Our cranberry oatmeal cookies with white chocolate are soft, chewy, and super easy to make! This cookie recipe is one of my mom’s specialties that she’s been making for 30+ years. It has become a staple during our annual Christmas cookie baking marathon, and a crowd favorite every time we put it on a cookie tray. While my mom likes the “measure with your heart” method, I’ve verified ingredient proportions and written out detailed, easy-to-follow instructions for you to bake these successfully in your home too!
Do you have a go-to cookie recipe that you know will always turn out well? These white chocolate oatmeal craisin cookies are one of those recipes for me. As someone who’s developed nearly 70 dessert recipes for this website, including over 20 cookie recipes, and has been baking for more than 30 years, I’ve learned what separates a good cookie from a great one. The texture of these cookies is perfection. They have a soft and chewy interior with a slightly crispy exterior. They also strike that perfect balance of being sweet but not too sweet. Honestly, these are just an all around great cookie.
Through years of making these cookies alongside my mom and then perfecting them for my own family, I’ve learned all the little details that matter. I’ve tested different ratios of white chocolate to cranberries, figured out the ideal baking time for that perfect soft and chewy texture with slightly crispy edges, and discovered that old fashioned oats (never instant) make all the difference in texture. I’ve also learned that this recipe is wonderfully forgiving, which makes it ideal for both experienced bakers and beginners. Don’t have the exact measurements of white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or nuts in your pantry? No worries. The cookies will still turn out beautifully.
Create the perfect holiday cookie tray by pairing these delicious cookies with Snickerdoodles (without Cream of Tartar), Cherry Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, and Chewy Triple Ginger Cookies. And while this family cookie recipe is a staple during the holidays, but it’s also a great baking option anytime of year!
Why You’ll Love These Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Level of difficulty: Easy. Standard measuring, mixing, scooping, and baking required.
Flavor: The flavors of the oatmeal, craisins, and walnuts all pop with each bite.
Texture: Soft and chewy with a slightly crispy exterior.
Time: Including prep and cook time, plan for about 1 hour to make your white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies. This assumes you’re baking one cookie sheet at a time. I like to keep things moving by getting my first sheet of cookies into the oven, and then continuing to prep my other cookie sheets while the first batch of cookies is baking.
Bonus: Another reason I love this cookie recipe is because it is forgiving. Don’t have the exact measurements of white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or nuts in your pantry? No worries. Want to leave out the nuts all together? Totally fine.
What You’ll Need for White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies!
- White Chocolate Chips: Use your favorite while chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate.
- Oatmeal: Use your favorite old fashioned rolled oats (NOT instant oats) to make this cookie recipe. I advocate for old fashioned oats in pretty much all of my bakes because the texture is so much better.
- Craisins: This cookie recipe is made with dried cranberries, also known as craisins. You can purchase regular or lower-sugar versions for this recipe, both will taste great!
- Walnuts: While the nuts are optional in this recipe, they add great texture and flavor to this cookie. Plus, walnuts are a good source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants…so including them makes this a healthier cookie, right?
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies Ingredient Tip: Using Room Temperature Eggs
Using room temperature eggs is often suggested for baking because the eggs will incorporate into the softened butter easier. This results in a smooth, uniform batter. If you’re setting your eggs out on the counter to bring them up to room temperature, the standard rule of thumb is to set them out for at least 30 minutes prior to using them.
How to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F and get your cookie sheets ready (and by ready, I mean out and set to the side; no greasing necessary).
Add softened butter and both sugars to your mixing bowl.
Cream the butter and sugars together until well combined. The mixture should look pale yellow and fluffy. It will also be a little grainy because of the granulated sugar.
Then add the remaining liquid ingredients (the egg and vanilla extract), and stir to combine.
Slowly add the dry ingredients (the baking soda, salt, and flour) and mix until a dough forms.
Add the white chocolate chips, craisins, walnuts, and oatmeal to the dough.
Mix until thoroughly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
Drop dough in rounded tablespoons onto your cookie sheet. Spacing your dough balls about 2” apart.
Bake each sheet of white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies for 12-15 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are browned slightly.
Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Use a different nut. Not into walnuts? Try pecans instead!
- Skip the nuts all together. Don’t have, or don’t like, nuts in your baked goods? Simple skip this ingredient.
- Add cinnamon. My family has never had cinnamon as a part of this family recipe, however, it would be a wonderful addition! Add ½ – 1 teaspoon into your dough along with the other dry ingredients.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
This white chocolate oatmeal craisin cookies recipe is vegetarian as written. One small modification is needed to a gluten-free cookie recipe:
- To make this into a gluten free crinkle cookie recipe, try replacing the all-purpose flour called for in the recipe with a one-to-one gluten free flour alternative. Note: I have not done this myself, but have used this one-to-one gluten free flour alternative successfully in other bakes.
- If serving to someone with celiac disease, be sure to purchase certified gluten-free rolled oats! It would also be wise to verify the white chocolate chips purchased are also gf.
White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies Tips
Get Your Cookies to All Be the Same Size by Using a Cookie Scoop! While not a necessity, a cookie scoop is a super helpful tool that I use a lot in my kitchen. I like to use a small cookie scoop for this oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies recipe. This is probably the cookie scoop I use most often when making cookies (it’s what I use for Peanut Butter Blossoms, Chocolate Crinkles, and Death by Chocolate Cookies too!). If you love those extra large bakery-style cookies, you can use a large cookie scoop. If you do this, you will need to add a few minutes to your baking time.
Get Your Cookies to be Perfectly Round with “The Cookie Scoot” When you pull your cookies out of the oven, use a circular cookie cutter (or a round glass larger than your cookie) to gently “scoot” your cookies in a circular motion to help shift the edges and create perfectly round cookies.
Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies FAQs
Oats are rich in fiber, increasing the fiber content of oatmeal cookies compared to other types of cookies.
While you likely could, I have only used dried cranberries for this cookie recipe. If you choose to try using fresh cranberries, please note that fresh cranberries will release their juices when baking which will increase the moisture content of the cookie. This could effect the baking time required. With an increased moisture content, the ratio of dry ingredients may need to change as well. This potential modified baking time and varied ingredient ratio has not been accounted for in this recipe.
Old-fashioned rolled oats will give your cookies the best texture. In a pinch, quick-cooking oats will also work (but the texture will not be quite as nice). It would not be recommended to use instant oatmeal or steel cut oats for baking cookies.
Beyond adding flavor, oats contribute to a chewy texture in baked goods. If you want a deep-dive into different kinds of oats and their best uses, check out our guide to different types of oats.
Your leavening agents (baking soda, baking powder) should help prevent this. If you’re getting flat cookies check the date on your leavening agents to make sure they’re not expired.
Another solution is chilling your dough. This chills the butter, so your cookies won’t spread as rapidly in the oven during baking.
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 C butter softened
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1 C brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 C old fashioned oats
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 1, 12 oz package white chocolate chips
- 1.5 C craisins aka dried cranberries
- 1.5 C chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C)
- Cream butter and sugars together until smooth
- Stir in the eggs and vanilla until well combined
- Add the baking soda, salt & flour (½ C at a time) and mix until dough is formed
- Stir in the white chocolate chips, craisins, walnuts & oatmeal until mixed throughout the dough
- Drop dough by rounded tablespoons about 2″ apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15mins until edges are browned slightly
- Remove from the oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, store in an air-tight container
Notes
- Use a different nut. Not into walnuts? Try pecans instead!
- Skip the nuts all together. Don’t have, or don’t like, nuts in your baked goods? Simple skip this ingredient.
- Add cinnamon. My family has never had cinnamon as a part of this family recipe, however, it would be a wonderful addition! Add ½ – 1 teaspoon into your dough along with the other dry ingredients.
Adelle White says
Love it! I made these for a cookie exchange and they were EVERYONE’s fave!!! They were so good and I felt okay eating “too many” since they had oats in them. Such a good recipe!
Meredith says
So happy to hear these were a hit, yay!!!
Brandon H says
The oats were a real treat in this recipe. They really add a sense of depth to the white chocolate and cranberries. Very good.
Meredith says
I love a good, chewy oat cookie too! Glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Amanda says
I whipped these up in 10 minutes, they turned out PERFECT! They check all the texture boxes
ourlovelanguageisfood says
yes, they’re a quick and easy cookie for sure – I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them!! Thank you for making my recipe!