These slow cooker oat and raisin cookie bars are an easy homemade bake packed with oats, sweet raisins and warming cinnamon. They’re perfect for an afternoon snack, lunchboxes or enjoying with a cuppa.
The mixture takes just a few minutes to prepare, then the slow cooker does the rest. Once baked and cooled, the cookie slab can be sliced into bars ready to enjoy throughout the week.
If you love simple oat-based bakes and want to try something a little different to traditional flapjacks or cookies, these slow cooker cookie bars are well worth making. You don’t need to turn on the oven, and you can easily adapt the recipe with different dried fruits, nuts or chocolate chips.
Since I have experience making cookies in the slow cooker (such as my chocolate chip slow cooker giant cookie) oat and raisin cookie bars were the obvious next step.
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Why You’ll Love These Slow Cooker Cookie Bars
- Quick preparation with very little effort.
- Oats, raisins and warming cinnamon in every bite.
- A handy alternative to oven baking.
- Easy to customise with different add-ins.
Ingredients
Here is what you will need for this recipe – get the quantities in the recipe card below:
- raisins – can be replaced with other dried fruit such as sultanas, cranberries, blueberries.
- oats – the main base ingredient in these oat cookie bars.
- cinnamon – adds warming flavour.
- margarine or butter – either will work fine. I use whichever I have to hand.
- caster sugar – or granulated will work too.
- honey – sweetens as well as helps to bind a little.
- plain flour
- egg – not shown, helps to bind the mixture together.
- vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste – enhances the sweetness of the bars.
- baking powder – helps the mixture to rise a little.
Instructions
Here are step by step instructions on how to prepare this slow cooker oat and raisin cookie bar recipe, with images. You’ll find the recipe quantities in the recipe card further down.
Step 1. Cream together the butter or margarine and sugar.
Step 2. Add honey, lightly beaten egg and vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
Step 3. Add the dry ingredients – oats, raisins, flour, baking powder, cinnamon – and mix well.
Step 4. Once your cookie dough has come together, prepare your slow cooker pot.
Step 5. Grease and line your slow cooker pot with baking paper folded into shape, or with large cake cases.
Step 6. Spoon the cookie dough mixture in and press it down so it is even. Tip: This recipe fits a 3.5 litre slow cooker. If using a larger slow cooker you will need to double the quantities so that your cookie slab is not really thin. Put on the lid and cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours until crisp and firm. Put a tea towel or some kitchen towel under the slow cooker lid to stop water dripping onto the cookie.
Step 7. Once firm, remove the pot from the slow cooker and allow it to cool. Use the baking paper to lift the cookie out carefully – be gentle as cookies harden as they cool so it will still be soft when warm. Put the cookie slab on a cooling rack to cool fully and harden. Slice into bars as needed.
Recipe Tips
- It is important to line your slow cooker pot as I outlined in the method, to stop the cookie slab sticking to the pot and burning.
- The tea towel under the lid I mentioned is indispensable to prevent the cookie going soggy from the condensation on the lid which can drip down.
- Cooking time can vary between slow cookers as they work at different temperatures, so keep an eye on your cookie slab to make sure it doesn’t burn. It may take less or more time in your slow cooker than in mine.
- As with all cookies, they harden when they cool, so make sure you let the slab fully cool before cutting up and handling.
Storage
Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Variations
Cram in whatever dried fruit you fancy – chopped apricots, cranberries, etc.
Add nuts and seeds if you like such as chopped almonds, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.
Chocolate chips – white, milk or dark – are a good addition.
Other variations on these slow cooker oat bars I have tried are mango and pumpkin seed and chocolate flapjacks, all delicious too!
More Slow Cooker Baking Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to look at my guide to baking and making puddings in the slow cooker.
It is crammed with loads of slow cooker baking recipes for brownies, giant cookies stuffed with chocolate orange, Nutella scones, cakes and puddings of all kinds!
Also check out my slow cooker archives for all my slow cooker recipes, from mains to desserts!
Related
Recipe
Slow Cooker Oat and Raisin Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 50 g (3 tbsp + 2 tsp) margarine
- 50 g (¼ cups) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1 tsp runny honey
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 g (¼ cups + 1 tbsp) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 90 g (1 cups) oats
- 40 g (¼ cups) raisins
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Equipment
Instructions
- Cream together butter and sugar.50 g / 3 tbsp + 2 tsp margarine, 50 g / ¼ cups caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Mix in honey, and vanilla extract. Lightly beat the egg then stir it in too.1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp runny honey
- Add the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, oats, raisins, cinnamon – and mix well.50 g / ¼ cups + 1 tbsp plain flour (all-purpose flour), 1 tsp baking powder, 90 g / 1 cups oats, 40 g / ¼ cups raisins, 1 tbsp cinnamon
- Grease and line your slow cooker pot with baking paper or large cake cases.
- Spoon the mixture in and press down so it is even. Tip: This recipe works with a 3.5 litre slow cooker. If using a large slow cooker you will need to double the ingredients so the cookie slab is not really really thin. Cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours until crisp and firm.
- Remove the pot from the slow cooker and allow to cool.
- Remove the cookie from the pot carefully using the baking paper to pull it out, and put it on a cooling rack to cool fully – it will also harden more.
- Slice as required. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- I made this recipe in an oval 3.5 l slow cooker.
- Double the quantities if you are using a larger slow cooker (or your cookie will be very thin).
- Keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Optional variations: chopped nuts, different dried fruit such as cranberries, blueberries, sultanas, seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower, chocolate chips.
Recipe originally posted in June 2014. Updated October 2026 with new images and step by step method photos.
Caroline says
Hello,
Re: Slow Cooker Cinnamon and Raisin Cookie Bars
I’m in the UK.
Would it be possible to use Mornflake Mighty Oats (Creamy Superfast Oats, Perfect for Porridge?
I have a 2kg bag of this in my store cupboard, so it would be lovely to use up some of it in this recipe.
Many thanks.
bakingqueen74 says
Hi Caroline. Im in the UK too. I am not familiar with those oats but I looked them up and they seem to be oatflakes, so not quite the same as whole oats. They might have a softer texture but I think they would work in this recipe. Let me know if you try it!
Graham says
Hi Lucy,
I use a 7 inch round glass souflette dish in our 3.5L slow cooker and I’m wondering if this recipe be suitable?
Thanks
bakingqueen74 says
Hi there, I haven’t tried cooking in a glass dish (assuming Pyrex or similar) in a slow cooker but if it fits in your 3.5 litre then it sounds like the size would be right.
Stephanie Jane says
I just made this today and it was delicious still warm from the slow cooker! I didn’t have an egg so used 1/2 plain 1/2 chickpea flour and added a banana to compensate.
I’ve ended up with a 2-inch deep oaty cake with a rich cinnamon flavour – and a beautifully scented motorhome 🙂
bakingqueen74 says
Ooh yum sounds delicious!
Hayley High says
Tasted great! How long will it last in airtight container? also anyone know if this can be frozen in batches?
bakingqueen74 says
Hi Hayley, probably a few days, I am afraid ours didn’t last long enough for me to find out. I have never frozen cookies so am not sure about that either I’m afraid.
lakms says
Hi. Do you keep lid on? Tnx
bakingqueen74 says
Hello, yes the lid is on for this recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
Craig - The Usual Saucepansc says
What a great little recipe – never thought of making something like this in the slow cooker!
bakingqueen74 says
Thanks Craig!