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Photo: Brittany Conerly
Active Time:15 minsTotal Time:30 minsServings:12Jump to Nutrition Facts
Active Time:15 minsTotal Time:30 minsServings:12
Active Time:15 mins
Active Time:
15 mins
Total Time:30 mins
Total Time:
30 mins
Servings:12
Servings:
12
Jump to Nutrition Facts
Jump to recipe
You’ll want to add theseCranberry-Coconut Oatmeal Cookiesto your holiday cookie lineup. Fiber-rich oats become chewy and tender yet crisp around the edges—the perfect cookie combo. Dried cranberries add a sweet-tangy pop, while nutty coconut becomes toasty and even more flavorful. Keep reading for our expert tips, including how to get the perfect chewy texture for your cookies.
Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen
These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!
Nutrition Notes
Dried Cranberries Bring Tang to Some Traditional Holiday Cookies
For many Americans, baking is very much a part of the holiday season. Those from the Caribbean regions have their rum-infused black cake or Christmas cake. Those from northern European traditions have a range of cookies. For many African Americans, it’s about pies or even a gargantuan bounty of baked goods. My family was the exception. None of us were real sweets eaters, and, with only three of us, it just didn’t make sense to go all-out. Therefore, I don’t crave the heavy desserts that are for many a part of the season.
Rather, when I think of the Christmas holidays, I think of the oatmeal cookies that my mother and I would invariably make. Unlike the oatmeal cookies that are for sale in many places these days, these cookies were not chewy, but were thin, crisp and crunchy. Several years ago, I resurrected my mother’s old Fannie Farmer cookbook and tried my hand at our holiday recipe.
The cookies were as remembered, but being me, I could not resist the temptation to play around with the recipe. I confess, I am an inveterate recipe fiddler and always am ringing in the changes even with my old favorites. I add a bit of this and a dash of that and come up with something that is different. And so, I went to work on the oatmeal cookies on a cool day this past fall while I was in my kitchen on Martha’s Vineyard.
I started with my basic recipe but found myself also adding coconut flakes. Then, as I was looking around, I saw some dried cranberries that I keep around for snacking and for throwing into salads. I minced them up and added them to the cookie dough. What the cookies lost in crispness from the addition of the cranberries they gained in taste with the chewy tang of the berries nicely counterpointing the crunch of the oats and coconut. For the holiday season, I’m going to bake all my variants of the cookies and have them on hand to share with friends. They’ll be surprised to see me eating sweets, but hopefully they’ll enjoy them as much as I do.
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients1large egg½cupgranulated sugar⅔cuprolled oats3 ½tablespoonsunsweetened coconut flakes, crushed2tablespoonsfinely chopped dried cranberries2teaspoonsmelted butter¼teaspoonsalt¼teaspoonvanilla extract⅛teaspoonlemon extract
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
1large egg
½cupgranulated sugar
⅔cuprolled oats
3 ½tablespoonsunsweetened coconut flakes, crushed
2tablespoonsfinely chopped dried cranberries
2teaspoonsmelted butter
¼teaspoonsalt
¼teaspoonvanilla extract
⅛teaspoonlemon extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Bake until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make aheadPrepare the cookie dough, roll it into a log or 1 tablespoon balls and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight orfreezeit in a freezer-safe bag (labeled with a date) for up to 3 months.
To make ahead
Prepare the cookie dough, roll it into a log or 1 tablespoon balls and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight orfreezeit in a freezer-safe bag (labeled with a date) for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked QuestionsFor optimal baking, place your cookies on the middle rack of the oven. If you’re baking two batches at once, be sure to swap the pans' positions halfway through the baking time and rotate them 180 degrees to promote even cooking.Yes, they do. However, it’s best to leave the cookies on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving them. This allows them to firm up a bit, so you can transfer each cookie to the cooling rack without breaking it.We recommend using thicker rolled oats instead of small-cut quick-cooking oats when making these cookies. The thicker oats enhance the flavor and create the chewy texture we aimed for in this recipe. Although they may take a little longer to bake than quick-cooking oats, the results are well worth the extra time.If you like chewy cookies, store them in an airtight container or zip-top bag with a slice of bread. For crispy cookies, keep them in a covered glass container or refrigerate them.
Frequently Asked Questions
For optimal baking, place your cookies on the middle rack of the oven. If you’re baking two batches at once, be sure to swap the pans' positions halfway through the baking time and rotate them 180 degrees to promote even cooking.
Yes, they do. However, it’s best to leave the cookies on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving them. This allows them to firm up a bit, so you can transfer each cookie to the cooling rack without breaking it.
We recommend using thicker rolled oats instead of small-cut quick-cooking oats when making these cookies. The thicker oats enhance the flavor and create the chewy texture we aimed for in this recipe. Although they may take a little longer to bake than quick-cooking oats, the results are well worth the extra time.
If you like chewy cookies, store them in an airtight container or zip-top bag with a slice of bread. For crispy cookies, keep them in a covered glass container or refrigerate them.
EatingWell.com, December 2022
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Nutrition Facts(per serving)74Calories2gFat13gCarbs1gProtein
Nutrition Facts(per serving)
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.
Carrie Myers, M.S.
