Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Yumna Jawad

Updated Oct 05, 2025

4.96 from 93 votes

Oatmeal cranberry cookies made with rolled oats, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Ready to eat in under 30 minutes!

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 18 servings
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My Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are So Good!

This oatmeal cranberry cookies recipe is one of my favorite ways to mix things up from regular oatmeal raisin. The oats make them soft and chewy, the cranberries add a little tartness, and the white chocolate brings just enough sweetness to balance it all out.

I like making these oatmeal cranberry cookies around the holidays, but they’re good any time of year. They come together fast, bake up golden with crisp edges and soft centers, and make the house smell amazing while they’re in the oven.

Ingredients for recipe: oats, white chocolate chips, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, dried cranberries, sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, butter, and flour.
  • Oats: I recommend rolled oats because they stay nice and chewy while baking. You can also use quick oats, but steel-cut oats are too tough.
  • Cranberries: I use dried, unsweetened cranberries. Raisins or dried cherries also work. You can also use fresh or frozen cranberries. If you use frozen, don’t let them thaw first; if you do, they’ll dye your cookie dough pink.
  • White chocolate chips: You can use milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips if you prefer.
  • Dry ingredients: You’ll also need flour, baking powder (aluminum-free), cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
  • Wet ingredients: Brown sugar, granulated sugar, unsalted butter, egg, and vanilla extract.

How to Make Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Creamed butter with egg and vanilla addeded.
Step 1: Add the egg and vanilla to the creamed butter and sugar, and mix.
After mixing with dry ingredients added.
Step 2: Add the dry ingredients and mix again until just combined.
White chocolate chips and dried cranberries added to batter.
Step 3: Add the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
After folding in add-in's.
Step 4: Mix in any other add-ins until just combined.
Cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Step 5: Scoop equal-sized balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
After cooking cookies.
Step 6: Bake until the edges are set and brown.
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies recipe.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie Recipe

Author: Yumna Jawad
4.96 from 93 votes
Oatmeal cranberry cookies made with rolled oats, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Ready to eat in under 30 minutes!
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Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time17 minutes
Total Time27 minutes
Servings18 servings
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Ingredients
  

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Add softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Set to medium speed and mix until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
  • Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and mix for 1–2 minutes.
  • Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix at low speed until no streaks of flour remain, about 30 seconds.
  • Add oats, cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Mix at low speed until evenly distributed, about 1 minute.
  • Using a 1.5 tablespoon-size spring-loaded cookie scoop, scoop 12 cookies on each prepared baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 10–12 minutes. Add a couple cranberries on top as soon as they come out of the oven.
  • Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.

Equipment

Notes

  • My Top Tip: Freshen up your dried cranberries. If your cranberries are a little dry, soak them in warm water for 5–10 minutes, then pat them dry before adding them to the dough. This keeps them plump and juicy in the cookies.
  • Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2–3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
  • Freezing: You can freeze both fresh cookies and cookie dough.
    • To freeze fresh cookies, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer until hardened, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 2 months.
    • To freeze cookie dough, place portioned cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer until hardened, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen as directed, adding a couple of extra minutes.
Original Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
¾ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup cranberries fresh or dried
¼ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until creamed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the egg, followed by the vanilla extract and beat until combined, 1 more minute.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, without over mixing. Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips.
Divide the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls using a spring-loaded scoop and press down slightly to flatten. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookie edges have set but the center still looks soft. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 101kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 25mg, Potassium: 67mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 94IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Did You Make This Recipe?
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Recipe Variations

  • Get creative with add-ins. Try ½ cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds for a crunchy texture that pairs perfectly with the chewy oats. Add 1 teaspoon orange zest to the dough for a hint of citrus. Or, toss in 2 tablespoons chia seeds, flaxseeds, or sunflower seeds for a subtle crunch and added nutrition.
  • Make a cinnamon sugar topping. Sprinkle a mix of cinnamon and sugar over the cookies before baking for a little extra sweetness and sparkle.
  • Or, finish with a white chocolate drizzle. Use baking chocolate that doesn’t contain stabilizers for best results. You could also use white chocolate chips, but I recommend adding a little coconut oil or butter to help them melt for easy drizzling.

Recipe Tips

  1. Freshen up your dried cranberries. If your cranberries are a little dry, soak them in warm water for 5–10 minutes, then pat dry before adding them to the dough. This keeps them plump and juicy in the cookies.
  2. Don’t overmix the ingredients. Overmixing the flour can overdevelop the gluten, which makes your cookies dense and tough instead of tender and chewy.
  3. Don’t chill the cookie dough. These cranberry Christmas cookies only have a little bit of butter, so there’s no need to chill the dough before baking.
Chewy oatmeal cranberry cookies with white chocolate chips in a holiday tin for gifting.

This Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies recipe was originally published on October 19, 2017. It has recently been updated with new photography and step-by-step images to help make the recipe. The recipe itself has been updated for better flavor and texture. If you loved the original recipe, you can still find it in the Notes section of the recipe card!

4.96 from 93 votes (82 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Patricia Williams says:

    Fantastic recipe!! All your details in the article and recipe were very helpful, especially about not overmixing. I used fresh cranberries, and the tartness is well-balanced with the white chocolate chips. I love how the cookies look, tooโ€”so colorful and fun! My husband loves them, too!

    Reply
    1. Yumna says:

      So glad to hear!

      Reply
  2. Dee says:

    They taste ok, but are overall dry and lumpy
    looking

    Reply
    1. Yumna says:

      So sorry these didn’t come out as expected. Did you find the dough to be dry, or you found they were dry once baked?

      Reply
  3. Michele says:

    I made these and everyone loved them, I have added them to my holiday baking.

    Reply
    1. Yumna J. says:

      Yay! So happy to hear that, Michele!

      Reply
  4. Wendy says:

    I found the dough to be very dry. The cookies tasted great however, they did not look visually appealing to present as gifts.

    Reply
    1. Yumna J. says:

      So sorry to hear that the cookies didn’t look how you wanted. Glad that they pulled through with taste though!

      Reply
  5. Marion says:

    I made this and they were delicious. I used fresh cranberries, as in the recipe, and wasn’t sure about them but their tang was perfect up against the sweet of the chocolate chips. Since it’s just my husband and myself, they made the perfect amount of cookies.
    I’m keeping this recipe!
    Thank you!

    Reply
    1. Yumna J. says:

      So happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed it!

      Reply
  6. Barbara says:

    So good, perfect fall cookie. Loved that you used melted butter. I hate waiting for the butter to soften

    Reply
    1. Yumna says:

      Ha I agree! I’m glad you loved these!

      Reply
  7. Safa says:

    Best cookies ever! I used the Splenda brown sugar zero calories, dried cranberries and semisweet chocolate chips and it came out delicious! Thank you ๐Ÿ’ž

    Reply
    1. Yumna J. says:

      So glad you liked the cookies, Safa!

      Reply
      1. Mary Alice says:

        I have fresh cranberries that I froze. Can I just defrost them and use for this recipe?

        Reply
        1. Yumna J. says:

          Sure – just make sure they are room temperature and does not have any excuse water.

          Reply
        2. Mary Alice says:

          Thank you for your reply. Iโ€™m going to make these for my work cookie exchange. ๐Ÿช๐ŸŽ„

          Reply

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