Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
These oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip cookies are big, chewy and loaded with tart dried cranberries and chocolate chunks. Chilling the dough gives the old-fashioned oats time to soften, so the cookies bake up with a moist, hearty crumb and crisp edges. The dough takes about 30 minutes to mix and scoop, then chills for at least 2 hours before baking.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
Oatmeal cookies in all forms are wonderful and oats are one of my favorite things to bake with. My family loves my classic Oatmeal Cookies with Maple Glaze and I make them all the time.
Sometimes less is more, and sometimes more is better. For a counterpart to my regular oatmeal cookies, I wanted to make an absolutely loaded cookie with tart dried cranberries and big chocolate chunks. I particularly love the contrast of the tangy cranberries and pools of melty chocolate in these hearty cookies.
I make the cookies really big and chewy, but you can scoop smaller cookies to feed a crowd or when you want a smaller bite. See the section below for more information about resizing the cookies.
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour – Has medium protein content that forms some gluten in the cookie dough. Oats will not form gluten so wheat flour is needed for structure.
- Oats – I prefer old fashioned oats over quick cooking oats for the craggy texture they form in the cookies. Old fashioned oats absorb moisture more slowly than quick cooking oats. This means the oats hold their shape in the dough, giving the cookies a rustic crumb. Quick cooking oats will absorb more moisture from the dough and will fully integrate into the crumb, losing the rustic texture of the cookie.
- Brown Sugar/Granulated Sugar – Brown sugar has molasses for added flavor and moisture retention. A little granulated sugar in the dough helps the cookie form a crisp edge.
- Unsalted Butter – Using butter without added salt allows you to control the amount of salt in the recipe. The level of salt in different brands of butter is not consistent so can change the flavor of the dough. Salted butter usually contains slightly more water. Cookie dough is a low moisture dough and even a little extra water can affect the spread of the cookies.
- Chocolate Chunks – Larger pieces of chocolate create those irresistible pockets of melted chocolate. If you only have chips, use them in a pinch, but chunks really make a difference. Use standard or mini chips if you want to make smaller cookies. See the size adjustment section below for details.
- Dried Cranberries – I use sweetened dried cranberries, such as Ocean Spray Craisins, for the tangy pop and chewy bite in these cookies. You can use raisins or dried tart cherries instead.
What is Room Temperature Butter?
“Room temperature” butter is a bit of a misnomer since the actual temperature of a room can vary. In baking terms, room temperature butter is soft and pliable, but not at all greasy or melted. The actual temperature for the butter should be 65-70°F.
How to Make Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Here’s what the recipe process looks like at each stage. Refer to the recipe card below for measurements and exact instructions.
- Combine the butter with the brown sugar and white sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Cream on medium high until the color lightens and the mixture is aerated. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
- Scrape the bowl and add the egg. Mix to combine.
- Add the oats and mix to combine. Adding the oats before the flour gives them a head start on absorbing moisture from the other ingredients.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients.
- Mix until the flour is about half way mixed.
- Add the dried cranberries and chocolate chunks and mix to combine
- You may need to finish mixing by hand to make sure the cranberries and chocolate chunks are evenly distributed.
- Use a 2 oz (1/4 cup) scoop to form the dough balls. See the section below if you want to make smaller cookies.
- Whatever the size, bake the cookies until the edges are browned and the center of the cookies are still slightly soft. In the photo below you can see the edges are nicely browned and the center is soft and has not yet “settled”.
Choose when to bake
🧑🍳If you can’t resist baking right away, go ahead and bake a few cookies to satisfy your immediate craving. Refrigerate or freeze the rest of the dough for future baking.
Chill first (recommended): Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. This rest gives the flour and oats time to absorb moisture, so the cookies bake up thicker and chewier with a hearty, oaty crumb. I like to scoop first, then chill the dough balls before baking. Chilling the whole bowl works too but it is easier to scoop the dough while it’s still soft.
Freeze for later: Freeze scooped dough balls for later (details under Make Ahead & Storage).
Why Chill This Dough?
Often, chilling cookie dough is about controlling spread. If the butter in the dough is soft and the flour has not had time to absorb excess moisture, the cookies will readily spread in the oven. For these cookies, even freshly made dough won’t spread that much since the oats and chunky ingredients keep the dough compact. This dough is chilled so the old fashioned oats have time to absorb moisture from the egg and butter. This softens the oats so the cookies have a moist and hearty crumb with good oat flavor throughout.
In my testing I baked cookies from freshly made dough, from chilled dough and from frozen dough. The cookies made with un-chilled dough ate a bit drier and didn’t have a full oat flavor. The cookies baked after chilling baked up with a moister crumb and more balanced flavor.
Adjust the Size
I love to make these cookies big, 1/4 cup of dough (2 oz scoop) per cookie. The big dough balls bake up with crisp edges and a thick and chewy center. The chocolate chunks and dried cranberries are well distributed in big cookies. The big cookies will take about 12-14 minutes to bake.
You can make smaller cookies using a small (1.25 oz) scoop. If you plan to make smaller cookies I suggest using standard or mini chocolate chips for more even distribution in the cookie. Smaller cookies will bake in 8-9 minutes.
Make Ahead, Freezing & Storage
- The dough can be prepared ahead and held in the refrigerator up to 24 hours before baking. You can scoop the dough before or after chilling.
- To store longer, freeze scooped dough balls until solid, then move them to an airtight bag for up to 2 months. Allow frozen dough balls to soften while you preheat the oven. You may need to add 1-2 extra minutes to the baking time.
- These cookies are best the day they’re baked, when the edges are crisp and the centers chewy. They’ll keep in an airtight container for up to 3–4 days.
- For the freshest cookies, bake only what you’ll eat within a couple of days and keep the rest of the dough refrigerated or frozen.
- Baked cookies can be frozen for up to a month.
More Cranberry Recipes
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Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 oz all purpose flour (¾ cup, see note)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz unsalted butter (room temperature, see note)
- 4 oz brown sugar (½ cup, packed)
- 2 oz granulated sugar (¼ cup)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 oz old-fashioned rolled oats (1 ½ cups)
- 4 ½ oz dried cranberries (¾ cup)
- 4 ½ oz chocolate chunks (¾ cup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F if you plan to bake the cookies right after mixing. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Sift together 4 oz all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt set aside.
- Cream 6 oz unsalted butter with 4 oz brown sugar and 2 oz granulated sugar on medium-high speed for about 2-3 minutes. The mixture should lighten in color and become aerated. Scrape the bowl. Add 4 ½ oz dried cranberries and 4 ½ oz chocolate chunks. You may need to finish the dough off the mixer to incorporate the cranberries and chips evenly.
- Add 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix just until combined, scrape the bowl. With the mixer running on low speed add 5 oz old-fashioned rolled oats all at once and mix until partially combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until about halfway combined.
- Add 4 ½ oz dried cranberries and 4 ½ oz chocolate chunks. You may need to finish the dough off the mixer to incorporate the cranberries and chips evenly.
- Using a 2 oz cookie scoop or a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the dough into large balls and line them up on the prepared sheet pan. See notes for making smaller cookies. If you will be freezing the dough you can keep the dough balls close together. For baking, leave at least 3" between the cookies. For best results I recommend chilling the cookie balls for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours before baking.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 °F. Line the cookie balls on a sheet pan with at least 3" between. If the balls were frozen let them defrost at room temperature while you preheat the oven. Bake until the edges of the cookies are set and crisp and the tops are lightly puffed and still soft, about 14 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet pan then you can slide the parchment paper off the pan and onto a cooling rack. Cool until the cookies are firm enough to handle without breaking apart.
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Delicious cookies!
Hubs fave cookie (minus the cinnamon) & made with dark chocolate chips. I make it minimally monthly. He prefers eating them straight out of the freezer! A staple recipe for over 2 years. Thanks Eileen!
Wonderful!! I like to eat shortbread cookies and macarons straight from the freezer.
This is very easy to adapt and looks very healthy . I am going to replace egg with flax seed meal . Hope it works . I have an allergy to egg !
I’ve made oatmeal cookies with egg substitute with very good results. I think it will work well for you.