Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Posted Dec 09, 2025
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Make the best soft and chewy cranberry oatmeal cookies with this delicious recipe! They have crispy edges and chewy centers, just the right amount of cinnamon and cranberries in every bite.
I’m not sure there’s a more festive holiday cookie than these cranberry oatmeal cookies (ok, maybe gingerbread men wins but these are a close second).
Personally, I love making these cookies for the holidays – both Thanksgiving and Christmas! They’re delicious and the cranberries (color and flavor) make them the perfect cookie for the season. Plus, these oatmeal cranberry cookies are easy to make and don’t require any chilling.
They’re the perfect addition to any Christmas cookie tray, or just to bake and bring to gatherings all winter long.
Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies: Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour. Use 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free baking flour to make the recipe gluten-free.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter and vegan butter both work.
- Light Brown Sugar. If you like a little bolder molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- Granulated Sugar. use white granulated sugar or organic cane sugar for the best results.
- Oatmeal: For the perfect, chewy texture use old-fashioned (or rolled) oats. You can use quick oats, but using them will make the cookies slightly more puffy/less chewy.
- Sea salt. I only bake with pure, fine sea salt. If you are using iodized salt I recommend decreasing the amount of salt by half.
- Dried cranberries. Choose your favorite dried cranberries. I prefer a variety with no (or very little) added sugar. Or try other mix-ins like oatmeal butterscotch cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or oatmeal apple cookies.
How to Make Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
We will walk through how to make these delicious cookies together step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video for further guidance.
Begin by combining the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a small bowl, then set the bowl aside.
Then, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together for 1 minute in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer.
Next, add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed for an additional 1 minute. The mixture should be light and airy and the sugar should be dissolved.
Then, add the dry ingredient mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
Beat in the oatmeal on medium-low speed until incorporated.
Finally, stir in the dried cranberries until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Then, use a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out the dough, roll it into a ball and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used.
Gently and very slightly press down tops of cookies until they are flat but not too thin. This helps the cranberry oatmeal cookies bake evenly.
Bake until the tops are just barely set and the edges are lightly brown.
Then let the oatmeal cranberry cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve
Enjoy the oatmeal cranberry cookies slightly warm or room temperature. Or, you can let them cool completely and drizzle them with some vanilla icing (like these iced oatmeal cookies).
They are delicious when included on a cookie tray with some of our other favorite cookie recipes!
Store
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Freeze
Or, freeze baked cookies in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature.
To freeze cookie dough, roll the dough into balls and put them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw the dough to room temperature then follow the baking instructions int he recipe.
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies Recipe FAQS
Yes, but the texture and flavor will change. Fresh cranberries are very tart and add extra moisture. So I recommend tossing the fresh cranberries in 1-2 Tablespoons of flour before adding to the dough. Dried cranberries create a chewier, more classic cookie texture.
Yes, you can add up to a half cup of these ingredients with the cranberries.
Yes, you can make the dough and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking.
Absolutely. Follow my instructions and how to make browned butter and use it in this recipe.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Oatmeal Cranberry cookies
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup salted butter (softened)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Beat softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer) for 1 minute.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed for an additional 1 minute.
- Add dry ingredient mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Add oatmeal and beat on low speed until combined.
- Stir in cranberries until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Use a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out the dough.
- Roll the dough into a ball and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used.
- Gently and very slightly press down tops of cookies until they are flat.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes until the top is just set.
- Let sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- All-purpose flour. Use 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free baking flour to make the recipe gluten-free.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter and vegan butter both work.
- Light Brown Sugar. If you like a little bolder molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- Granulated Sugar. use white granulated sugar or organic cane sugar for the best results.
- Oatmeal: For the perfect, chewy texture use old-fashioned (or rolled) oats. You can use quick oats, but using them will make the cookies slightly more puffy/less chewy.
- Sea salt. I only bake with pure, fine sea salt. If you are using iodized salt I recommend decreasing the amount of salt by half.
- Dried cranberries. Choose your favorite dried cranberries. I prefer a variety with no (or very little) added sugar. Or try other mix-ins like oatmeal butterscotch cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or oatmeal apple cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
