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These cranberry oatmeal cookies dipped in white chocolate are soft, chewy, and filled with plenty of dried fruit, chopped pecans, and hearty oats. They’re a delicious and easy cookie recipe you’ll want to make over and over again.
Why You’ll Love These Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate
I am a big fan of these cranberry oatmeal cookies with white chocolate! I originally shared the recipe 5 years ago(ish), and I thought I’d give it a little more love. When it comes to cookies, cranberries and white chocolate are two of my favorite things. And when you bring chewy oats into the mix, it doesn’t get better. The final cookies are SO good! Here’s why you’ll love these cookies as much as I do:
- Dipped in creamy white chocolate. Until you’ve had a soft, chewy cookie dipped into white chocolate, you are missing out. It’s a fun alternative to simply stirring white chocolate chips into the dough (which you can totally do if you prefer). It’s delicious all around.
- Chewy, flavorful cookies. These cookies are extra tender and packed full of flavor. It’s as though I’ve taken my favorite oatmeal cookies and combined them with creamy cranberry white chocolate fudge.
- Versatile. This is a great cookie recipe for any time of the year, but especially at Christmas when cranberries are so festive.
Ingredient Notes
Below are my notes on what you’ll need to make these cranberry oatmeal cookies with white chocolate. Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable list with amounts.
- Dry Ingredients – All-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Cinnamon – You could also use nutmeg or a blend, like pumpkin pie spice, to add a little warmth to these oatmeal cranberry cookies.
- Vanilla Extract – Or an equal amount of vanilla paste.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted, and brought to room temperature.
- Sugar – This recipe uses a combination of white and brown sugar for extra moisture.
- Egg
- Quick Oats – Quick oats have a softer texture and shorter cooking time than rolled oats, which are very similar.
- Dried Cranberries – You could also use raisins or leave out the dried fruit altogether.
- Pecans – Or another nut, like walnuts or macadamias.
- White Chocolate – I recommend almond bark, candy melts, or similar, since you’re looking for something that melts easily and dries firm. Candiquick, Almond Bark, Ghirardelli Baking Chocolate, and Wilton Candy Melts would work.
How to Make Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
These cookies are pretty simple to make. The toughest part is holding back on eating them long enough to dip them in the white chocolate. However, once you taste one that way, you’ll be eager to dip them all! Follow the steps below and refer to the recipe card for the printable recipe instructions.
- Mix the wet ingredients. To begin, you’ll cream your butter and both sugars together. You want to be sure you cream them until you notice the change in color and consistency. It’ll be much lighter in color and creamy. Next, you’ll add the egg and vanilla extract and mix them until they are well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. After that, add the dry ingredients and mix just until well combined. Then, fold in your oats, cranberries, and pecans by hand.
- Bake. Portion large tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350ºF for 8-9 minutes. Once the cookies have baked and cooled, it’s time to dip them in white chocolate.
Dip Them In Chocolate
- Melt the white chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 15-30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.
- Dip the cookies. Next, dip the cookies into the chocolate one at a time, tapping off any excess. Place the dipped cookies onto a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle with pecan bits, if you like.
Tips for Success
- Line the pan. Bake these cranberry oatmeal cookies on a parchment-lined pan or a silicone baking mat. It makes clean-up easier, avoids sticking, and keeps the bottom of the cookies from browning too much against the metal pan.
- Measure the ingredients properly. Make sure to measure ingredients like flour using a kitchen scale or the spoon-and-sweep method, where you spoon the flour from the bag into the measuring cup and level it off. This avoids overmeasuring, which can result in dry, crumbly oatmeal cookies.
- Use the right oats. I recommend quick oats or rolled oats if you prefer a chewier cranberry oatmeal cookie. Steel-cut oats are too tough, and instant oats are too soft.
- Don’t overbake. The key to chewy cookies is to leave them slightly underbaked. Take your cookies out of the oven when they’re just set at the edges. They’ll continue to set up as they cool.
How to Store
- On the countertop. Store these chocolate-dipped oatmeal cranberry cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freeze. I like to pre-freeze the baked, cooled cookies on a baking sheet until they’re solid and then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze your cranberry oatmeal cookies for up to 1 month and thaw them at room temperature before serving.
Watch How They’re Made
Print
Recipe
Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies With White Chocolate
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
- Yield: about 30 Cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These cranberry oatmeal cookies dipped in white chocolate are soft, chewy, and filled with plenty of dried fruit, chopped pecans, and hearty oats.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (228g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (168g) packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (104g) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (131g) uncooked quick cook oats
- 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted, optional
- 12 oz vanilla candiquick (or similar baking white chocolate)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Add the butter and sugars to large mixer bowl and cream together until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. You should be able to see the change in color and texture.
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until well combined and the cookie dough comes together.
6. Add the oats, cranberries and pecan pieces and stir until everything is evenly distributed.
7. Place large tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheet.
8. Bake 8-9 minutes. Cookies may look a little undercooked in the center, but will continue to cook and firm as they cool. Do not over bake.
9. Let the cookies cool for about 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
10. Once the cookies are cool, melt the white chocolate in a small bowl.
11. Dip cookies, one at a time, into the chocolate and gently shake to remove excess chocolate.
12. Set on parchment paper to dry and sprinkle with crushed pecans, if desired.
13. Store cookies in an air tight container at room temperature. Cookies are best for 2-3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 229
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 97.2 mg
- Fat: 10.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.6 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Cholesterol: 22.5 mg
How did you get your cookies to be so perfectly round?
Rather than just scooping out the dough, I rolled it into balls and then flattened them a little bit before putting them on the cookie sheet.
Made these cookies last night for Christmas this week and they are so freaking good!!! Thanks for the recipe!! My new favorite cookies!!!
Awesome! I’m still such a fan of these cookies too. Love them! 🙂
A great idea for a cookie, but I would make some changes to this recipe.
Firstly, do not use a heaping tablespoon. The cookies will turn out too large. Don’t use any more than a tablespoon. Also, large cookies are also more susceptible to breaking while being dipped, especially since these cookies turn out VERY soft. Even the smaller cookies will break apart when dipping, because they are so soft. Bake at least 10-11 minutes, maybe 12. I unfortunately followed the recipe exactly and lost a few 🙁 Contrary to what this recipe says, do not take them out before they are done. Even after cooling and sitting all night they will be too soft to dip without losing a couple (especially if you use a heaping tablespoon).
What is candiquick? Never used it. Can I get it at the grocery store. Can I use white chocolate chips? Want to make them for gifts for my friends this Christmas…. They look awesome!
It’s basically a chocolate coating that’s easier for melting than regular chocolate chips. It’s similar to Wilton candy melts, if you’ve ever used those. You can certainly use regular white chocolate chips though.
Can you freeze the dough (in balls or a slab) or freeze the cookies? I want to start my Christmas baking early this year.
🙂
~LC
I haven’t ever frozen these, but I’d think both ways would be fine. My preference would be to freeze the dough so the cookies are fresh, but totally up to you. 🙂
I was wondering this too. I’ve never frozen raw cookie dough. Would you recommend freezing them in balls and thoroughly thawing before baking?
You could freeze it either way, but it’d certainly be easiest to freeze the balls, completely thaw them and then bake.
can you make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, it should be fine if made a day ahead.
Oh man I am pinning these to my Christmas board ASAP! I love all the flavors and textures you have going on in the one glorious cookie! 😀
So glad you had fun in Chicago! It is a beautiful city isn’t it!! And I can’t believe you have never been to Sur La Table. I live there!! 😉 These cookies look delicious and festive for the holidays!! 🙂
Thanks Renee! Yes, such an awesome store!
this look wonderful! I love the white chocolate + cranberry combo!
Thanks Angelyn!
Love that you dipped the cookies in white chocolate! Perfect for holiday gifts!
The nearest Sur la Table is about 1 1/2 hours away, so I’ve only been once. It took me forever to look around while my family was done in about 5 minutes. Next time I go alone or with a girlfriend:) Sorry that the baby didn’t make an appearance when you were visiting, but it sounds like your cousin and her husband had a wonderful time hanging out with you before the birth:) Anything dipped in white chocolate is dreamy to me and I love how cheery these cookies are!
Do you use fresh or dried cranberries? The ingredient list didn’t specify.
Yes, sorry about that Julie! It’s dried cranberries. I’ve updated the recipe. Thanks!
Would you recommend fresh? Maybe boiling them withe sugar to release and allowing them to cool before putting them in this recipe?
Hmm, I’ve never tried boiling cranberries like that, so I don’t know what that’d be like.
Ooooo dipped cookies are always better! Love the sprinkle of pecans on them too! Sounds like you had a fab weekend 🙂
Thanks Julie!
Sur la table is what Heaven looks like. I just know it! These cookies look phenomenal! Love the extra dip in white chocolate! Perfect for any Christmas cookie plate! Pinned
I’m so in love with these cookies!! Eek!
OMG. You’ve never been to Sur la Table?! But that’s, like, the best store ever. I just wander around and drool. And buy stuff. Can’t help it!
I love that your husband is protective of his cookies. Everyone should be! I would definitely guard these. They are the perfect fall cookie!