Thick, flavorful, and perfectly soft these Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are laced with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for a cookie that’s sweet and just a bit tart. This easy cookie recipe comes together in just 20 minutes.
Easy White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
These Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies with white chocolate chips are the latest variation of my beloved soft & chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. In fact, the recipes are almost identical except that the raisins are swapped out for some dried cranberries and white chocolate chips are added. Otherwise, you have the same soft and chewy texture with slightly crisp edges and a tender center.
I figured, why mess with perfection? So I just switched up the flavors a bit to create a whole new cookie. And I have to say, the cranberry and white chocolate chip combo may be one of my all-time favorites. These are definitely going on future holiday cookie trays!
What You’ll Need
These cranberry oatmeal cookies use almost exactly the same ingredients as my chewy oatmeal cookie recipe.
- Unsalted butter – Make sure it is cold, not room temperature.
- Sugar – Both light brown sugar and granulated sugar are used.
- Eggs
- Pure vanilla extract
- All-purpouse flour
- Rolled oats
- Cinnamon – Gives that classic oatmeal cookie flavor!
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Dried cranberries – Either sweetened or unsweetened dried cranberries work, it’s all about a personal preference of sweetness.
What Kind of Oats Should I Use?
The best oats to use for oatmeal cookies are rolled oats. They have a soft texture that provides some chewiness to the cookies.
Steel cut oats, on the other hand, tend to have a harder texture while quick oats absorb moisture and can be a bit mushy. However, if you don’t have rolled oats then quick oats would be the next best option.
More Mix-In Ideas
If you want to get creative, here are a few ideas of things to mix into your cranberry oatmeal cookies:
- Raisins
- Craisins
- Other dried berries (instead of or in addition to the cranberries. Blueberries are especially great!)
- White chocolate chunks
- Dark chocolate (or semisweet) chips or chunks
- Chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans
How to Make Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Here’s how to make these soft & chewy white chocolate cranberry cookies
1. Beat the sugars. Soften the cold butter in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds. Beat with the sugars until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract.
2. Add the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add to the wet ingredients. Before the dough thickens, add the cranberries and chocolate chips.
3. Scoop on to baking sheet. Use a scoop to place balls of dough on the sheet pan, 2 inches apart.
4. Bake. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on the sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
What If They Spread Too Much?
If the oatmeal cookies spread more than you’d like, use a knife or spatula to push the edges back in as soon as they come out of the oven. It’ll make the centers nice and puffy and give a nice round shape to the cookies.
Also pay particular attention to the temperature of the butter. This recipe starts with colder butter, not room temperature.
Tips for Success
For the best homemade oatmeal cookies, keep the following things in mind.
- Use cold butter. It may seem silly to start with cold butter if you’re going to be microwaving it but it does make a difference. The butter should be just soft enough to beat with the sugars. Otherwise, if it’s too soft, it will cause the cookies to spread too much.
- Don’t overbake. The centers of your cranberry oatmeal cookies will be underbaked when you pull them from the oven. They should be soft and gooey without appearing too glossy. Keep a careful eye on the cookies towards the end of the baking time to ensure they don’t overbake. Additionally, the cookies will continue bake on the sheet once it’s removed from the oven.
- Measure the flour carefully. Use the spoon and level technique to measure the flour as that will have the greatest impact on the texture of the cookies and how much they spread.
- Don’t crowd the baking sheet. These cookies are meant to spread a bit, so be sure to leave the full 2 inches between them on the baking sheet.
How to Store & Freeze These Cookies
- How to store. These oatmeal raisin cookies can last at room temperature for to 3 to 5 days. Once they’ve cooled completely, transfer to an airtight container and keep them at room temperature.
- Can I freeze these? Yes, these cranberry oatmeal cookies freeze well. Once they’ve cooled completely, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. You can let them thaw at room temperature or pop one in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds straight from the freezer!
More Cookie Recipes:
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Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Thick, flavorful, and perfectly soft these Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are laced with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for a cookie that’s sweet and just a bit tart. This easy cookie recipe comes together in just 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (229 g) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 ½ cups (330 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (95 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (120 g) rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon (7 g) cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups (One 5 oz/1423g bag) Dried cranberries, sweetened or unsweetened
- 1 cup (180g) white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.
- Soften the cold butter in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Combine the softened butter with the brown and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes.
- Next add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue beating until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir to combine and slowly add the dry ingredients into the dough, mixing on low speed until dough starts to form. Before the dough thickens, add the cranberries and chocolate chips. Beat a couple of times just until the flour incorporates.
- Scoop the dough using a large cookie scoop and place on a sheet pan, 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes. The center of the cookie should be slightly under baked but not too gooey. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- How to store. These can last at room temperature for to 3 to 5 days. Once they’ve cooled completely, transfer to an airtight container and keep them at room temperature.
- Can I freeze these? Once they’ve cooled completely, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. You can let them thaw at room temperature or pop one in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds straight from the freezer!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 265
- Sugar: 27.8 g
- Sodium: 140.8 mg
- Fat: 10.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.6 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 37.3 mg
WAYYYYY TOO SWEET
I disagree but to each their own.
OMG these are AMAZING!! Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside!! They’re just perfect!!
Yeah! Thank you so much Elise! So glad you enjoyed them!
One thing that I forgot to mention and that is; I do brown my butter on top of the stove to a nice golden/amber color. Really gives cookies a nice, different, nutty flavor to them.