Soft Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Soft, chewy, Oatmeal Cranberries Cookies go well with a cup of tea!

My favourite cookie in the whole, wide, wonderful world is the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. I love the soft, chewy texture and the rich bursts of sweetness from the raisins. In my opinion, they must always be enjoyed with a cup of tea. Unfortunately, my family does not share my high opinion of these cookies. This is a typical exchange: "What are you baking? It smells great!" "Oatmeal raisin cookies," I smile. "Yuck!" is the usual reply.

It's time for tea!

As a result of my family's raisin revulsion, I rarely have them in the house. When I get a craving for oatmeal raisin, I am usually out of luck. This time, I decided to try dried cranberries as a substitute. Guess what happened? I loved them! They are even better than raisins, in my opinion. The tart cranberries are a bright counterpoint to the rich butter and brown sugar cookie base. Now I have a new favourite!

Click through for the recipe and instructions


Soft Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Based on this recipe at food.com

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups oatmeal (not instant)
1.5 cups dried cranberries, such as Craisins

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl, and add both sugars, vanilla and eggs, and beat until fluffy and thoroughly combined.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add flour a bit at a time until just combined (do not mix too much).
5. Add oatmeal and cranberries and stir until combined.
6. Using a small ice cream scoop (that holds about 2 tablespoons)  scoop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. The cookies will spread out.
7. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until just starting to colour around the edges. Cookies will still look soft. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a sealed container.

This recipe makes about 30 large cookies.