White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies are thick and chewy and packed with white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and old fashioned rolled oats. This festive cookie is perfect for the holidays!

Cookies are such a fun and easy treat to make, and they are especially fun to make around the holidays. Are you a big cookie lover, too? Check out my Crumbl cookie recipes, gingerbread whoopie pies, soft gingersnap cookies, cut out sugar cookies, and gingerbread man cookie recipe for plenty of delicious variety to your holiday cookie making!

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies on a wire cooling rack with sugared cranberries scattered around.

Why This Recipe Works

  • The look and taste of Christmas. My favorite things about these cookies is that they look and taste like Christmas! The hint of cinnamon and dried cranberries really bring a warming holiday flavor to this oatmeal cookie.
  • If you’re a fan of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, you’ll love these! This cookie practically melts in your mouth. They are so thick, soft and chewy! It’s the perfect combination of texture and flavors.

Ingredient Notes

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies ingredients on a gray background.
  • Oats: When making chewy oatmeal cookies the key to getting that perfectly chewy texture is to use old fashioned rolled oats. They’ll hold their shape and texture better than instant oats.
  • Cinnamon: Using a bit of cinnamon helps bring a nice, warm holiday flavor to the cookies.
  • Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: Using the combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar helps the texture and structure of the cookie. I love brown sugar in cookies because it adds moisture and a hint of molasses flavor.
  • Dried Cranberries: This recipe uses dried cranberries. Using fresh cranberries would affect the moisture in the dough and therefore the bake time, which this recipe doesn’t account for.

Step-By-Step Instructions

  1. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients until evenly combined. Set aside.
  2. Add room temperature butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until the butter is nice and smooth. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the butter. Cream these ingredients together for about 2 minutes.
White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie dough batter in a glass bowl.
  1. Add the eggs and vanilla to the creamed butter and sugar.
  2. add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Once everything is combined it’s time to add the rolled oats, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie dough balls on a white parchment paper.
  1. After the dough has chilled in the fridge, portion into cookie balls (if you didn’t chill them as cookie dough balls) and bake according to the recipe instructions. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to fully cool on a wire rack.
White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies in a stack on a wire rack.

Recipe Tips

Using room temperature ingredients when making cookies helps everything mix better and also affects how the cookies bake. Room temperature eggs, for example, incorporate better into the cookie dough, which improves how the cookies bake. Did you forget to pull out the eggs? No worries! Place cold eggs in a bowl full of slightly warm water for 5 minutes. This is the fastest way to bring cold eggs to room temperature. It works like a charm.

You can chill the cookie dough batter as is, OR you can scoop the dough and then chill. Either way works. Baking these cranberry cookies without chilling the dough beforehand will result in flat cookies. Take the time to chill the dough!

For these large holiday oatmeal cookies I used a 3 tablespoon scoop.

FAQs

Are oatmeal cookies healthy?

The oats in the cookies definitely are! Otherwise, they are a delicious treat.

Why do my oatmeal cookies taste dry?

You’ve over baked them if the cookies are dry! Be sure to follow the baking directions. The cookies are done when the edges are set and the tops are no longer shiny.

Can I use fresh cranberries instead of dried?

This recipe uses dried cranberries. If you used fresh cranberries, the moisture in the cookie would be higher since the fruit would juice during baking. This recipe doesn’t account for that in the ingredient ratios or in the baking temperature and baking time.

How is white chocolate different from milk chocolate?

It’s more than just a difference in color! White chocolate doesn’t have cocoa solids in it — which is found in milk and dark chocolates — but has cocoa butter (which is the fat extracted from the cocoa bean).

A bite taken out of a White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie.

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A White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie on a small wire rack that's on a white background.
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4.97 from 30 votes

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Thick and chewy oatmeal cookies full of white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. These are holiday cookies at its’ finest!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill time: 1 hour
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 22 cookies

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar - packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs - room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups Old Fashioned rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat on medium speed until well creamed, about 2-3 minutes. 
  • Add the eggs and vanilla to the creamed butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula as needed so that everything is evenly incorporated. 
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until the flour is just combined.
  • Add the oats, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Mix until combined. *
  • Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour. **
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
  • Using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough onto the parchment paper. 6 cookies per tray. Remember, these are big cookies. 
  • Bake cookies for 9-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. Take note, the centers will still look fairly soft. (In my oven, my cookies are done at 10 minutes). 
  • Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 8-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 5 days, if they last that long ?

Notes

*Don’t over mix the dough at this point. If I’m still using my stand mixer, I’ll add the cranberries, oats, and white chocolate chips and mix for maybe 5-10 seconds. Then I’ll finish the mixing by using a spatula. OR feel free to fold in the oats and mix-ins by hand! That works great too!
**You can chill the dough in the bowl, or you can use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop and scoop the cookies prior to chilling. If you do this, place the dough balls on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 45 minutes and then bake as directed. 

Nutrition

Calories: 278kcal (14%)Carbohydrates: 37g (12%)Protein: 3g (6%)Fat: 12g (18%)Saturated Fat: 7g (35%)Cholesterol: 41mg (14%)Sodium: 176mg (7%)Potassium: 102mg (3%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 23g (26%)Vitamin A: 285IU (6%)Vitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 42mg (4%)Iron: 1.1mg (6%)
author: Whitney Wright
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review on the blog post letting me know how you liked this recipe! Take a picture and tag @saltandbaker on Tik Tok, Instagram, and Facebook so I can see what you’re making!

This recipe was originally published on Dec. 14, 2018. It was republished on Nov. 24, 2021, to include additional information and photos.