These Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies are packed with quick oats, warm spices, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and toffee bits. Soft, chewy, and bursting with fall flavors, this recipe gives you cookies that are perfect to enjoy all year long!

A stack of oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip cookies. The top cookie has a bite missing.

It’s been foreverrrr since I’ve shared some cookies with you!

We can still be friends, right?

Truth be told, I adore cookies, I mean who doesn’t, right? But, I just forget about them sometimes!

Plus, cookies are one of the hardest foods for me to photograph (along with sandwiches and wraps). So, I have lots of cookie ideas floating around, but I just get not-so-excited when I think about taking pictures of them.

But, these loaded oatmeal spice cookies were just too good to pass up!

If you checked out my Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies, you may remember that oatmeal cookies and I didn’t always use to be friends. In fact, I’m still pretty picky when it comes to this type of cookie.

top down shot of chewy oatmeal cranberry cookies on a towel

And I blame that on raisins. See, I love raisins when I can eat them by the handful. But, throw them in a cookie, bread, cake, or muffin, and it’s a big turn-off for me.

I just don’t like them! And most people put raisins in their oatmeal cookies, which is why I never usually eat them.

But, since I’m a food blogger, I call the shots, which means that you will find no raisins in this oatmeal cookie recipe!

And I can’t take credit for the recipe. It came from the Fall Baking issue of Taste of South magazine. The recipe immediately caught my eye, and I made these oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip cookies as soon as I bought the magazine.

If you like oatmeal cookies, then I guarantee you’ll fall in love with this spiced version. Cinnamon and nutmeg give this treat a punch of cozy spices, while the dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and toffee give them a nice texture and sweet flavor.

a pile of oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip cookies on a towel

What Makes Loaded Oatmeal Spice Cookies So Fantastic?

  • They’re full of warm fall flavors and tasty morsels – filling and delicious!
  • These oatmeal cookies are so easy to put together. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ones, fold in the add-ins, then drop them onto the sheet pan and bake!
  • You can easily customize these cookies! Simply omit or add in your favorite chocolate chips or dried fruit!

Ingredients in Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

These oatmeal cranberry cookies are loaded to the max with mix-ins and spices. Here’s what you’ll need to make them: 

  • Unsalted butter
  • Granulated sugar and brown sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking soda and baking powder
  • Spices
  • Quick oats
  • Dried cranberries
  • Semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Toffee bits

Can I Use Different Mix-Ins?

Of course! Instead of dried cranberries, you could use raisins. The toffee bits could be replaced with chopped nuts — and so on! Just stick to the ingredient ratios and almost any mix-in should work well. 

a pile of loaded dried cranberry cookies on a towel

How to Make Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

These easy oatmeal cookies bake up soft and chewy on the inside, while remaining crisp on the outside. And that’s my definition of a perfect cookie!

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line two large baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth and creamy.
  3. Add in the eggs and beat until everything is well-blended. Add the vanilla and blend until smooth. Set aside.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
  5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating until combined.
  6. Fold in the oats, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and toffee bits.
  7. Use a spoon to scoop out 2 tablespoonfuls of dough and drop it on the prepared baking pan.
  8. Bake the cookies until lightly browned.

One bite and you’ll embrace the warm, fall flavors that are hidden in each chewy oatmeal cranberry cookie. Pair this treat with a glass of milk or hot cup of coffee, and you’ve got the most delicious dessert or snack satisfy your sweet tooth!

Can the Cookie Dough Be Made in Advance? 

Yes! You can make the cookie dough up to 48 hours before you plan on baking the cookies. Refrigerate it in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out. 

You could also roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze it for up to three months. You can bake the dough from frozen, just add a minute or two to the total bake time. 

chewy oatmeal cranberry cookies in a pile with a bite taken out

Recipe Variations to Try

  • Substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour for the white flour to add a little extra fiber to these cookies!
  • Get a little more crunch in these cookies by adding in some chopped nuts! 1/2 cup of pecans or walnut would work well.
  • Really amp up the chocolate flavor by drizzling melted chocolate over the cookies or dunking the cookies halfway into melted chocolate.

Tips for the Best Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

  • This recipe calls for quick-cooking oats, so be sure not to use the old-fashioned ones!
  • Make sure not to over mix the dough as it can make your cookies tough or gummy. Mix just long enough until your dough is uniform.
  • If you don’t have a large enough oven that distributed heat evenly, you may want to cook one sheet of cookies at a time.

Looking for more oatmeal cookie recipes? 

I’ve got quite a few easy cookie recipes on my site, but here are my favorites that use oatmeal in the dough: 

cookies in a pile with a bit taken out

Spiced Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 36 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes
These Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies are packed with oats, warm spices, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and toffee bits!
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste, (or vanilla extract)
  • 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups quick-cooking oats
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup toffee bits

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Line two large baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, and beat until well-blended. Add vanilla and blend until smooth. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating until combined.
  • Fold in oats, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and toffee bits.
  • Drop dough by 2 tablespoonfuls about 1 inch apart on prepared pans. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned.
  • Let cool on pans for 5 minutes. Then, move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Lightly adapted from Taste of South Magazine - Fall Baking edition
Serving: 1g, Calories: 186kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 82mg, Potassium: 76mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 268IU, Calcium: 34mg, Iron: 2mg
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Author: Gayle
Did you make this recipe?Let me know! Mention @pumpkin_n_spice on Instagram or tag #pumpkin_n_spice.