Chewy Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and Dark Chocolate
The best chewy oatmeal cookies, flecked with dark chocolate and tangy cranberries. So easy to make with the perfect texture, tons of flavor from brown sugar, old-fashioned oats, cinnamon, and molasses, these bakery style cookies are the perfect Fall treat!
Chocolate chip cookies may get the spotlight most of the time, but I love a great oatmeal cookie just as much. Maybe even more.
…Even packed full of raisins. Yes, it’s true.
For those of you that fundamentally disagree – raisins, are kind of like cilantro in that way, aren’t they? – do not worry. Today we’re not talking raisins, as these chewy oatmeal cookies are filled with vibrant dried cranberries and lots of rich, dark chocolate chunks instead.
They’re plump, buttery cookies, brimming with caramel notes from brown sugar and a hint of molasses, which also helps to achieve a perfectly chewy texture. Generously spiced with cinnamon, fragrant vanilla, and of course lots of old fashioned oats, they’re one of my very favorite cookies.
If you are on team crunchy cookies, then you and the anti-raisin folks can find solace together, because these oatmeal cookies are the epitome of chewy.
As with most drop cookies, they’re super simple to make, but I do have a few tricks to keeping these unassuming babes super chewy and full of flavor.
For just the right amount of moisture and texture, I use more brown sugar than white, and add a tablespoon of molasses, which also adds complexity and depth of flavor (and is a secret to chewy ginger cookies). The edges barely crisp up, the centers stay soft, and each bite is wonderfully chewy and delicious.
The chilling time for the dough is minimal, but is important if you like thicker, chewier cookies. You can skip this step, but the cookies will spread a little bit while they bake.
Let’s talk mix ins.
These chewy oatmeal cookies are packed with dark chocolate and tangy dried cranberries and cozy warming spices, and I love this combination all year round, but especially for Fall.
You can mix everything in, or leave a few chocolate chunks and cranberries on top. The chocolate will melt into luscious, gooey puddles in the oven, which takes things to even more delicious heights.
Using dark chocolate keeps things from getting too sweet (we’ve got lots of brown sugar packed in there for that). I typically stick with bittersweet chocolate with a cocoa content of 60-70% for cookie baking, but you could switch out a semisweet or milk chocolate bar if you’d like something sweeter.
But that being said, this is a great base recipe for any number of mix ins: go classic with raisins, just about any kind of of chopped nut, your favorite type of chocolate, even butterscotch or peanut butter chips.
And if I’m being honest, I am just as happy to eat an oatmeal cookie with NOTHING mixed in. It’s hard to go wrong with this kind of chewy, cinnamon-spiced oat goodness!
Originally published on December 3, 2012. Updated photos by Laura Kasavan, of the lovely desserts blog Tutti Dolci.
PrintChewy Oatmeal Cookies
- Prep Time: 40
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 24 Cookies 1x
- Category: Baking, Dessert, Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
The best chewy oatmeal cookies, flecked with dark chocolate and tangy cranberries. So easy to make with the perfect texture, tons of flavor from brown sugar, old-fashioned oats, cinnamon, and molasses, these bakery style cookies are the perfect Fall treat!
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp molasses
2–1/2 cups rolled (old-fashioned) oats
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, roughly-chopped¹
1/2 cup dried cranberries²
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a stand up mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Turn the mixer down to low speed, and add the eggs, one at a time, then follow with the vanilla and molasses.
Turn the mixer down to the lowest speed and add the flour mixture, a bit at a time until just combined. Be careful not to over mix.
Use a spatula to stir in the oats, chocolate, and cranberries until evenly incorporated. The cookie dough will be very chunky. Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes.
Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough into balls, about 1-1/2 Tbsp each, and place on the prepared sheet pans, at least 2 inches apart.
Bake until gently puffed and golden, about 11-13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit on the sheet pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a baking rack to cool. The cookies will still look slightly uncooked in the middle, but will continue to cook on the baking sheet. Enjoy!
Notes
¹ Aim for 60-70% cocoa content from a good-quality chocolate bar. I use Theo Chocolate and Guittard most often for baking. You can also use chocolate chips.
² Raisins or chopped nuts can also be substituted for the cranberries.
Keywords: oatmeal cookies, cookie, dark chocolate, chocolate cranberry, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, rolled oats, molasses, baking, dessert, cranberry cookie
Woah! I mean woah! Loving that you merged the good ol’ chocolate chip & oatmeal cookie together. So good. Those puddles of chocolate dancing across the top of these babes is way too irresistible to resist.
Puddles of chocolate are always a good thing… 😉 Thank you, Lynn!!
What a great idea to add a dollop of molasses to enhance the chewiness. I can’t wait to try it!
★★★★★
I hope you do!!
I can’t wait to bake these cookies again – so chewy, chocolately, and utterly delicious! 🙂
★★★★★
Thank you, Laura!!
Wow – beautiful cookies! They may be the perfect Fall treat – but who’s waiting until Fall to make them? Certainly not me!
Thank you, Cyndi!! 🙂
I’ll bet the Honey loved these! I can’t wait to try them. Love the flavor combos!
Thanks Patty! I hope you like them as much as we do, and that you had a wonderful holiday!
Love this recipe! Will be linking back to this in my upcoming post 🙂
Thanks Marla! I’ll look forward to seeing it!
Mmmm, cranberries and dark chocolate in a chewy oatmeal cookie? This is right up my alley! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’m pinning it to try soon!
Thanks Katie! I hope you like them!