Cranberry oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy, studded with dried cranberries and drizzled with a delicious citrus glaze.
Which part of the month of December are you currently in?
The panic buying to finish Christmas gifts part?
The running around like crazy from work to school events to family to parties part?
The immobilized on the couch and binge watching Netflix part?
Or are you at the part where you’re in the kitchen all day long making delicious, magic memories for those around you?
Also known as frantically trying to pull together treats for school parties, neighborhood parties, friend parties, cookie exchanges, teacher gifts, friend gatherings, and on and on.
Ah, tis the season.
Today, I’m here to help.
These cranberry oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy, studded with dried cranberries and drizzled with a delicious citrus glaze.
They are oh so scrumptious and will earn you rave reviews!
A friend from high school said they were his favorite cookies I ever made. (And that was highly controversial because most people were obsessed with my grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies.)
My mom for years insisted these cookies were on the regular rotation in our holiday baking day. And we like to change it up each year so that’s saying something.
And then my wife recently said these were HER favorite cookies!
(They were also a huge hit at her office, where I sent some extras. She reported they were gone by 10 a.m. Cookies for breakfast it is!)
And it’s not hard to understand why.
These cranberry oat cookies are have the perfect sweetness with a bit of background warmth and holiday vibes from the spices.
And THEN they are drizzled with the most scrumptious citrus glaze to really take them over the top.
Twenty years running and we still can’t get enough. I hope that’s all you need to know.
You can also try these old fashioned ginger snaps and peppermint chocolate chip cookies for other holiday favorites. Cause we can all use more cookie recipes this time of year, right?
Other fun holiday treats (not in cookie form) include these cute Rice Krispies Christmas trees (or make wreaths) and reindeer chow, which is seriously addictive.
And my kids adore these gingerbread cookie bars.
OK, back to today’s recipe.
Let’s get baking.
Now, I’ve got some notes and tips coming up below on how to make cranberry oatmeal cookies. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Flour: Regular all-purpose works great in this recipe. If you’d like, you can use white wheat flour or a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour.
- Oats: I use and recommend quick cook oats for these cookies. They are a bit more broken down than regular rolled oats. If all you have is rolled oats, you can substitute them. (You can also pulse them briefly in a food processor to break them down a bit.)
- Butter: I prefer unsalted butter for my cooking and baking so I can control the amount of sodium. If you are using salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe from ½ teaspoon to ¼ teaspoon. Also, be sure your butter is softened. (See my tip below for a quick way to do this.)
- Vanilla: Be sure to use pure vanilla extract, not the imitation kind, for best flavor.
- Dried cranberries: If yours seem clumped and stuck together from the bag, make sure to pull them apart a bit so they can be evenly incorporated into the batter.
Also, as promised…
No room temperature butter? Yup, I never have any either.
Here’s my quick trick: Microwave the butter in 20-second intervals, turning it over in between, until it’s just starting to soften and you can push a finger into it easily. Then it’s ready to use.
My other big tip: Be sure to let the cookies cool completely before you add the glaze.
Otherwise, it’ll run right off.
The glaze consistency should be thick enough not to be runny but still able to drizzle off the spoon so you can run lines across the cookies.
And trust me, that citrus drizzle is everything on these cookies! You don’t want to miss it.
Finally, let’s talk about how to store these cookies.
Storage Tips:
- Once cooled, transfer the cookies to a covered container.
- Store at room temperature for up to 7-10 days.
- It helps to layer them with wax paper in between, if you are stacking them, so the glaze doesn’t stick to other cookies.
I hope you give these a try for a new holiday or Christmas cookie. They are sure to be a fast favorite!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups quick cook oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
For the glaze:
- 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Zest of 1 large orange
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup then use a knife to level the flour for precise measuring. Add the flour to a large bowl, along with the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and ground nutmeg. Stir well to combine.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the butter with the brown sugar and white sugar using a stand mixer or hand mixer, until light and fluffy. Add one egg and beat until combined. Add the second egg and the vanilla extract and beat again until well combined.
- Working in three batches, add the flour mixture and dried cranberries to the sugar mixture, stirring in between additions until just combined.
- Lightly wet hands and roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheets. (Do 4 rows with 3 across so there are 12 cookie balls on each baking sheet.) Set the rest of the batter aside.
- Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned and almost firm. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough until all of the cookies are baked.
- To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the orange zest in a small bowl and stir until well combined. Add extra lemon juice if needed for consistency. (The glaze should fall in ribbons from a spoon but shouldn’t be runny.)
- Place the glaze in a ziplock plastic bag and cut a small corner off. (Or use a piping bag or a squeeze bottle.) Drizzle the glaze evenly over the completely cooled cookies in zig zag lines. Let set for a few minutes then enjoy!
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