White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
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I have a perfect white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookie recipe for the holidays that is easy to throw together because it uses melted butter. You can use quick oats or old fashioned- whichever you have on hand. I recommend chilling the dough first, but they are delicious even if they are baked right away! This recipe takes about 10 minutes to prep, and doesn’t require a mixer!
These white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies are soft, and perfectly chewy on the inside. Basically everything you crave in an oatmeal cookie and the tart cranberries give the cookies a little bit of a chew
After mastering the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, and this fun spin on the oatmeal cookie, these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, I wanted to stir in a classic holiday flavor combination – white chocolate and cranberry. Like my other oatmeal cookie recipes on the blog, this recipe uses melted butter for not only flavor, but also helps to develop a chewy cookie. And bonus! They come together easily.
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Why You Will Love This Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie Recipe
- Easy To Find Ingredients – Like any good cookie, these are made with simple to find pantry staple ingredients. It uses regular flour, and you can use quick or old fashioned oats. Nothing fancy or fussy to buy to whip these up!
- Quick To Prep – Making these white chocolate oatmeal cranberry cookies will take about 10 minutes of your time. I do prefer to chill my cookie dough, but have also baked them right away and still had wonderful results.
- No Mixer Needed – I love this oatmeal cookie recipe because I don’t need to get out my mixer for them! The recipe uses melted butter, so all you need is a couple bowls, a whisk, and a spatula. That’s it!
Chilling Vs. Not Chilling Your Dough
I love chilling my cookie dough, but I totally get it if you need cookies now. I have baked these right away with still great results, but do prefer waiting and chilling the dough. With chilling your cookie dough, you get less cookie spreading, but also time for the flavors to develop and the texture is much improved.
I tested some cookies out with chilling and not chilling and you can see the difference! A picture is a worth a thousand words isn’t it 🙂
For more cookie tips, read my 6 tips to bake perfect cookies
Pantry Staple Ingredients Needed
- Flour – You will just need some all-purpose flour for this recipe. Bleached or unbleached will work just fine.
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – I always bake and prefer with unsalted butter so I can control the salt and it’s fresher than salted butter. If you only have salted butter, then reduce the salt in the recipe to a 1/2 teaspoon.
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla – I love using pure vanilla extract, but imitation vanilla definitely work with great results. Use what you have!
- Oats – I recommend old-fashioned oats because they have a heartier texture, and are not dry and powdery like quick oats, but quick oats will work. Use what you have on hand!
- White chocolate chips
- Dried cranberries
How do you make these oatmeal white chocolate cranberry cookies?
1. Combine dry ingredients.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine your flour, baking soda, and salt. Simply whisk and set aside.
Heather’s Baking From Scratch Tip
Want perfect results every time? Measure your flour by using a kitchen scale! Not every baker will measure flour the same way using a measuring cup and that difference can result in a cakey cookie, one that is flat, or one that is perfect. If you don’t own a kitchen scale yet, make sure to then spoon the flour into the cup and level it off. Do NOT pack it down into the cup or scoop directly from the bag, which will result in too much flour.
2. Combine butter and sugars.
In a second bowl with a whisk combine your melted butter and sugars. Then whisk them together until smooth and combined.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.
Stir in the eggs and vanilla and just whisk them together. You want to make sure your eggs are at room temperature so they don’t seize up the butter. I place mine a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using them and they are good to go!
4. Combine wet and dry.
Then just go ahead and combine the wet and dry ingredients together. Be careful at this point to not overmix. I stop mixing once I see the last of the flour has been mixed in.
Heather’s Baking From Scratch Tip
Overmixing will cause gluten to form, which can result in a tough cookie. Gluten is the protein that forms when the flour becomes hydrated. The more you mix, the more gluten that will form. And although we need some gluten for structure, if we keep mixing too much forms and we end up with a tough, chewy cookie.
4. Add oats, white chocolate chips and cranberries.
Stir in your oats, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries. Again be careful to not overmix. Just a few good stirs and you are all set.
I prefer using old-fashioned oats because they have a larger heartier texture, but quick oats can also work.
5. Chill Your Dough.
Listen, if you want to bake them now I get it. But chilling your dough (even if it’s for 1 hour will help with less spreading and better flavor). I prefer to chill my dough for 24 hours.
Just simply cover your mixing bowl with plastic wrap or foil and pop in the fridge. The next day you may need to let it soften for at least 10 minutes before you can scoop it.
6. Scoop And Bake The Cookies.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350oF (177oC). For larger cookies scoop about 1/4 cup of dough (3 1/2 ounces each) and place only 6-8 onto a cookie sheet and flatten with my hand a little bit because they are bigger they won’t spread as much, or for smaller cookies (about 2 tablespoons of dough) – I like this medium sized scoop) then place 12 cookies on the cookie sheet.
For larger cookies bake: 15-18 minutes
For smaller cookie (“normal” sized) -10-12 minutes
7. Cool Your Cookies
I know the hardest part. Well maybe the chilling was if you did that step. But after a couple minutes, I move my cookies over to a cooling rack to continue to cool.
Then. Simply. Eat. Enjoy. Repeat.
Heather’s Beginner Baking Tips
- Pack your brown sugar. Unlike flour, which should not be packed into the cup you want to make sure to pack your brown sugar into the cup to get an accurate volume measurement.
- Make sure your eggs are at a room temperature – Place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using. This will make sure that the cold eggs don’t seize up the melted butter.
- Use a cookie scoop for even sized cookies – Even sized cookies will all bake up the same so no unevenly baked cookies!
- Bake in the center of your oven – Make sure your cookie sheet is placed onto the center rack of your oven. If they are placed too high or too low the tops or bottoms may burn.
- Cookies should be soft in the middle when the timer goes off– When the timer goes off, the edges of the cookies should be golden brown and set, and soft in the middle. They will continue to bake up and set as they cool.
Recipe FAQ’s
Cookie spreading is a bummer. There 8 reasons that I can think of why your cookies may have spread. If your cookies do spread in the oven, you can try this little trick I picked up from Sally’s Baking Addiction, which is to take them out of the oven and take a spoon and press the edges of the cookie inward.
Yes and you should. You can freeze them baked or unbaked.
To freeze unbaked: Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet, and freeze solid. Then place into a sealable plastic bag. You can bake frozen, without thawing, but add on a few extra minutes of baking time.
To freeze baked: Allow the cookies to cool completely. Then when ready to eat, allow to thaw. I like to pop them into the microwave for about 20 seconds to bring them back to ooey gooey life.
Here is a complete tutorial on How To Freeze Cookie Dough
You don’t necessarily need to. Your cookies will spread more if you don’t. Chilling allows the butter to firm up, so they will spread less and intensifies the flavors of everything. It’s a game changer. I chilled my cookies for 24 hours for the perfect cookie. Make sure to chill the whole bowl, do not scoop first. This can dry out the dough. Then when ready to bake, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before scooping.
Cover and store these cookies at room temperature for up to one week.
Time-Saving Shortcuts
- Weigh your ingredients. For faster prep, weighing your ingredients will always take lots less time and improve your accuracy.
- Place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. You need your eggs at room temperature but that can take a long time. So place them in warm water and they will be ready in no time!
- Make the dough now, and bake them later. If you need these cookies in a couple days, then make the dough today and chill for up to 72 hours. Just cover the dough with plastic wrap, and pop in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then when ready to bake, let them sit for several minutes on the counter before scooping and baking.
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Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour *spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 226 g) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup (213 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups (200 g) old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup (170 g) white chocolate chips
- 1 cup (114 g) dried cranberries
Instructions
- If baking right away: I like to chill my cookie dough but you can also bake these cookies right away If baking immediately, position a rack in the center ofyour oven and preheat your oven to 350°F/177°C and prepare your cookie sheets with baking sheets.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk your flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. In a second bowl whisk together your melted butter and sugars until evenly combined, about 1-2 minutes. Add in your eggs and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures.. Add in your dry ingredients, and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon to combine. Be careful to not overmix.
- Add oats and mix-ins. With a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in your oats, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries until evenly mixed throughout.
- Refrigerate dough. I like to cover my bowl of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. When ready to bake, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for several minutes to allow for easier scooping.
- Bake. When ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 350°F (177°C). For large cookies: Using a large scoop (or a 1/4 cup), scoop your cookies on to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and flatten with your hand until about 1/2-inch thickness. Space about 2-3 inches apart. Place 6-8 cookies on one sheet.For smaller (regular sized) cookies: Use a 1-inch (small) scoop (or about 1 1/2 tablespoonfuls) 12 cookies and place about 2 inches apart onto a cookie sheet. Bake on the middle rack for 15-18 minutes for large cookies, or 10-12 minutes for smaller cookies until edges are set and golden brown and middles still look slightly soft.
- Cool cookies. Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring the cookies to cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
- Storage: Store these cookies, covered at room temperature, for up to a week. Any longer and I would freeze them.
- Freeze: Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet, and freeze solid, about 1 hour, then place into a sealable plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You can bake frozen, without thawing, but add on a few extra minutes of baking time. Or to freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months too. Allow the cookies to cool completely before freezing in a sealable bag. Then when ready to eat, allow to thaw. I like to pop them into the microwave for about 20 seconds to bring them back to ooey gooey life.
- Butter: If using salted butter, use only 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract is best for flavor, but imitation vanilla extract will also work.
- Oats: You can use either old-fashioned oats or quick oats, but I prefer the texture of old-fashioned.
These are delicious cookies and oh so easy to make. Perfect for this time of year. They were a big hit with my family. I will absolutely be making these again!
aw thank you Laurie!! I’m so glad you loved it!!!
Wow! Just made these for a holiday cookie swap tomorrow. Good thing I made a double batch, these are the bomb!
Aw thank you Carol!! I’m so glad you loved them!!
I made these last weekend and my husband said they were the Best cookies ever. He brought some to his coworkers who said the same. Great recipe. Thank you. I will be baking them again today using Gluten free flour and I’m sure they’ll be just as delicious.
Aw thank you Jennifer – I am so glad everyone loved them as much as we do!! Let me know how they turn out with gluten free flour 🙂
I haven’t made them yet but look forward to trying them when I feel better..
let me know how you like them. Feel better!
These cookies look super delicious and they also look like they have the most perfect texture! I cant wait to make these, thank you for sharing this recipe!
The combination of sweet white chocolate and tart cranberry in this oatmeal cookie is chef’s kiss, so yummy!!!
I loved the combo of white chocolate and cranberry. And the tip about chilling the dough is a keeper.
These cookies were not only amazingly delicious, but also a breeze to make – which is crucial in a house with two little ones like mine! Loved this recipe.
glad you loved the recipe Ksenia!
Nice side by side comparison of the cookies. Chilling the dough makes a huge difference on how the cookies turn out. It’s nice to see the comparison.
glad you found it helpful 🙂 I’m a visual learner too 😉
These were so tasty. I loved how easy they came together and the flavors were absolutely wonderful. Definitly will be making again soon.
That’s awesome Erica glad to hear!
These cookies were so so good. My whole family loved them! The cranberries were such a perfect touch! Thank you!
aw that’s awesome Tracy glad everyone loved them!
Perfectly chewy an lots of flavor with the cranberry’s and white chocolate. I will be adding these to the list for holiday as they feel like a Christmas cookie to me.
Chocolate and cranberry are two my favorites. The oatmeal and use of white chocolate make the cookies festive. Thanks for sharing!