Studded with melty dark chocolate morsels, tart and tangy cranberries and chunks of chopped walnut pieces – these Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies have a lot going on! Check out the recipe notes for tips on how to make these cookies dairy free and/or egg free!

Cookie Week – Day Seven

What is Cookie Week? Inspired by Cookie Palooza over on Sally’s Baking Addiction, I’m sharing a new, gluten-free holiday cookie everyday for one full week.

The seventh and final cookie of the first ever cookie week on A Saucy Kitchen? These soft & chewy, tart & tangy, mouthwatering Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies.

What’s special about these Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies?

✔️Fresh cranberries adds a stronger pop of flavor (compared to dried cranberries).
✔️These cookies have a balance of sweet, salty and tangy ingredients that makes for a delicious and unique tasting cookie!
✔️You can easily make these cranberry cookies dairy free/egg free/ vegan friendly with a few simple swaps.

Are Oats Safe on a Gluten-Free Diet?

To be safe you should always look to buy certified gluten free oats or oats that have been tested and shown to contain less than 20 parts per million ppm which is considered to be safe for Coeliac consumption in the US and the UK.

Learn More

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies: Key Ingredients

• Fresh Cranberries & Granulated Sugar: Cranberries can be quite tart and even bitter when fresh. Coating the berries in sugar helps tone down that sourness to become more palatable for cookies.
• Walnuts: Walnuts are like a gentle hum while cranberries are a bright zing. Together they find a middle ground that just works! Bonus point if you used toasted nuts!

• Chocolate Chips: White chocolate is the usual go-to when it comes to cranberries, but dark chocolate is just as good (better in my opinion!). The sweet and sour combo flavor pairing is a classic.
• Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend: You can use any gluten free all purpose flour blend you like whether it’s homemade or store bought.
  • Add 1/4 teaspoon Xanthan gum if your flour blend doesn’t already contain it. This helps keep your cookies soft and moist without spreading too much in the oven. You can also leave it out if you prefer but you will need to add an extra 2 tablespoons of flour (16g) to the dough and chill the dough 30 minutes before baking.
• Certified Gluten Free Rolled Oats: Oats (while they are naturally gluten free) are often grown or processes in a way that makes them prone to gluten cross contamination. If you need these cookies to gluten free for yourself or someone you know, make sure to use certified gluten free oat.

More Gluten Free Oat Cookes

Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies

Gluten Free Monster Cookies

Oatmeal Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Substitutions and Additions

• Cranberries: Use fresh cranberries instead of dried.
• Nuts: Swap out the walnuts for other nuts like almond, pecans or macadamia nuts. Alternatively, you can leave out the nuts altogether to make these cookies nut free.
• Chocolate: Add or substitute the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks.
• Make it Dairy Free: Use vegan block butter (not spreadable butter from a tub). Coconut oil also works but your cookies will be more fragile while still warm. You might also notice that the edges of the cookies are a little crispier. Keep in mind that coconut oil cookies also do not stay as soft as long as butter based and vegan butter based cookies.
• Make it Egg Free: Use a flax egg or chia egg in place of the egg. Cookies made with vegan eggs will be delicate fresh out of the oven. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet fully before moving or they will likely fall apart. Once cooled, they’ll be totally set and not prone to breaking.

And that’s a wrap on cookie week! I think I’m ready for a few salads now…

More Cookie-Week Recipes:

•  Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies (Vegan Option)
• Rosemary Lemon Christmas Tree Cookies
• Gluten Free Red Velvet Cookies and 
• Paleo Red Velvet Cookies
• Salted Honey Tahini Cookies (Vegan Option)
• Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blossoms (Vegan Option)
• Buttered Pecan Meltaways (Vegan Option)

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Yield: 15 cookies Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes

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Studded with melty dark chocolate morsels, tart and tangy cranberries and chunks of chopped walnut pieces - these Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies have a lot going on! Check out the recipe notes for tips on how to make these cookies dairy free and/or egg free!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (50g) fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (113 g) soften butter (or vegan block butter)
• 3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
• 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla
• 1 egg (or chia/flax seed egg)
• 3/4 cup (105g) gluten free all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups (113 g ) certified gluten free rolled oats
• 3/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum if you flour blend doesn't already contain it(optional - see notes)
• 1/2 cup (85 g) dark chocolate chips (ensure dairy free if needed)
• 1/2 cup (58g) walnuts, roughly chopped

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
2. Add the cranberries (1/2 cup | 50g) to a small bowl and add the granulated white sugar (1 tbsp | 12g). Toss together and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), beat together the butter (1/2 cup | 113g) and brown sugar (3/4 cup | 165g) on a medium speed until combined. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract (2tsp | 10ml).
4. Add the dry ingredients to bowl: gluten free all purpose flour (3/4 cup |105g), gluten free rolled oats (1 1/4cup | 113), salt (3/4 tsp), baking soda (1/2 tsp), cinnamon (1/2 tsp) and xanthan gum (1/4 tsp). Mix everything together until a thick, slightly sticky dough forms.
5. Add the sugar-coated cranberries, chocolate chips (1/2 cup | 85g), and chopped walnuts (1/2 cup | 58g) to the mixing bowl. Mix until fully combined.
6. Scoop about 1 1/2 -2 tablespoons worth of dough at a time. Roll the dough into balls for uniform cookies or drop directly on to the baking sheet. These cookies will spread in the oven so make sure to leave at least 3 inches in between each cookie.
7. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges have goldened. Let cool on the baking sheets at least 10 minutes before you transfer them to a wire cooling rack. If you are making these cookies with a flax or chia seed egg let the cool 15-20 minutes without moving. If you move them too soon they'll fall apart. Once completely cooled they will be easy to move and store.
8. Optional: Gently press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies right after they come out of the oven to give your cookies a more appealing, bakehouse look.
9. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for at least 5-6 days.

Notes

Coconut oil cookies will be crispier and crunchier around the edges. They will also taste slightly of coconut - just a little FYI. You must be carefully when transferring these cookies to a cooling rack as they are very delicate until completely cooled.

Flax Egg or Chia Seed Egg cookies also need to rest and cool on the baking sheets. If you try to move them too early they will fall apart. Just be patient. Once they are cooled you won't know they difference! How to Make Flax Eggs: Mix together 2 tablespoons ground flax seed with 2 1/2 tablespoons water. Set aside for about 10 minutes until the mixture gels up. You can then use this as your egg.

Omit the Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum helps keep these cookies soft and moist without spreading too much in the oven. You can leave out the added xanthan if your flour blend already contains it. You can also leave it out if you prefer but you will need to add an extra 2 tablespoons of flour (16g) to the dough and chill the dough 30 minutes before baking.

For chewier gooey cookies: Bake 9-10 minutes. The cookies might look a bit under cooked but that's ok! They will continue to cook slightly on the baking sheet as they cool down.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Gluten Free Cookies Cuisine: American