These are the best cranberry oatmeal cookies ever! Crispy on the edges and chewy on the inside, these delicious walnuts oatmeal cranberry cookies are everyone's favorite!
Time for another addition to our oatmeal cookies collection. We all love peanut butter oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and these no bake oatmeal cookies. Today we have a more festive cookie recipe: oatmeal cookies with cranberries, perfect for the holidays!
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About this recipe
I love these cookies because they're super chewy on the inside with crispy edges that make me so happy. These easy oatmeal cookies are perfect for the holidays and make a great gift, because they keep really well for days.
It's so easy to double and triple this recipe and make some for your next gathering or your kid's school. Make these and anyone who takes a bite will ask for the recipe, they're that good!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter: Use unsalted butter and make sure it's soft and at room temperature.
- Granulated and brown sugar: The combination of white and brown sugar makes these cookies very delicious.
- Egg: Use the egg at room temperature since it mixes well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Old fashioned oatmeal: Quick or instant oatmeal won't work for this recipe since they would change the texture of the cookies.
- All purpose flour: Regular all purpose flour works best for this recipe. If you're making gluten-free cookies, use 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour.
- Walnuts: Chopped walnuts add a little crunch to these cookies. You can also use chopped pecans. It's also possible to just leave the nuts out.
- Dried cranberries: Unsweetened cranberries are preferred.
Instructions
- Cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla. Mix well.
- Add in the old fashioned oatmeal and all purpose flour to the butter and egg mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon.
- Add walnuts and dried cranberries. Mix and refrigerate the cookie dough for at least one hour.
- Scoop out the cookies and bake them until golden on the edges.
- Cool on the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack before serving.
Variations
- Chocolate chip: Leave out the walnuts and add ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips to the cookie dough before adding the cranberries.
- Orange: Leave out the vanilla and walnuts and add one teaspoon orange zest to the cookie dough after adding the egg.
- White chocolate: Leave out the walnuts and add ½ cup white chocolate chips to the cookie dough while adding the cranberries. Also, check out my cranberry white chocolate scones and cranberry white chocolate oatmeal cookie bars, they're so tasty!
- Pecan: Use ½ cup chopped pecans instead of walnuts.
- Coconut: Leave out the walnuts and add ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut to the cookie dough.
Frequently asked questions
Oatmeal cookies get their perfect chewiness and texture from old fashioned oats therefore quick oats won't work as good. However, I like using quick oats if I'm making no bake cookies.
It's best to refrigerate the dough for at least one hour as it helps solidifying the fat so the cookies won't spread too much. If you're in a rush, freeze the cookie dough for 20 minutes and then bake the cookies.
Yes, you can make the cookies up to 3 days ahead of time. You can also make the dough and refrigerate it for up to one week. When you're ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the instructions.
Yes, place the cookies in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 4 months. To serve, thaw them at room temperature or in the oven at 200 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
If freezing the raw cookie dough, transfer it to a freezer bag, flatten it using your hands and then freeze it for up to 6 months. To bake, thaw the dough in the fridge overnight and then proceed with the baking instructions in the recipe card.
Notes and tips
- When making cookies, make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature unless otherwise is mentioned in the recipe. Read more about why you need to have ingredients at room temperature on craftsy.
- You can refrigerate the oatmeal cookie dough overnight and make it the day after.
- This cranberry oatmeal cookie recipe is asking for dried cranberries, it cannot be substituted with fresh cranberries.
- You can double this recipe easily. The baking time will be the same.
More cookie recipes
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Step-by-Step Recipe
Best Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup old fashioned oatmeal
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy and light.
- Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix well.
- Stir in the old fashioned oatmeal and all purpose flour using a wooden spoon.
- Fold in chopped walnuts and cranberries.
- Chill the oatmeal cookie dough in the fridge for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop out the cookie dough and place them on the baking sheet, leaving 2 inch space between them.
- Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until they're golden on the edges. The top will be soft.
- Cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Use two baking sheets to make the cookies. When one batch is baked, bake the other batch. Don't use warm baking sheets since it'll make the cookies spread before they bake.
- You can leave out the walnuts and add ½ cup white chocolate chips to make white chocolate chip cranberry oatmeal cookies.
- Use pecans instead of walnuts if you like. It's also possible to not use nuts in this cookie recipe.
- When making cookies, make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature unless otherwise is mentioned in the recipe. Read more about why you need to have ingredients at room temperature.
- You can refrigerate the oatmeal cookie dough overnight and make it the day after.
- This cranberry oatmeal cookie recipe is asking for dried cranberries, it cannot be substituted with fresh cranberries.
- You can double this recipe easily. The baking time will be the same.
- Freezing instructions: Place the cookies in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 4 months. To serve, thaw them at room temperature or in the oven at 200 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
If freezing the raw cookie dough, transfer it to a freezer bag, flatten it using your hands and then freeze it for up to 6 months. To bake, thaw the dough in the fridge overnight and then proceed with the baking instructions in the recipe card.
Liz
I had some leftover cranberries from the holiday so these cookies were the perfect way to use them up! So good!
Renee Goerger
I am thrilled with the results of these cookies. Everyone in my family loved them! Thanks for the terrific recipe!!
Sara
I just made these and they were SO good. My husband and children loved them. They are very pretty too. I think I'll try them with white chocolate chips next time.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Glad you liked them!
Tracy
Can I use frozen cranberries?
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Tracy, I don't recommend using frozen cranberries as they might release a lot of juice which would make the cookies mushy.
Donna
Why no salt and no baking soda? just curious, I've made another recipe that includes those ingredients and 1C flour - so trying to compare. I love the "visual" end result of your cookie and wanting to try this recipe.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Donna, this recipe didn't need the addition of salt because we wanted to be 100% sweet. As for the baking soda, since we wanted the cookies to be denser, we didn't use baking soda.
Nellie Tracy
These Cookies have the best texture and are perfect for the holidays!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Thank you Nellie! We also love cranberry oatmeal cookies!
Dini
I love making oatmeal cookies for the holidays, and I'll definitely be making these this year! Love the walnuts and cranberries 🙂 And they look really festive too. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Thank you Dini! These oatmeal cookies are so simple and easy to make. Hope you enjoy them!