Home > Desserts > Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies December 9, 2019 | 4 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Soft, chewy, sweet Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are a fun twist on traditional Oatmeal Cookies. This version adds in white chocolate chips, sweetened cranberries, and a little flaked coconut for the ultimate holiday treat! These might just be my favorite winter cookie. Some other favorites to try next: Thumbprint Cookies, Peppermint Snowball Cookies, or Cake Batter Cookies. Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies One of the very important decisions I have to make each Christmas Eve is what cookie to coax my children into making …” for Santa.” This is a very important decision because (spoiler alert coming) I will be eating those cookies. And I’m fairly certain we’ll be making Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies this Christmas Eve–they’re the perfect Christmas cookie. They’ve got all my favorites — oatmeal, plenty of chocolate, coconut, and the best texture. These cookies are ultra chewy and soft with ever-so-slightly crisp edges. They’re quite rich and very sweet — perfect for a Christmas Eve sugar high. How to make Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies The picture collage above has numbers that correlate with the description below: Combine sugars and butter. We mix the butter with a combo of light and brown sugar for flavor and texture. The light brown keeps the cookies from being too wet (dark brown sugar has more moisture) and the dark brown sugar gives these cookies extra-deep toffee notes. I recommend both, but if you only have one, use light brown sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy. The room-temperature butter and sugars are beaten until smooth. Be patient here and aim for the texture shown in the picture. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Make sure the egg is at room temperature; it combines better with the ingredients. Beat until combined. Add in the baking soda and salt. Mix until combined Add in the coconut and oats. You can toast the coconut, but it’s not absolutely necessary. The cookies are still delicious with untoasted coconut. Mix until combined. Add in the flour. Mix until just combined. Don’t overmix the dough! Add in the white chocolate chips and chopped cranberries (pictured below). And mix until you’ve got Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie dough! (pictured below) Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie ingredients Unsalted butter: Salt content in butter varies by manufacturer, so using unsalted helps to perfectly control the amount of salt in these cookies. We do add salt to the batter, but with unsalted butter, you’ll know exactly how much salt will be in the dough. Old fashioned oats: It’s important to use old-fashioned instead of quick or steel-cut oats — each type of oat reacts differently in baked recipes. Shredded sweetened coconut: You don’t want coconut flakes or desiccated coconut (here are the differences). Baking soda: See if yours is fresh by using this quick test! Fine sea salt: If you are using table salt, you’ll want to reduce the overall salt in these cookies by probably half. Not all salts are the same! Can I use quick oats in these cookies? I don’t recommend quick oats for Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies. Quick oats are so little that they act more like additional flour than oats. This will make the cookies much drier and cake-like, and that’s not what we’re going for with this recipe. Freezing Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies I recommend freezing the unbaked dough rather than the baked cookies. To do so, place shaped cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer those frozen balls of deliciousness to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, you don’t need to thaw the cookie dough. Simply place the frozen dough onto a baking sheet and bake 2-3 minutes longer than the recipe indicates. QUICK TIP No cranberries? Just about any type of dried fruit will work. Dried cherries, raisins, and even apricots will work. Chop larger fruit pieces into cranberry-sized chunks. Tips for Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies Measure precisely. Too much flour will give you dense, cake-like cookies. If you have a food scale, use it! That’s how you’ll get the most precise measurement. Slightly underbake. This ensures the soft and chewy texture we all love! Overbaked cookies lose their delicious chewy texture and become less flavorful. Remember, they’ll continue to firm up out of the oven. Let stand after being baked. Leave the cookies on the pan for about 5 minutes after baking, and then carefully transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Let the cookies continue to cool and firm up on the cooling rack. Bake on a silicone tray liner: I’ve tested these cookies on parchment paper and with a silicone liner, and prefer the cookies baked on the liner. The bottoms always end up perfect If you don’t have a liner, parchment paper works better than baking directly on the pan surface. Also, if you have a light-colored baking sheet, that will give you the best results for baking cookies. More cookie recipes Thumbprint Cookies raspberry-almond flavored Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with a secret ingredient Monster Cookies peanut-butter-oatmeal cookies Caramel Oatmeal Cookies caramel-stuffed oatmeal cookies with a chocolate drizzle Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies healthier cookies! FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies 5 from 2 votes - Review this recipe Soft, chewy, and sweet Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are a fun twist on traditional oatmeal cookies. This version adds in white chocolate chips, sweetened cranberries, and a little flaked coconut for the ultimate holiday treat! SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies 5 from 2 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Soft, chewy, and sweet Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are a fun twist on traditional oatmeal cookies. This version adds in white chocolate chips, sweetened cranberries, and a little flaked coconut for the ultimate holiday treat! Course Dessert, Snack Cuisine American Keyword Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Chilling Time 1 hour Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes Servings 15 large cookies Calories 234kcal Author Chelsea Lords Ingredients▢ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature▢ 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed▢ 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed▢ 1 large egg▢ 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda▢ 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt▢ 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut Note 1▢ 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, not quick or steel-cut▢ 1 cup + 2 tablespoons white all-purpose flour Note 2▢ 3/4 cup white chocolate chips▢ 1/2 cup sweetened, dried cranberries choppedUS - Metric USMetric InstructionsBUTTER AND SUGARS: Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a large bowl and a hand mixer), beat the room temperature butter (not melted, not softened), light brown sugar, and dark brown sugar at medium speed until light in color, about 1-2 minutes. WET INGREDIENTS: Add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the baking soda and fine sea salt until just combined, about 20 seconds.DRY INGREDIENTS: Mix in the coconut (Note 1) and old-fashioned oats until combined. Add in the flour. (See Note 2) Mix until ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix; overworking the dough will result in dense cookies. Stir in the white chocolate chips and chopped cranberries. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.SHAPE DOUGH BALLS: Shape the cookie dough into balls, using about 2 tablespoons of dough (if you have a food scale: 49 grams; 1.7 ounces). Roll the balls taller instead of wider (see photo in post). Place the dough balls on a plate lined with parchment paper and cover gently with plastic wrap. Chill for another 10 minutes.BAKE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with silicone liners. Place 6 cookie dough balls per sheet pan, spacing them with plenty of room to spread. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, remembering they're best slightly underbaked. Remove from the oven and let stand on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack. Right out of the oven, you can press a few more chocolate chips on the tops of the cookies if desired (makes them look better and ensures chocolate in every bite).COOL: Let cookies cool completely on the wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Cookies are best eaten within 2-3 days. Recipe NotesNote 1: Coconut: You can toast the coconut if you'd like, but it doesn't make a significant difference in the taste. Make sure you get sweetened shredded coconut (not desiccated or flakes; see pictures in the post). Note 2: Measuring flour: Make sure to spoon and level the flour rather than scooping it directly from the container. Nutrition FactsServing: 15large cookies | Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 33.6g | Protein: 2.3g | Fat: 10.4g | Cholesterol: 30.5mg | Sodium: 67.9mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 24.5g We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
These are seriously the yummiest richest cookies ever! My husband and kids gobbled them up! Thanks for posting this:) Reply
I am so happy to hear you guys loved these Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂 Reply
I am very allergic to coconut… can that just be omitted or would I need to add extra of something to keep the batter consistent? Reply
