Chewy Honey Oatmeal Cookies (Plus How to Swap Sugar for Honey in Any Recipe)
Cookies That Stay Soft for Days
Honey is a baker's secret weapon. It holds onto moisture, so cookies made with it stay soft and chewy long after oatmeal cookies made with only sugar have turned hard.
These are classic oatmeal cookies with warm cinnamon and your choice of raisins or chocolate chips. Most of the sweetness comes from honey, with just a little brown sugar for that chewy, caramel edge.
Below the recipe, you'll find our simple guide to swapping honey for sugar in your own favorite recipes.
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Honey Oatmeal Cookies
Soft, chewy, and sweetened mostly with honey.
| Prep15 min | Chill30 min | Bake10–12 min | YieldAbout 24 cookies |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips
Equipment: a cookie scoop for even cookies and a cooling rack.
Instructions
- Cream. Beat the butter, honey, and brown sugar together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the butter mixture until just combined.
- Fold. Stir in the oats and raisins or chocolate chips.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Honey dough is softer than regular cookie dough, and chilling keeps the cookies from spreading too thin.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers look just set.
- Cool. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a rack. They firm up as they cool.
Recipe notes: Honey browns quickly, so check the cookies at 9 minutes. For a plant-based version, use vegan butter and a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water, rested 10 minutes).
How to Swap Sugar for Honey in Any Recipe
Want to use honey in your own recipes? Honey is sweeter than sugar and it's a liquid, so a straight swap won't work. Follow these five rules and you'll get great results most of the time.
- Use less. For every 1 cup of sugar, use 2/3 to 3/4 cup of honey. Honey is sweeter, so you need less.
- Cut the liquid. For every 1 cup of honey you use, reduce the other liquids in the recipe (milk, water, juice) by 1/4 cup.
- Add a little baking soda. Honey is slightly acidic. Add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of honey to balance it and help baked goods rise.
- Lower the oven. Reduce the oven temperature by 25°F. Honey browns faster than sugar, and this keeps the outside from getting too dark before the inside is done.
- Start small. For your first try, replace just half of the sugar with honey. Once you like the results, try swapping more.
Tip: Lightly oil your measuring cup before measuring honey, and it will slide right out.
Where it works best: muffins, quick breads, cakes, chewy cookies, granola, and sauces. Where to be careful: crisp cookies, meringues, and candies that depend on dry sugar crystals, since honey makes things softer and moister.
Storage and Safety Tips
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freeze baked cookies or scooped dough balls for up to 3 months. Bake frozen dough balls straight from the freezer, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
- Not for babies. Honey in any form, including baked into cookies, should never be given to children under 12 months old.
Bake with Honey You Can Taste
In a recipe like this, honey isn't just a sweetener. It's a flavor. Our small-batch raw honey from Fremont brings a warmth that plain sugar can't.
Ready to bake? Shop our raw honey here. Local to Fremont? Pickup is free, and we offer free local delivery to the 94536 zip code on orders of $35 or more.
Has your honey thickened up in the jar? Read why honey turns solid and how to soften it before baking.
