Oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies have a sweet, nutty flavor and a pop of tart cranberries in every bite! They’re gluten, egg, and dairy-free and made with simple, wholesome ingredients for a treat everyone will love, and you can feel good about serving.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- 🍽️ Flavor: Sweet and nutty with a pop of rich cranberries
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: 10 minutes
- 🕒 Ready In: 55 minutes (including 30 minutes of chill time)
- 👥 Servings: 32 large cookies (you can make them smaller if you prefer)
- 📖 Dietary Info: Gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free
- ❄️ Freezer Friendly: Yes! See the notes to learn which freezer method will work best for you.
- 👩🍳 Tip: Apple cider vinegar adds a soft texture and complex flavor. Don’t worry, you won’t actually taste the vinegar at all.
A Healthier Holiday Treat
If I’m going to make a cookie, oatmeal cookies are my go-to. Not only do they fit my baking philosophy of being easy and healthier than most cookies, but I just love the rich flavor and hearty, moist texture.
Especially around the holidays when sweets are EVERYWHERE, I often need a cookie recipe that’s a little healthier, but still delicious and festive. These cookies fit that perfectly!
Based off of my classic oatmeal cookie recipe, not only are they absolutely delicious, but they’re made with plenty of oats, walnuts, and cranberries and no refined sugar or gluten. A cookie I can feel good about indulging in whether it’s the holidays or not!
What Makes Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies Special?
- Classic oatmeal cookie flavor with unique twist for the holidays.
- Healthy cookie recipe made with no refined flour or processed sugar.
- Quick & easy taking only 15 minutes of active time in the kitchen!
Ingredients
Tools Needed
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: First, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: oats, oat flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
Step 2: Next, in a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, maple syrup, chia eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.
Step 3: Now, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Step 4: Then fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
Place the dough in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes, and while it’s chilling preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Step 5: Grease your cookie sheets and drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto them. The cookies don’t spread much at all, so make sure to flatten them slightly.
Step 6: Then bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. They won’t look quite done yet, but they’ll firm up as they cool.
Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet. Enjoy as a festive treat!
If you’re looking for more cookies made with oat flour, check out my maple pumpkin cookies and oat chocolate chip cookies!
Prep in Advance
Freeze Baked Cookies
Already baked oatmeal cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. To freeze them, after they have cooled completely, place in ziplock freezer bags or glass food storage containers with parchment paper between each layer. Thaw at room temperature.
Freeze Unbaked Cookie Dough
Frozen cookie dough will last up to 3 months in the freezer. To freeze it, drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets and sightly flatten the cookies. Then cover the cookie sheets and freeze. Once the unbaked cookies are frozen, remove them from the cookie sheets and place in ziplock freezer bags.
When it’s time to bake the cookies, remove the dough from the freezer and place on a greased cookie sheet with a little bit of space between each cookie. Place the cookie sheets in the fridge for a few hours or until the dough has completely thawed, and then bake as usual.
Tips for Success
Mix up the add-ins – If you’re not a fan of walnuts, pecans would be a fantastic substitute! Or for a sweeter cookie, you can add in a few chocolate chips. (If you want to go all-in on the chocolate cranberry flavor, you can try my cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies instead!)
Chill the dough – Chilling cookie dough made with oat flour is a must! It gives the oats time to soak up moisture and leads to cookies with a softer texture. Feel free to chill longer than 30 minutes (even overnight) if it works best for your schedule.
Flatten before baking – These cookies hardly spread, so you’ll need to flatten them slightly before baking.
Let cool on the cookie sheet – If you remove them from the cookie sheet right away, you’ll be in for a big mess. As they cool they’ll get firm and hold together perfectly.
FAQs
For the best flavor and texture, store oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
While these oatmeal cookies do contain natural sugar, the oats, walnuts and cranberries make them a healthy cookie choice compared to most recipes.
Old-fashioned rolled oats give oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies the classic oatmeal cookie texture! In addition to rolled oats, these cookies use oat flour too.
Violet’s Tips for Serving
When I’m bringing food to an event that I know is going to have tons of sweets, I always try to bring something a little more nourishing (but still absolutely delicious) like these cookies. I’m never the only one who appreciate the healthier option!
If you try this recipe, let me know in the comments! Tag me on Instagram @violet_rightathome
Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups oat flour If these cookies need to be gluten free, make sure to use gluten free oat flour.
- 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
- 2 cups rolled oats If these cookies need to be gluten free, make sure to use gluten free rolled oats.
- 1 cup coconut oil softened
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup ground chia seeds whisked into 3/4 cup water to make chia eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, oat flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.3 cups oat flour, 2 cups rolled oats, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: coconut sugar, maple syrup, chia eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.1 cup coconut oil, 3/4 cup coconut sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup ground chia seeds, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.2 cups cranberries, 1 cup walnuts
- Place the dough in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your cookie sheets.
- Drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheets, and flatten them slightly with your hand or the back of a spoon.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. They won’t look quite done even when they are.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for at least 10 minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet.
Notes
Substitutions
- Can substitute pecans for walnuts
- Can substitute coconut oil for butter
- Can substitute coconut sugar for brown sugar
- Can substitute ground chia seeds for 4 eggs
Freezer Instructions
Store oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The cookies can also be frozen for up to 2 months. To make far in advance, the cookie dough can be frozen up to 3 months. To do so, drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and sightly flatten the cookies. Cover the cookie sheets and freeze. Once the dough is completely frozen, remove it from the cookie sheets and place in freezer bags. When you’re ready to bake them, remove the dough from the freezer and place on a greased cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheets in the fridge for a few hours or until the dough has completely thawed, and then bake as usual.Nutrition
If you love oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies, please make sure to come back and leave a comment and a 5 star rating. I’d love to hear how it turned out for you!
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