Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Golden-edged, soft-centered oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Bake them from scratch, or layer the dry ingredients into a quart jar as a gift mix.
Servings 18 cookies
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- mixing bowls
- 1 quart wide-mouth mason jar For the gift mix
- canning funnel For the gift mix
Ingredients
Dry mix (these go in the jar, if you're making one)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries plus optionally more for packing to the top of the jar
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus optionally more for packing to the top of the jar
To bake
- 1/2 cup butter , softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together with a fork in a medium bowl. Add the oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cranberries, and chocolate chips. (If you're using a jar of mix, skip this step.)
- In a large bowl, mash the butter, egg, and vanilla together with a fork, then beat until the butter is broken up and fluffy. It will look lumpy, and that's fine.
- Add all of the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon, then squeeze the dough together with your hands until it holds a ball when you squeeze a handful. If it won't hold together, stir in a splash of milk.
- Scoop heaping 2-tablespoon mounds, roll each into a ball, and set them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Press each one down to about 3/4 inch thick.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers just look set. Cool 2 minutes on the pan, then move to a wire rack for 10 minutes to finish cooling. Repeat with the remaining dough, or freeze the dough balls to bake later.
Notes
To make the jar mix: In a 1 quart wide-mouth jar, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together with a fork and pack it down well. Then layer the oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cranberries, and chocolate chips, tapping the jar and pressing each layer firmly. Top off any space with extra chips or cranberries so the jar is full to the brim. Keeps about 3 months in a cool, dark pantry.
To bake from the jar: Follow the same steps, pouring in the entire jar in place of the bowl of dry ingredients.
If the dough is crumbly: It should look a little dry in the bowl. If a squeezed handful falls apart, add milk a splash at a time until it holds.
For chewier centers: Press each cookie flatter with a spatula halfway through baking.
To freeze the dough: Freeze scooped and pressed dough on a lined pan until solid, then bag it for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
Storage: Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. To serve them warm, reheat in a 300°F oven for 3 to 4 minutes.
Swaps: White chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, raisins, or chopped walnuts or pecans all work. For dairy-free, use dairy-free butter sticks and chocolate chips.
