Do you love cookies that strike the perfect balance between soft and chewy? These Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies deliver just that! With a slightly crispy exterior and a tender, chewy center, each bite is packed with the wholesome goodness of oats and the tart sweetness of dried cranberries.
These Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies Are Delicious
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are a delicious treat combining chewy oats with the tangy flavor of dried cranberries. They’re a family favorite in my house, especially during the holiday season, but they’re just as perfect for everyday snacking or packing into lunch boxes.
My top tips for the best oatmeal cranberry cookies:
- Use old-fashioned oats. They provide the perfect chewy texture and hold up well in the cookie dough. Avoid quick oats, as they can make the cookies too soft.
- Soften your butter. Softened butter ensures the dough mixes smoothly for evenly baked cookies.
- Don’t overmix. Once the dry ingredients are added, mix just until combined to avoid tough cookies.
- Chill the dough if needed. If your dough feels too soft, chilling it for 20–30 minutes will help the cookies keep their shape while baking.
These cookies are wonderfully chewy, lightly spiced, and full of flavor. Whether you’re making them for a holiday platter or just because they’re sure to disappear quickly!
Ingredients For Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Oats - Use old-fashioned oatmeal or rolled oats. The thicker oats work best in this cookie because has great texture. Do not use instant or one-minute oats.
- Brown sugar - the brown sugar helps keep the cookie soft and chewy
- Butter - I use salted butter. Make certain your butter is at room temperature so it can easily be mixed in with the sugar.
- Cranberries - dried sweetened cranberries
How to Make Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Cream butter and sugar together
- Add eggs and vanilla
3. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix to combine
4. Mix in oats
5. Stir in cranberries
6. Use a cookie scoop or two spoons to form balls of cookie dough on an ungreased cookie sheet
7. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 8-10 minutes
8. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes and then remove to a baking rack until fully cooled
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie Recipe Variations
- Use raisins in place of the cranberries
- Add a cup of chocolate chips
- Stir in toasted pecans or walnuts
- For a delicious twist, add orange zest to the batter
- Top unbaked cookies with a sprinkle of sea salt
Tips For Making Craisin Oatmeal Cookies
- Make certain your butter is at room temperature
- Whip butter for 3-4 minutes along with brown sugar
- Use real vanilla, not imitation
- Use Old Fashioned Oats - not quick-cook oats. Old Fashioned Oats are thicker and hold together better in these cookies.
- Don't overbake the cookies.
Storing this Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies Recipe
These cookies are perfect for making ahead of time and freezing.
My grandmother used to make batches of cookies and freeze them. She always had cookies to serve if anyone dropped over for a visit.
My sister also freezes cookies, but not to serve to company. She likes to eat them frozen! She pulls out one at a time and eats them in their hard frozen state.
To freeze
- Allow cookies to cool completely on a baking rack
- Place cookies in an airtight container or a freezer bag
- Arrange cookies in a single layer
- Place a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper on top of cookies and add another layer of cookies
- Freeze the container in a flat position
- Cookies will last up to three months in a deep freezer
To thaw
- Remove cookies from freezer
- Let sit for at least 2 hours at room temperature
Recipe Faqs
Allow cookies to fully cool on baking rack. Place in an airtight container or storage bag. Store at room temperature.
Yes, these cookies freeze well. Once the cookies are fully cool, place in a freezer safe container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
More from Beyond The Chicken Coop
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, salted (softened)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups oats
- 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until soft and light. Add brown sugar and continue mixing. Mix together until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes.1 cup butter, salted, 1 cup brown sugar
- Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 eggs
- Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.1 ¾ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add oats. Mix just until combined.3 cups oats
- Fold in dried cranberries.1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
- Form small scoops of cookies. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on baking sheet and then remove to a baking rack to continue cooling.
Notes
- Make certain your butter is at room temperature
- Use real vanilla, not imitation
- Use old fashioned oats or rolled oats - not quick cook oats. Old Fashioned Oats are thicker and hold together better in these cookies.
- Add sweetened dried cranberries or raisins
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Felice Nelson says
It is about time that I thank you for this perfect no fail recipe. Have been making it regularly and my husband and I adore them.
Kathy says
Thanks so much! I'm so glad you both enjoy them!
SC says
Something seemed off with the flavor from the batch I made. I'm thinking the addition of walnuts and using the 50% less sugar craisins made these more bland.
Kathy says
Hi! I'm sorry these didn't work for you. The recipe was written with regularly sweetened cranberries. That may have made the difference. 🙂
Autumn says
I halved the recipe, used orange extract instead of vanilla, and added chopped walnuts. Rolled out bigger cookies and ended up baking them for 15+ minutes. Great recipe!
Kathy says
Thanks for your suggestions! 🙂 I'm glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Annie H says
Baked 30 of them and they turned out perfect! I love this recipe. It's super easy and doesn't require too much time.
Kathy says
Thanks so much! So glad you enjoyed them!
H0wl says
Can these be frozen for later?
Kathy says
Yes! These cookies freeze well. Wait till they are fully cool and place in a freezer safe container or bag. Enjoy!
Amanda says
Instead of orange zest, do you think orange extract flavor would be ok?
Kathy says
Hi Amanda,
This recipe doesn't use orange zest. Was it another recipe you were thinking of?
Kathy
Amanda says
No, sorry. I was going to add a little off the recommendations I saw in the comments. I love cranberry and orange bread, so was just curious.
Kathy says
I think using the orange extract in place of the vanilla would work. 🙂
Brentlee says
These were delicious!! Thanks for sharing the recipe ❤️
Kathy says
Thank you so much!
Marcie McGuire says
Made this recipe for a meeting…delicious! I added a cup of lightly salted and toasted chopped pecans to the batter. Kicked the cookies up a notch. They were a hit!
Kathy says
Sounds like a great idea! Toasted pecans have so much flavor!
Thanks 🙂
Chris G. says
I made these cookies a million times and love them. However for health reasons I need to cut back on my saturated fat intake. I would substitute egg whites for whole eggs, but any suggestions on butter substitutes?
Thank you
Kathy says
Hi Chris,
I have only made these cookies as written. You should be able to substitute margarine for the butter if that's a better choice for you.
Kathy
Chris says
Thank you for replying so quickly. After some searching I think I might try Canola Oil.
Have you ever tried substituting Canola Oil in any of your cookie recipes?
Thank you.
Kathy says
I have not, but now I'm curious! Let me know if you try it and how they turn out!
Thanks 🙂
Peter S says
I used only 1 stick of butter and subbed avocado oil for the other stick (about 4 oz). Amazing!
Kathy says
Great idea! Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
Diana Rock says
My dough was very dry and grumble. Not sure why. Taste is good but cookies are dry. Any idea what I did wrong?
Kathy says
Hi Diana,
How did you measure your flour? It's very easy to add too much flour simply by compacting your flour while measuring. Be certain to fluff and scoop your flour.
Diann says
Delicious oatmeal cookies with raisins!
Kathy says
Thank you!
Jodi says
Loved these.. I only had quick oats but it worked out perfectly. Thanks for sharing these
Kathy says
Great! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Anne says
We love this recipe! Thanks for posting it😃Recently I bought some cranberry oatmeal cookies from the local supermarket that were tasty but then realized how yucky the ingredients were. Made this just as written and the cookies were perfect. I love walnuts so added a just a few. Also like the suggestion about adding orange zest. Will definitely keep this recipe in the rotation!
Kathy says
Thank you so much! Homemade are always better than store bought, in my opinion. It's also fun to make the cookies your own by adding your favorites. Thanks so much for your comment! I really appreciate it. 🙂
Donna says
Delicious! Great recipe! Only added more cinnamon cause we love it otherwise cookies came out perfect! Thanks for the recipe:)
Kathy says
Thank you!!! 🙂
Laurie says
Hi Kathy, I bake a lot of cookies and always looking for new recipes and I found this recipe which I thought was exceptional, my cookies turned out great, no need to change recipe, but I do agree with adding some orange zest which I will do next time around. I buy up fresh cranberries after Thanksgiving since their on sale cheap and freeze them. I make cranberry-orange bread, love the flavor of them together. My husband is a retired farmer but still cleans grain for customers and he's always on the road, so I make lots of cookies to take with him (besides his lunch of course) to snack on with his helping hand. I will be scanning your site for more recipes to enjoy. Thank you
Kathy says
Hi Laurie,
Thanks for your comment. Adding orange zest would be delicious! There's nothing better than homemade cookies and your husband is lucky you keep him well stocked with cookies!
Kathy 🙂
Madison says
Yum yum yum! Overall very tasty, they are quite oat-y and chewy, but in a good way. I added extra salt (totaling about .5 teaspoon) and cinnamon (totaling 1.5 teaspoons) and cooked in a gas oven for 9.5 min for that "just doughy" but crispy on the bottom. Very glad I got that extra hint of salt, but wish there was a little more sweetness (maybe a splash of maple syrup?) and maybe only 2.5 cups of oats. Thanks for the recipe will make again!
Kathy says
Thanks for your comment and suggestions. 🙂
Stacey Swafford says
Something was off. Not enough sweetness. Maybe needs sugar.
Kathy says
Thank you for your comment.
RLSCM says
I wonder if there is a liquid ingredient missing from the list. The eggs and vanilla were not enough to combine the mixture. I added some milk until the consistency seemed right. They definitely looked good coming out of the oven. I think they turned out well this way and my son said he likes them.
Kathy says
This is a thick cookie dough. However, in order for the dough not to be too dry you do need to have your butter at room temperature and make certain you cream you butter and sugar together until really soft.
Jessica says
Loved this recipe! Delicious!
Kathy says
Thank you!!! 🙂
Misty B. says
My new favorite oatmeal raisin cookie. I made with dried cranberries and they were delicious! I used quick rolled oats and they worked just fine. I did put the dough in the freezer for about ten minutes before baking and the texture was perfect. But I've rarely met a cookie I didn't like.;)
Kathy says
Hi Misty,
Thanks so much!!! I appreciate your tips and I agree - I've rarely me a cookie I didn't like either!!! 🙂
Kathy
Lisa says
Kathy,
Is there a way to add some orange flavor to these cookies. I think they would really hit home at my house if I could. BTW great cookie recipe.
Thanks,
Lisa
Kathy says
Hi Lisa,
Try zesting an orange peel into the cookie dough. Add it along with the eggs and vanilla.
Let me know how they turn out!
Kathy 🙂