White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Easy oatmeal cranberry cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Slightly crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Loaded with white chocolate chips, fresh cranberries, orange zest and pecans.
For many people, cranberries is one of those fruits that mark the beginning of the Holiday season. With it’s popping red color and strong tart flavor, it’s popular in many Christmas desserts. Along with today’s cranberry white chocolate chip cookies, you can also enjoy them in this Coconut Cranberry Cake and these Chocolate Cranberry Truffles.
How to make oatmeal cranberry cookies?
- Cream butter and sugar– Until light and fluffy.
- Add wet ingredients– Mix in eggs, vanilla extract, orange zest and mix until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients– Mix in flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda until just combined
- Stir in add-ins- Such as cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pecans.
- Chill– Do this for about 30 minutes so that the dough becomes easier to handle and is not sticky.
- Roll cookie balls– Scoop out small portions of the dough and roll them into small balls. If the dough is too sticky, try putting flour on your hands to make it easier to roll.
- Bake- Place cookie dough balls on a baking tray and bake at 375 degrees F for 12-14 minutes.
- Enjoy!– Let them cool and then, dig in!
Variations for White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Try other nuts– Such as almonds, cashews or walnuts. Cranberry pistachio cookies seriously rock plus they look beautiful!
Try other zests and flavors– Such as lemon or lime zests instead of orange. You can also use some almond extract.
Try other flavors of chocolate chips– Such as semisweet or dark chocolate chips instead of white or a combination of multiple flavors.
Top them– Drizzle melted chocolate or a simple vanilla glaze to take them up a notch. Do whatever your sweet heart desires!
Fill them– Make cookie sandwiches. Try this Maple Frosting or American Buttercream Frosting or even this Marshmallow Frosting. You can even fill them with jams and preserves.
Ice Cream Sandwiches– Add a scoop of your favorite ice cream and sandwich it in between two cookies. Perfect for summer time!
Tips and Techniques for Fresh Cranberry Orange Cookies
Can frozen cranberries or dried be substituted for fresh cranberries? Frozen cranberries will work best. Dried cranberries can be used but the fresh and frozen ones just add a better texture.
How to store white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies? They can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Can these cookies be frozen? Yes, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 month in the freezer.
Please note the baking time– It’s not 350 degrees F. The lower the temperature, the more crisper the cookies will become. Since these are thick cookies, you want them to bake at a higher temperature and a shorter baking time for a soft and chewy texture.
How to know when cookies are done baking? They become golden brown and are firm along the edges.
How to roughly chop cranberries? Use a sharp knife to cut each cranberry into 3-4 smaller pieces. DO NOT use a food processor because that will chop them up too fine. Having them roughly chopped adds the best texture to these cookies.
Use quick cooking oats– Do not replace this with old fashioned oats because that will alter the overall texture of these cookies. They tend to have a coarse texture.
Chill dough– Because that makes the cookie dough easier to handle and makes it less sticky.
Line cookie tray with parchment paper– Because this prevents cookies from sticking to the pan.
Adjust amount of extract and zests- This is entirely based on your preference. If you want a stronger orange flavor, add more zest or even a little orange extract.
Don’t over mix dough– That’s because that makes very tough cookies.
Use unsalted butter– Because no one likes salty cookies.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Spritz Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Snowflake Cookies
Easy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter, Unsalted, Room temperature
- 1.5 cups Granulated sugar
- 2 Eggs, Large
- 1.5 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1.5 tbsp Orange zest
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 cups Quick cooking oats
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1 1/3 cups Cranberries, Fresh, Roughly chopped
- 1.5 cups White chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup Pecans, Roughly chopped
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, vanilla extract, orange zest and mix until smooth.
- Add flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and mix until just combined.
- Stir in cranberries, white chocolate chips, pecans.
- Cover and chill dough in fridge for at least 30 minutes to make it easier to handle.
- Scoop out small portions of the dough and roll into balls. Grease or flour your hands to make this process easier.
- Place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days. Baked cookies can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month (once they cool down).
Nutrition
Until next time, tata my lovelies!
I made these using a few substitutions, and they were amazing! I subbed lemon zest for the orange and pistachios for the optional pecans. I also used a heaping cup of dried cranberries instead of the fresh, and added about 1/4 tsp of almond extract in addition to the vanilla.