Chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Several weeks ago I was meeting a friend at BJ's Wholesale to do some shopping, but before we did our shopping we stopped for a cup of coffee to chat. As we ordered our coffee we took notice of a delicious looking cookie that we just had to try! So we shared a Cranberry Oatmeal cookie and it did not disappoint.

So with our church's cookie exchange coming up I decided I needed to try to bake that cookie!! For the most part I just used the oatmeal on the back of the Quaker Oats and went from there. I like my oatmeal cookies thick and chewy. I have found that the trick to getting a really thick, chewy cookie is to chill the dough before you bake it.

Below you will find the recipe.

• 1 cup butter flavored Crisco
• 1 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries (or other dried fruit if you don't like cranberries)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (or walnuts etc)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, cranberries, white choc and nuts, if using them.

Chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You can go ahead a bake them without chilling them but they will not be as chewy and will be a thinner cookie.  I even chilled one batch over night to finish baking the next morning.

Bake cookies two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. This is important: Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.  





This recipe makes about 5 dozen, depending on the size of cookie you make. I made these with my granddaughter for a cookie exchange. I needed to double the batch. They are delicious!



I thought I would join my friend Gina today over at Keepin' It Real!