Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.

These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy with lightly crispy edges. The combination of oatmeal, chocolate and cherries is delicious and so fun!

Why Cherry + Chocolate in these Oatmeal Cookies?

So back when the boys were born, our neighborhood did a meal train for us. It was so incredibly nice and SO helpful after having just had twins. If you aren’t familiar with what a meal train is, people basically make a calendar and pick days to deliver meals. So for several weeks we had meals delivered to us. Not every night, but most of them. And considering we were new to the neighborhood, it was even more sweet of everyone to do for that us.

One of the nights, the dinner delivered also had some cherry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies included. It wasn’t a combination I’d had before – mostly because I hadn’t had dried cherries before – and I LOVED them! I’ve always loved oatmeal cookies, and had never had this combination before. Ever since, I’ve wanted to recreate them and I finally have! They are soft, chewy and full of flavor!

To tell you the truth, I’ve been making more and more cookies lately and even though people think cookies are pretty simple to make, I actually think they are one of the hardest. Not because the actual process is hard, but because small changes in ingredients make a BIG difference in the final result. More so than in cakes, cupcakes and cheesecakes. If you over measure your flour be a tablespoon or two in a cake, it can make a difference for sure, but it’ll still turn out relatively well (generally).

But with cookies?? A couple tablespoons of flour really make a difference. Not to mention all the other ingredients. It’s really quite interesting and seems to leads to more missteps than with other desserts. So today I’m giving you all my best tips to successful cookies!

Overhead view of Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies spread out on a white marble table top.

Cookie Ingredients

These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies only need a handful of simple ingredients. You’d be amazed by how easy it is to pack incredible flavor into a little cookie with the right combination.

To make these cookies you will need:

  • all purpose flour
  • baking soda
  • ground cinnamon
  • salt
  • unsalted butter, room temperature
  • light brown sugar
  • sugar
  • eggs
  • vanilla extract
  • quick cook oats
  • dried cherries
  • semi sweet chocolate chips
Overhead view of Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies spread out on a white marble table top.

How to Make Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Step 1: Make Your Cookie Dough

Cream the butter and sugar: These cookies begin by creaming butter and sugar together – both brown sugar and regular white granulated sugar. The addition of some brown sugar adds great flavor and extra moisture.

Add the eggs and vanilla: Add two eggs and vanilla extract. Once everything is combined, it’s time to add the dry ingredients.

Add your dry ingredients: The dry ingredients include all purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. I find that I generally prefer baking soda in cookies and that the cookies stay soft and chewy for longer that way. The cinnamon adds a hint of flavor that I love in all oatmeal cookies. And the salt is for flavor – always. Salt just amplifies all the already-tasty flavors.

Add the oats, cherries and chocolate: With your cookie dough well on its way, it’s time to add the oats, dried cherries and chocolate chips. You want to use the quick 1 minute oats.

Overhead view of Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies spread out on a white marble table top.

Step 2: Refrigerate Your Cookie Dough

Refrigerating the cookie dough gives it time to soak up all the flavor and really come together. This is especially true for oatmeal cookies. Letting them sit in the fridge for a bit allows the oats to soak up the moisture and results in a chewier oatmeal cookie.

In fact, if you bake these cookies right away, they will spread a good bit more than after they’re refrigerated because the moisture hasn’t really been absorbed by the oats yet.

How long to refrigerate the cookie dough? I like to refrigerate them overnight. If you can stand the wait, this easy trick results in a tasty and chewy oatmeal cookie that is pretty much perfect! But if you’re short on time, or just can’t wait to eat a tasty cookie, I’d suggest refrigerating these cookies for 2-3 hours. Don’t refrigerate the dough for less time than this.

Step 3: Bake Your Cookies

When it’s time to bake the cookies, let the dough sit out for a bit (I waited an hour) for them to come closer to room temperature, then bake them. The colder the cookie dough, the less the cookies spread and we want to be sure they spread enough.

Bake your cookies for about 8 minutes. You may need to adjust baked on your oven, but that time was perfect for me. You may notice that the cookies spread the most in the last couple minutes of baking, so don’t worry if it seems like they aren’t spreading enough – they should spread nicely toward the end.

Overhead view of Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies spread out on a white marble table top.

Tips for the Best Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

  • Be sure to refrigerate your cookie dough for at least 2-3 hours so that the oats soak up the moisture and give you a nice, chewy cookie.
  • Let the cookie dough sit for about an hour to come closer to room temperature before baking. If the cookie dough is too cold, it won’t spread as much. The longer the cookies sit in the fridge, the less they’ll spread too.
  • If you find that your cookies aren’t spreading enough, it could be the temperature of the dough, but it could also be that the flour was over-measured. The best way to be accurate is with a food scale to weigh your flour and other ingredients.
  • Keep in mind that sugar adds moisture to cookies. If you are tempted to reduce it, just know that you’ll be reducing the moisture in the cookies and they’ll likely spread less.
  • Mix-ins also make a difference. More mix-ins mean less spreading and vise versa.
  • If all things seem right with your cookie dough and they still aren’t spreading enough, try flattening the cookie dough balls out a bit before baking them.
  • The final thing to note with cookie baking is that larger cookie dough balls spread more than smaller ones. I make 2 tablespoon-sized balls for these. If you make larger or smaller balls, your cookies will spread differently.

How to Store Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are best stored in an air-tight container and will keep for up to 5 days. If they last that long, which honestly has never happened in my house.

You might also enjoy these oatmeal cookie recipes:

White Chocolate Chipped Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Moist and Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Kitchen Sink Cookies

Print
clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon facebook facebook icon print print icon squares squares icon
Overhead view of Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies spread out on a white marble table top.
Recipe

Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: about 35 cookies
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy with lightly crispy edges! The combination of oatmeal, chocolate and pops of fruit from the cherries is delicious and so fun!


Ingredients

1 3/4 cups (228g) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (168g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (104g) sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (175g) uncooked quick cook oats
1 1/2 cups (229g) dried cherries
1 cup (169g) semi sweet chocolate chips


Instructions

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color and texture happen and know it’s ready.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined after each.
4. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is just combined. Do not over mix. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.
6. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips and dried cherries.
7. Create 2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough until all the cookie dough has been used.
8. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2-3 hours or overnight. I think they are best if refrigerated overnight, but they are still very good if refrigerated for 2-3 hours.
9. When ready to bake the cookies, remove the cookie dough from the fridge and let it sit for about an hour to come closer to room temperature.
10. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
11. Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes. Remove just as the edges begin to turn golden. Don’t over bake. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool. For tips and troubleshooting help, check out the post above.
12. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 164
  • Sugar: 15.7 g
  • Sodium: 75.5 mg
  • Fat: 6.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 25.3 g
  • Protein: 2.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 21.1 mg

Categories

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I'm a wife and a mom to twin boys and a baby girl! And I've got a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the treats!

Scripture I’m Loving

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29