Big fat white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies! The name pretty much has it covered — thick cookies with slightly crisped exteriors and soft chewy center, loaded with sweet white chocolate chips and dried cranberries and made with pulverized oats. These cookies have the best texture, and their flavor is unforgettable!
Zach asked me to make this recipe for him a while ago after tasting them at a work lunch.
I dutifully wrote down all of the cookie qualities that he asked for: cranberries, white chocolate, soft and chewy interiors, and oats, but without an overwhelmingly “oaty” (!?) texture. I then proceeded to skip right on past that recipe request for the next year and a half.
Yup, a year and a half.
You’d think that with all of the baking that I do every day my very own husband wouldn’t need to wait 545 days or so for such a simple request, but here we are, and when I told him that I’d finally made these white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies for him, he had literally no idea what I was even talking about.
Fortunately, that didn’t stop him from inhaling a dozen of them still warm (and commenting that they would be great with some nuts added, which were definitely not on the original request list!).
Most of the qualities that he had requested were easy enough to match. I started by making my favorite oatmeal cookies and added the cranberries and white chocolate chips, but I found that the texture was definitely too “oaty” (I spent a long time pondering over this word, and have resolved to now leave myself better notes moving forward).
I wanted chewier cookies that complemented the abundance of add-ins that are included here without competing against them. I like a cookie with texture, but my first few batches were definitely too much and almost seemed like I was biting into a granola bar rather than a cookie.
I finally found the perfect way to include oats by pulverizing them in my food processor for a few seconds before stirring them into the dough.
This gave the cookies a perfect texture — you won’t want to process them to pure powder, but add them to your food processor and just pulse for about five seconds until they’re mostly broken up (finer than instant oats, but not completely pulverized, see the picture above).
Make sure that you chill this cookie dough before baking. Chilling will keep your cookies from spreading too thin, I like to chill them and then bake on 375 (as opposed to 350, which is the temperature I use for many of my cookies) for thick, fat cookies.
Chilling also gives the flavors a bit of time to begin to really meld together, there’s a small amount of cinnamon sprinkled into the dough that gives these white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies a subtle spice.
Can I just say that I know I’m getting way ahead of myself right now, but I really think these would make great Christmas cookies. Make them today, but make sure you save the recipe for the upcoming holidays, too!
Enjoy!
Just a heads-up that I’ll be going Live on my Facebook page at 12:00 EST tomorrow and would love it if you could join me! Thank you to everyone who tuned in for last week’s Live where I had my special guest, Andi — I’m hoping I can convince her to help me again this week!
White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats measure before processing in food processor (200g)
- 1 cup butter softened to room temperature (216g)
- 1 cup light brown sugar tightly packed (200g)
- 1/4 cup sugar (50g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (218g)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch cornflour in UK
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cup premium white chocolate chips (212g)
- 1 1/4 cup dried cranberries or Craisins (200g)
Instructions
- Place your oats in a food processor and pulse about 5-10 seconds. Set aside.
- Beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or using an electric beater) for about 30 seconds. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy (pause to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, if needed).
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until completely combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so ingredients are well-mixed.
- Gradually stir in oats until completely combined. Add white chocolate chips and cranberries and stir well.
- Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.
- Drop cookie by rounded 2 Tablespoon-sized ball onto parchment paper, spacing at least 2" apart.
- Bake on 375F for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown (centers may still seem slightly underbaked, they'll finish cooking as they cool on the cookie sheet)
- Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before serving and enjoying.
Nutrition
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Hannah says
Looking forward to making these cookies!.
Can the dough be frozen?
Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Hannah! You shouldn’t have any issue freezing this dough. 🙂
Gabby says
I tried multiple cookie recipes I have to say they taste soooo good. But I found that after I bake them it’s a little oily. I followed the recipe exact but I’m not sure why it came out like that. Should I reduce the amount of butter? Do you think that will help?
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so sorry that this batch of cookies came out differently for you, Gabby. A couple of things come to mind. You want to make sure you are measuring your flour correctly (guide: how to measure flour) adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy and crispy. Another thing is that you want to be sure that your baking soda has been properly stored and is not old or expired. This could cause the cookies to spread causing this to happen too. I hope that this helps!
Gabby says
Thank you.
Cecilia says
Thank you for this wonderful cookie recipe. I’ve also made your chocolate chip muffins and birthday cake and everything is incredible. Baking has now become fun baking time with my son because of your amazing recipes!
Sam says
Thank you so much, Cecelia! I am so glad you have enjoyed everything so much. Baking is a great way to spend time with family. 🙂
Karla says
Just amazing! Simple but the flavour has no comparasion. LOVE THEM!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Karla! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Matthew says
Instead of cranberries I used dried blueberries and added sliced almonds.
Super good! It’s a great recipe and I’m going to have fun adding different dried fruit and nut combos to this!
Sam says
Yum! That sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Matthew! Thank you for commenting!
Maria says
These are absolutely delicious. I made as is and have added different nuts and fruits but this one os to winter as the classic choc chip cookie is to summer. Just perfectly sweet and savory with a unique hint of nuttiness and subtle spice that doesnt take away from the white chocolate (which most recipes do). The mild and rich ingredients compliment and raise the taste while creating a texture opposite of the soft creamy chocolate, making the whole cookie a beautiful flavor experience in every bite. They are bound to be classic for family and friends for sure.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you found the white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies delightful, Maria! I love that you have used this recipe as a base and added in various nuts and other fruits as well. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I am so glad you have enjoyed this recipe. 🙂
Judy Larson says
I am excited to try these. I am glad nuts weren’t included on the original request because we are a bit free family and I think my kids will love these.
Sugar Spun Run says
I hope that the cookies are a hit with your family, Judy! Keep me posted on how they turn out when you do try them. 🙂
Mary M williams says
I have not made them yet. I’m going to make them for Superbowl.
Sugar Spun Run says
I hope that you enjoy the cookies, Mary! 🙂
Amanda C says
I added sliced almonds and baked for 8 minutes. These cookies are amazing! Thanks for the recipe!!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies, Amanda! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Suzanne Berchin says
I made these today and Im so happy with these cookies. Soooo good!!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cranberry oatmeal cookies, Suzanne! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Johanna says
Great!! I added finely chopped toasted walnuts to this recipe and oh! 5 minutes out of the oven is sinful-but completely cooled are fantastic also. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies, Johanna! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Val says
Is cornstarch flour the same as the US cornstarch?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Val! No, it is not. Corn flour is used similarly to other flours, whereas cornstarch is mainly used as a thickener. 🙂