White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are a holiday baking favorite you’ll love making all winter long!

Top down shot of White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies on a cookie rack


 

One of the best parts of the holiday season for us is hands down the cookies.

We love Christmas cookies of all types (we don’t discriminate!) but we especially love these! This classic recipe for oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips is a favorite in both our households because it yields a buttery, tender slightly chewy cookie dotted with white chocolate and craisins.

They tend to disappear super fast because our families just can’t get enough of their sweet, chewy goodness so we’ve even perfected freezing the dough so we can make them as needed….because sometimes you NEED a cookie 🙂 .

This variation is one of our favorite holiday oatmeal cookies. However we also love making But Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, these crunchy and chewy Ranger cookies and these cowboy cookies.  We’ve even got a recipe for classic no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies that are so easy to make the kids can do it themselves!

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ingredients for mixing Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients You’ll Need 

Here’s all you need to make these delicious white chocolate and cranberry oatmeal cookies.

  • Butter – Use softened but not melted unsalted butter. To soften it, just let the butter sit out on the counter for 30-60 minutes prior to using.
  • Sugars – You’ll need both brown sugar and granulated white sugar for adding sweetness to the cookies.
  • Pure vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract has the best flavor. Avoid imitation extract if possible.
  • Large eggs – Eggs help hold the cookies together once they are baked.
  • Old Fashioned Rolled Oats – Do not use quick oats in this recipe, only use old fashioned rolled oats for the right texture!
  • All-purpose flour – The flour helps to bind the ingredients together. If you need to do gluten free flour, you can try. You may need to adjust the butter a little bit since it tends to be drier flour.
  • Baking soda – Baking soda helps the cookies rise a little bit when baked.
  • Spices – You’ll need both cinnamon and ground nutmeg to help give the cookies a bit of flavor.
  • Sea salt – A small amount of sea salt helps bring out the flavors.
  • Add ins – You’ll need both a package of white chocolate morsels and dried cranberries to help these oatmeal cookies pop and taste like the holidays.
Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies on rack stacked

Instructions

Here’s how to make these yummy oatmeal cookies without any stress.

Step 1 – Prepare the oven. Before preheating, move your oven racks to the upper third of the oven. Next, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Step 2 – Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. This will take about 1 to 2 minutes. I use a hand mixer, but you could use a stand mixer if that’s all you have.

Once you’ve creamed the sugar and butter, add the eggs one at a time. Fully mix each egg before adding the next one.

Sep 3 – Add dry ingredients. Once the eggs are fully incorporated, add the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix on low speed until they are blended in.

Once the batter is formed, use a spatula or wooden spoon to fold in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

Step 4 – Drop and bake. Use a teaspoon to drop a heaping spoonful of batter 1 1/2 inches apart on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. I use a Silpat baking mat because they make cookie removal easier! You should get about 38 to 45 cookies depending on the size of cookie you make.

Once the sheet is lined with cookies, place in the oven and bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove the sheet from the oven when golden brown. Allow them to cook for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooking rack. The cookies will be soft but firm up as they cool.

Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies on rack

Can you Use Quick Oats for Cookies? 

Quick oats are the most processed oats you can buy. This means they’ve been rolled, cooked, and then dehydrated before you buy them. Quick oats will have a different texture that doesn’t work well in this recipe.

This makes them great for quick breakfasts and premade oatmeals. 

If all you have is quick oats, I highly recommend trying these No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. They are super easy and taste just as good!

How Long Will They Last? 

That really depends. In my house: less than 1 day. OK. Maybe 2.

However, you should be able to store them for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies stacked pile

How to Freeze Baked Cookies or Dough

You have a couple of choices when it comes to freezing these cookies. You can either freeze the dough or freeze the cookies. I prefer freezing the dough. Here’s how to do either option.

How to freeze cookie dough: To freeze the dough, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Drop the dough onto the baking sheet measuring out one (1) heaping teaspoon per cookie. You can place them close together, but you should not let them touch.

Place the baking sheet in the freezer. Freeze the dough for 6 to 8 hours or until they are firm. Next, remove the cookie dough from the baking sheet. Place the dough balls in a freezer-safe container or gallon freezer bag. 

Make sure to place a sheet of wax paper between each layer. Seal the container or bag tightly and store for up to 3 months. 

When ready to use the dough, place as many cookies as you would like to bake on a lined baking sheet and bake according to the instructions in the recipe. You only need to add a minute or two to the bake time because they are frozen.

The freezing the dough is a great make ahead trick. You can bake them fresh when you need to go to a party or you can bake a few at a time so you always have oven fresh cookies whenever you want them!

How to freeze baked cookies: To do this, bake the cookies according to the instructions and then let them cool completely. 

Place the cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container or gallon freezer bag. Make sure you place a sheet of wax paper between each layer. The cooked cookies will last for up to 2 months. 

Let the cookies thaw at room temperature before serving. 

Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies stacked

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Servings: 45 cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are a holiday baking favorite you’ll love making all winter long!
Stack of White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies on a wire rack
Print Recipe
4.50 from 4 votes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Butter, softened (2 sticks)
  • 1 cup Brown sugar
  • ½ cup Granulated white sugar
  • 2 tsp Pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 2 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
  • 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon Sea salt
  • 10- ounce White chocolate chips
  • 1 ½ cups Dried cranberries

Instructions

  • Place oven racks in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add eggs one at a time and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
  • Add oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix on low speed until blended.
  • Add white chocolate chips and dried cranberries and gently mix until incorporated.
  • Drop batter by heaping teaspoons 1 1/2 inches apart onto greased or parchment-lined baking sheets. (I like a Silpat baking mat)
  • Bake for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Cookies will be soft but will firm up as they cool. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Notes

  1. If you find your dough spreads too much while in the oven, place dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking.
  2. Depending on the size of your cookies, you will yield 38-45 per batch.
  3. These cookies are best eaten within a couple of days of baking. They freeze very well.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 142kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 85mg, Potassium: 48mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 140IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimer: We are not certified nutritionists. Nutrition facts are an estimate and are provided as a courtesy. They are generated by an online API which recognizes ingredient names and amounts and makes calculations based on the serving size. Results may vary.
Author: Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: white chocolate oatmeal cookies
Handwritten signature for Kat & Melinda