Buttery cookies loaded with pecans, raisins and Captain Morgan Spiced Rum! The combination makes a decadent, moist bar perfect at Christmas or any time.
In honor of National Cookie Day I’m sharing a few favorite with you today. I don’t like oatmeal raisin cookies much. Every time I eat one I think it’s a terrible waste of cookie space that could be used for chocolate! However, these oatmeal rum raisin cookies with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and pecans are another story altogether!
I got curious about soaking raisins in liquid about the same time I picked up a bottle of Captain Morgan for some cooking experiments. I don’t think I have to tell you what happened next.
Somehow in my mind adding the rum to the raisins seemed like a nice idea, an oddity at best. I was so wrong! Rum + Raisins = Cookie Magic. Not expecting this, I made the terrible mistake of baking them before lunch and then trying to take photos…
Yeah, I ate my photography subject. I guess we should just be glad I’m a food photographer as opposed to another kind of photographer. The cookies are just so rich and buttery with delicious texture and gooey raisins loaded with rum and crunchy pecans and if I keep talking about them I will have the worst run on sentence of all time!
I like cookies. Heck everybody I know likes cookies but when it comes to this favorite treat there are good cookies and then there are epic cookies. These, dear friends, are epic.
Ok, I will stop waxing eloquent about the cookies. Just bake a batch and enjoy.
Before I go, one quick note on rum. I set the recipe up so the alcohol would contribute to moisturizing and flavoring but will all cook off in the end. You can feed these to kids and teetotalers without any cause for concern.
Oh, and I “accidentally” dipped one into my really amazing homemade whipped cream. For the one-two dessert punch serve these with a dollop that and just don’t bother with dinner. Don’t worry I won’t report you to the dinner police.
Oatmeal Rum Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup spiced rum can use apple juice instead
- 1 cup salted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour measure by spoon and level
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup raw pecan halves
The Drizzle Glaze
Instructions
To Prep The Mix Ins
- Put butter in a saucepan over medium-high??? heat and swirl occasionally until it starts to brown. Pull just as the butter becomes well browned. Scrape all the butter and brown bits into a shallow bowl and put it in the fridge to cool quickly or on the counter if you have extra time. (The butter needs to be solid but soft for creaming.)
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 3-4 minutes at 400 F until lightly toasted. Do not over toast to dark brown or they can become bitter. Set aside to cool. When the nuts are cool enough to handle roughly chop them.
- Put raisins and rum in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Let sit for 20 minutes to absorb most of the liquid while you prepare the rest of the dough.
To Make The Cookies
- Line a 9x13 metal sheet pan with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a stand mixer beat cooled brown butter, sugar, and brown sugar on high for three minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and oatmeal. Beat on medium speed until mixed. Scrape bowl as needed.
- Drain and discard any remaining liquid from the raisins. Add the pecans and raisins to the dough. Beat in on low until incorporated or stir in by hand.
- Press the dough into the lined pan and bake at 350 F until the edges are golden brown and the middle is just set, about 30 minutes.
- Cool and cut into a 6x4 grid to make 24 squares.
Optional Glaze
Your Rating Matters
When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. - Mirlandra
Nutrition Estimate
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
Jane says
Made these last night as a treat for mom – she’s been in the hospital for 2 months now and every time I go I try to bring her something. Since her favorite ice cream is rum raisin, I thought these would fit the bill. These are delicious! Nice and chewy! The only thing I might change in the future is to maybe add some rum extract along with the vanilla, there wasn’t as much rum flavor as I hoped there would be. I can see myself making these again, even for myself lol
Mirlandra says
Oh Jane – I’m sorry to hear about your mom. That is hard all around! She is lucky to have someone to bring her treats and company! The rum extract sounds wonderful! I’ve wondered about doing an icing for these cookies – maybe with a bit more rum extract or the like in there. I will keep this in mind. Thanks for the suggestion and glad you enjoyed!
Jane says
Just wanted to let you know – I just got home from visiting mom and her first words after taking a bite of these was THIS IS A KEEPER! Needless to say she thoroughly enjoyed them lol. As far as icing goes, I find this plenty sweet enough even for my horrendous sweet tooth…I think maybe just a small addition of the rum extract would be more than enough. Thanks for such a great recipe “)
Michele says
Recipe was easy.. but it soes not say when to add the pecans.. I toasted them.. but then following the recipe.. I forgot the pecans. Thankfully I noticed just before I put it in the oven.. so I stirred them in as it was in the pan. Still cooling.. excited to try.
Mirlandra says
Hi Michele – Thanks so much for bringing that to my attention! I’ve edited the recipe to correct the omission. I hope the cookies turn out wonderfully!
Michele says
It was amazing! Recipe is a keeper!!
Mirlandra says
Wonderful! I’m so glad you loved them. I need to make a batch for us this Christmas. Maybe with icing… mmmmm
Basia says
Hey! I’ve just made these for the first time and they were great! One thing I did differently was browning the butter first! Was so GOOOOOOOOOD.
Thanks for the recipe, xx
-Basia
Mirlandra says
oooo – that sounds like heaven! Love it!
Sheryl says
Because of my allergies, I used plant-based sugar, reducing to 1 c.. I used 1-1/4 c. my gf flour mix. . I cooked a rum sauce with maple syrup and coconut butter to pour over! Totally yum!l Thank you for sharing this recipe! I love baking with liquors! 🙂
KJ says
Looking to make these in advance for an event. Ok to make and freeze them?
Mirlandra says
Hi KJ, I have mixed feelings about freezing cookies. I always think a little freshness is lost in the freezing but that said I think that most people don’t notice it the way I do!!! I reccomend freezing for the least amount of time possible if you want to try it. A week or two should be fine. Keep them well wrapped of course and you should be off to the races.