These Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies are one of our favorite holiday cookies. They are deliciously spiced with cinnamon, perfectly textured with oats, and have the perfect sweetness and tang from the dried cranberries!
It’s that time of the year! Where every household is or should I say should be smelling like cookies and brownies and pies!
I can’t express how much I love this time, I am a huge fan of baking so give me any reason to whip up some goodies and I am in. This time it has to do with cranberries. I am completely obsessed with cranberries, I literally throw them on anything and call it a day!
I usually put them in my arugula or kale salad but for the same of the holidays I wanted to do something different and put these cranberries in an oatmeal cookie… and OH MAH GAHD, they turned out so so yummy!
For more Holiday cookie recipe check out this 17 Days of Holiday Cookie Recipes from the best bloggers of 2019
What’s so special about these cranberry oatmean cookies?!
I fell out of love with cookies a couple of years back, because it always felt like they were so packed with sugar. It almost became unbearable to have them because they are always so sweet...
Now that I am posting all these amazing recipes and sharing them with you guys I want to bring you the perfect balanced oatmeal cranberry cookie. That is exactly why I tweaked this recipe to make the sugar in craisins or dried cranberry elevate the sweetness of the oatmeal cookie.
By reducing the sugar in the oatmeal cookie, I was able to create something magical. The union between the sweetness and tartness of the craisins and the oatmeal cookie is absolutely delicious should I say.
Cranberry health benefits
Cranberries have been considered a super food for the longest time. Here are some of the benefits they provide:
- They are well known to be helpful in keeping UTIs at bay.
- Cranberries may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- They may help enhance oran health.
- They may help improve digestion because they are packed with fiber.
Dried cranberries health benefits
Dried cranberries might not have all the health benefits of regular cranberries but they can still be good for you in moderation! Despite the high amount of sugar in craisins, they often maintain their antioxidants and other bioactive compounds while dried. This is good news, since now we know we are not eating completely empty calories!
Cranberry nutrition
One half cup of chopped cranberries contains:
- 25 calories
- 0.25 grams of protein
- 0.07 grams of fat
- 6.6 grams of carbohydrates
- 2 grams of fiber
Cranberries also contain lots of vitamins including, vitamin C, A, K, and B
Dried cranberries nutrition
One third cup of craisins contains:
- 120 calories
- 0 grams of protein
- 0.6 grams of fat
- 24 grams of carbohydrates
- 2 gams of fiber
Ingredients for this easy oatmeal cran raisin cookies!
easy cranberry oatmeal cookies
- Old fashioned oats – Make sure that you are using old fashioned oats here or the texture of the whole cookie won’t be right. Quick oats also will absorb all the moisture of the cookie and leave you with a super dry end product…
- all purpose flour – Bleached or unbleached will work just fine in this recipe.
- Baking soda – This will give the cookie a tiny bit of a lift as well as keep it soft.
- Cinnamon – Oatmeal cookies are just not complete without the cinnamon
- Salt – Always add salt to your baked goods! It balances the sweetness and add a whole lot of depth of flavor.
- Unsalted butter – Since we are using a stand mixer the butter doesn’t have to be fully soft or room temp. We want it to be semi-firm so that the cookies don’t spread too much.
- Dark brown sugar and granulated sugar – The mix of both of these is what gives the cookies it’s chewy-ness.
- eggs– The eggs are usually the binders of most recipes.
- Cranberries – I used a craisins from a fresh bag. This will ensure that your dried up cranberries are super fresh and not too dry!
- White chocolate (optional) – The white chocolate is used to drizzle the cookies when they’re done baking and cooling. It does not do much for the taste but it adds a lot to the visual of the cookies!
How to make cranberry oatmeal cookies?
I feel like I always start my how to make a certain cookie recipe like this… This is a super easy basic recipe that is made like any other cookie recipe. But if you really wanna know exactly how it is made before reading the whole cranberry oatmeal cookie recipe below, there you have it!
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F, then line the baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and set it aside.
- Now, whisk all the dry ingredients together except the oats. So flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon then set it aside.
- In the stand mixer, cream the butter and both sugars together then add in the vanilla and egg and beat one more tine until the mix is creamy and well incorporated.
- Add in the dry mixture and mix until combined then add in the dough and cranberries and give it one last mix. If you are using a hand mixer, use a spatula instead. For more information on how to make these cookies using a hand mixer click here for more info.
- Using a medium #40 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scooper, scoop 21 cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheet and flatten them with you fingers or a fork until they are about ½″ thick. Depending on the size of your cookie sheet you can fit about 12 per sheet, keeping 2-inches of space between them.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes The cookies will look nearly set in the center, so a bit under baked in the middle.
- Let the cookies cool down on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack
Optional topping
When I made these cranberry oatmeal cookies I wanted to make them prettier so I decided to melt some white chocolate and drizzle it on top for a beautiful christmassy look!
To do so, just place two squares of the Ghirardelli white chocolate bar in a bowl and microwave it in 30 second intervals until it is melted. If it seeds too thick add ½ teaspoon coconut oil to make it more runny and easily drizzle-able.
This white chocolate is one of my absolute favorites! Most of the other white chocolates that are being sold nowadays taste terribly sweet and chalky so I make sure to go with a good quality ingredient like this one to ensure that my final product is amazing!
Substitutions
If you are not a cranberry lover, it is not a problem at all! You can always substitute the cranberries for something else. My favorites substitutions for it would be chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins. The ratio would stay a 1:1.
Cran Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- First, start by preheating the oven to 35o degrees F, then line the baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper then set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until combined and set aside.
- In the stand mixer bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together. Add in the egg and the vanilla and mix just until incorporated.
- Add in the flour mixture and stir into the creamed butter, once that's incorporated add in the oats and cranberries and mix one last time.
- Using a medium cookies scooper ( 1 ½ tablespoon ) scoop 20 equal balls and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie using either your fingers of a fork to about ½ an inch thick.
- Bake the cookies for 10-13 minutes, allowing them to sit and cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Notes
- If you do not have a stand mixer, these can easily be made using a hand mixer. Make sure to read the notes I have about it below.
- To store these cookies, place them in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for 5 days!
What if I don’t have a stand mixer?
That’s no problem at all! These can be done both with a stand mixer or a hand mixer!
- Make sure to use room temperature butter when using your hand mixer. The last thing you want to do is overwork your hand mixer and totally fry it… I did that around this time last year and It was pretty sad…
- Again, you will want to use a spatula when adding your oats and cranberries to the cookie mix. This will keep the hand mixer from working too hard and you will get to keep it in good shape for a long time to come!
How to store these cranberry oatmeal cookies?
When it comes to storing these you have to make sure that you are keeping them in an airtight container. When you store these in an airtight container at room temperature, they keep for 5 days.
More delicious cookie recipes you will love!
- S’mores peanut butter cookies
- Apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies
- Chocolate walnut slice and bake cookies
- Famous giant chocolate chunk cookies
- No chill brown butter macadamia white chocolate cookies
- Dulce de leche stuffed snicker doodle cookies
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