to substitute them with freeze-dried strawberries. The flavor profile is different, but the cookies will still be delicious.
HOW TO PREVENT BURNT RASPBERRIES
Don’t press dried raspberry pieces onto the top of the cookies. That’s what I did in one of my test batches (see photo above), thinking this would add a nice pop of color to the cookies. I was wrong. Because freeze-dried raspberries lack moisture, the exposed berries burned during the baking process. However, if you mix all the raspberry pieces into the dough, the moisture and fat from the dough will keep the berries from burning. Some raspberry pieces may darken, but they shouldn’t turn black.
WHY ADD MISO & SOY SAUCE?
I started experimenting with adding miso and soy sauce to cookie dough after developing this orange & black sesame cookie recipe. Miso and soy sauce add depth and subtle umami flavors and they balance the sweetness of the cookies. You won’t be able to isolate and identify the miso and soy sauce while eating these cookies.
It’s important to note that the saltiness of miso and soy sauce varies across brands. There’s slightly less variance when it comes to soy sauce, but there can be a huge difference for miso!
In the photo above, you can see the nutrition information of 3 brands of white miso. Photo A shows the miso I primarily used to test this recipe and Photos B & C are other brands of white miso that I found at a Japanese grocery store. Here’s the sodium content of each brand for every 15 grams of miso: Photo A = 465mg; Photo B = 480mg; Photo C = 717mg.
What this tells us is that we should check the nutrition label of the miso before making these cookies. For this cookie recipe, you want to use the amount of miso that would yield approximately 1240mg of sodium (slightly more or less is okay). For reference, even though the miso in Photo B has slightly more sodium, I would just use the exact same amount as specified in my recipe. However, I would only use 1 1/2 tablespoons (27g) of the miso in Photo C because it is much saltier. (Note: I tested a batch of cookies using the miso in Photo C, and the reduced amount was perfect.)
COOKIE SCOOP
This recipe yields about 11 to 12 large cookies (depending how much you pack in the cookie scoop). To shape the cookie dough, I used a large #16 ice cream/cookie scoop (affiliate link). If you don’t own a large cookie scoop, use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to shape the cookie dough. Make sure not to pack the dough into the measuring cup too tightly because the dough will be difficult to release.
CAN I MAKE THE DOUGH AHEAD?
This recipe is designed to be baked right after the cookie dough is mixed. If you are not ready to bake the cookies immediately, transfer them to a container and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
If you want to freeze the cookie dough, use a large cookie scoop to measure out the portions of dough. Then, transfer the cookie dough to a lined baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, transfer the dough to a freezer bag. Because these cookies are large, I recommend letting the frozen dough sit on the counter for 30 to 45 minutes before baking. Also, add another minute or two to the cooking time.
Raspberry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (85g) rolled oats
- 1 cup (25g) freeze-dried raspberries, (see note 1)
- 1 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (220g) all-purpose flour, measured with spoon-and-sweep method
- 3/4 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (3g) baking soda
- 10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (40g) white miso, (sodium content varies across brands, see note 2)
- 2/3 cup (132g) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, NOT dark soy sauce
- 4 ounces (117g) bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped (see note 3)
Equipment
- large cookie scoop (affiliate link)
- large sheet pan or cookie sheets (affiliate link)
- stand mixer
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and position an oven rack to the center position. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Spread the oats over a quarter baking sheet or a large pan and toast them for 9 to 10 minutes (see note 4). Let the oats cool as you prepare the dough.
- Roughly crush the freeze-dried raspberries with your fingers or a mortar and pestle and then set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set the bowl aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, miso, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat on medium-low speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very light and sticking to the sides of the bowl.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg, vanilla, and soy sauce, and mix on low until everything is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
- Add the flour mixture all at once and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 15 seconds.
- Set aside 22 to 25 larger chunks of chocolate. You’ll press them onto the shaped cookie dough later.
- Add the rest of the chocolate, toasted oats, and crushed raspberries. Mix on low speed until everything is incorporated, about 20 to 30 seconds. To ensure that all the add-ins have been incorporated thoroughly, use a silicone spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl and fold the dough a few times.
- Grab a large ice cream/cookie scoop (see note 5) to scoop out a portion of cookie dough, using a knife or spatula to level off the top of the cookie scoop. Transfer to the lined baking sheets. There should be enough dough to make about 11 cookies.
- Press 2 to 3 chocolate chunks over each ball of cookie dough. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time, for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Make sure to rotate the pans halfway through baking to ensure even browning.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. The cookies are very soft when the first come out of the oven, so make sure they cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack. Store any leftover chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 to 5 days.
Notes
- Substitutions: If you can’t find freeze-dried raspberries, you can use freeze dried strawberries. The flavor profile will be different, but the texture will be similar. You can also use frozen raspberries, though I don’t like the taste or texture of the cookies as much (frozen berries add moisture to the cookie dough). Use 2/3 cup (75g) of frozen berries, so you don’t introduce too much moisture into the cookies. Break any large clumps of berries with your fingers.
- Miso: I used this white miso produced by Miso Master. They also sell a “sweet white miso,” which contains slightly less sodium and will work for this raspberry chocolate oatmeal cookie recipe. If you are using another brand of miso, use enough miso that will yield about 1240mg of sodium. I’m sorry that you may need to bust out a calculator to figure this out.
- Chocolate: I prefer to use 70% bittersweet chocolate bars, but feel free to use semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips.
- Toasting Oats: Toasting the oats isn’t necessary, but I did so to give the oats more texture and to draw out their aroma a bit more.
- Cookie Scoop: To shape the cookie dough, I used a large #16 ice cream/cookie scoop. If you don’t own a large cookie scoop, use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to shape the cookie dough. Make sure not to pack the dough into the measuring cup too tightly because the dough will be difficult to release.
- Making the Dough Ahead: If you are not ready to bake the cookies immediately, transfer them to a container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. If you want to freeze the cookie dough, use a large cookie scoop to measure out the portions of dough. Then, transfer the cookie dough to a lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer the dough to a freezer bag. Because these cookies are large, I recommend letting the frozen dough sit on the counter for 30 to 45 minutes before baking. Also, add another minute or two to the cooking time.
Nutrition
Sarah says
I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure how much I liked these at first because the flavor is much more complex than the average chocolate chunk cookie, but these really grew on me. I appreciate the tart raspberry combined with the dark chocolate, and the oats give a nice chewiness and body as well. I could really smell the miso when these came out of the oven but I couldn’t taste it once I tried it. I usually reduce the sugar when baking but I didn’t this time and while it’s still sweet enough, I probably ate way more in one sitting than I normally would because it doesn’t get icky-sweet.
Thanks for sharing Lisa!
Lisa Lin says
Sarah, thank you so much for trying this recipe!!! I am glad you gave it a chance even when you weren’t sure how it would taste. Glad you enjoyed them!!
basket random says
I’m ready to see how my creation stacks up to that heavenly high school treat!