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These Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy cookies filled with tart cranberries and infused with sweet oranges and fragrant cardamom.
Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies
These cranberry orange cookies made me grin with each bite. I love the unexpected flavors and the way that orange zest transforms this classic oatmeal cookie into something fresh.
Fruit in cookies is a whole thing. A lot of people stick to chocolate and nuts, but if you’ve never tried something like these orange cranberry oatmeal cookies, you’re missing out. Cranberries are an amazing match for citrus and warm spices.
Cardamom is intensely aromatic (if you are familiar with the fragrance of chai tea, it is likely the cardamom that you are remembering) and it adds a distinct flavor to these cookies.
The spice works beautifully in baked goods, but don’t worry if you don’t have it. Cinnamon with orange zest is a fantastic combination on it’s own.
Orange Oatmeal Cookies
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:
- eggs and butter
- white sugar and brown sugar
- vanilla extract
- orange zest
- old fashioned oats
- flour and baking soda
- salt, cinammon, cardamom
- dried cranberries or craisins
Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Then, add the sugars and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and beat until smooth again. Then, in a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients except the cranberries.
Gradually add this mixture to the wet ingredients, half at a time. Stir until fully combined. Then, add the cranberries and stir to combine.
Using a medium size scoop or a rounded tablespoon, drop the dough onto a large cookie sheet lined with a silpat mat. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven before the cookies are browned, while they still look soft in the center.
Let them cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes; this will allow them to finish baking without overcooking. Transfer to a wire rack and then store in an airtight container. These cookies will keep well for several days. Enjoy!
Cranberry Orange Cookies
Looking for more desserts like these cranberry orange cookies?
Cranberry Christmas Cookies are filled with fresh tart cranberries balanced by a buttery sweet cookie. This is not a classically crisp or chewy cookie. I created this cookie specifically to mimic everyone’s favorite Cranberry Christmas Cake.
Chocolate Cranberry Cookies are buttery brown sugar cookies filled with melting chocolate chunks and chewy cranberries.
Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies have become one of my family’s top 5 favorite cookies. And, I’ve got dozens and dozens of cookie recipes on the site already.
Slightly chewy with a sweetly tart combination, Cranberry Oatmeal Bars are full of cranberries and apples topped with brown sugar and oatmeal crumbs.
Coconut Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies have the crisp edges and soft centers that everyone craves. These oatmeal cookies are loaded with coconut and cranberries and they have been a hit with everyone who tries them.
Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies are an old-fashioned oatmeal cookie recipe that never lasts long in my house. This is a simple and tasty butterscotch cookie everyone adores!
Creamy Orange Sherbet is an old-fashioned frozen treat that I always associate with trips to visit my grandmother when I was a child. She loved sherbet and it was often found in her freezer.
Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark will work fine
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest one large orange
- 3½ cups old fashioned oats
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour *
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom optional
- 1 cup dried cranberries or craisins
* Gluten-Free Alternative
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup tapioca starch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla and orange zest and beat until smooth again.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients except the cranberries. Gradually add this mixture to the wet ingredients, half at a time. Stir until fully combined. Add the cranberries and stir to combine.
- Using a medium size scoop or a rounded tablespoon, drop the dough onto a large baking sheet lined with a silpat mat. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven before the cookies are browned and when they still look soft in the center.
- Let them cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes; this will allow them to finish baking without overcooking. Transfer to a cooling rack and then store in an airtight container. These cookies will keep well for several days. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 6/7/13 – recipe notes and photos updated 1/8/24}
I love this little twist on the plain old oatmeal cookie… would have never thought about orange spice!!
These look chewy and crispy and ……… delicious!
Oh no, now you've got me going off on an orange and cardamom binge, these sound amazing, and I can imagine them as muffins, or pancakes, too!
These little gems make a delicious, hard-to-resist treat, but are also great as crusts !
I make oatmeal cookies and just add orange or raspberry oil I get from the health food store into the recipe in place of vanilla…much easier…lol.