These chewy oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies are so much better than regular oatmeal raisin cookies! You’ll love the warm, cozy notes of cinnamon, brown sugar, and molasses, and the rich textures of old-fashioned oats, cranberries, and walnuts. Perfect for holiday festivities or everyday indulgence!

If you love tender, flavorful cookies, try these nutty, chocolatey Peanut Butter Blossoms with a cold glass of milk. These Frosted Peppermint Brownie Cookies have a wonderfully chewy texture with rich chocolate flavor. They’d all look amazing on your holiday cookie tray!

A stack of cranberry walnut oatmeal cookies with a cooling rack of cookies and a small white Christmas tree in the background.

Oatmeal cookies sometimes get a bad rap and are often shoved to the side as a “healthy” option. This oatmeal cranberry cookies recipe will totally change how you think about oatmeal cookies in general.

By creaming the butter and sugar together, you know they’ll have a light, chewy texture, and the brown sugar and molasses give them a softness that will make you want to take bite after bite. They’ll quickly become a new favorite!

What are Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies?

This easy cookie recipe is a spin on the traditional oatmeal raisin cookie. Instead of raisins, they have dried cranberries and walnuts for a little crunch. I also like adding cinnamon and molasses for a warm, cozy flavor. They’re soft, chewy cookies with so much flavor!

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie Ingredients

All-purpose flour: Spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup to keep the cookies from being too dry.
Ground cinnamon: The warm cinnamon flavor pairs really well with oats.
Salt: Salt highlights flavor and makes the cookies even more delicious.
Softened butter: I recommend using unsalted butter to keep the cookies from being too salty.
Light brown sugar: Brown sugar has a rich flavor and adds extra chewiness. Dark brown sugar will work, too, but will give the cookies a much deeper flavor.
Granulated sugar: White sugar will add a crispiness to the edges for a little bite.
Large eggs: Let the eggs come to room temperature before baking.
Pure vanilla extract: Every dessert tastes better with a little vanilla!
Molasses: The molasses adds extra flavor and a wonderfully chewy texture.
Baking soda: This will react with the brown sugar and cause the cookie dough to rise.
Old-fashioned oats: Use regular rolled oats for the best texture.
Dried cranberries: These add a tart and sweet flavor with a pop of red color.
Chopped walnuts: Toast the walnuts briefly first for extra flavor.

All of the ingredients to make cranberry oatmeal cookies.

How to Make Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies

STEP 1: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

STEP 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, baking soda, and white sugar over medium speed for 6-8 minutes until lighter and creamier.

STEP 3: Add in eggs one at a time, mixing over high speed for about a minute and scraping the bowl before adding the next egg. Mix in the vanilla and molasses.

STEP 4: Slowly add in the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing on low until combined.

The first four steps to make these cookies.

STEP 5: Mix in rolled oats, dried cranberries, and walnuts. Dough will be thick and sticky.

STEP 6: Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator or 15 minutes in the freezer.

STEP 7: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

STEP 8: Roll dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls and place 2 inches apart on baking pan. Press them down slightly with the palm of your hand or a heavy glass. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on sides of cookies, but centers are still soft.

STEP 9: Remove the cookies from the oven and leave on the baking sheets to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

The last two steps to make oatmeal cookies.

Tips for Success

If you want a nice chewy cookie, it’s really important to chill the dough before baking. Otherwise, the cookies will flatten and become hard in the oven instead of perfectly soft and chewy.
Creaming the butter and sugar takes extra time, but it’s the secret to the best cookies. It’ll make the dough light and airy, which means your cookies will be nice and chewy.
Instead of scooping the flour with the measuring cup, use a spoon to fill the cup and then level it off. Otherwise, your cookies will be too dry.
You typically use the paddle attachment instead of the whisk when creaming to give the dough the perfect texture without overmixing.

Recipe Variations

Use your favorite dried fruit. You can easily replace the dried cranberries with raisins, dried cherries, chopped dried apricots, dates, and more. Have fun with it!
Add chocolate chips. Add about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips for cranberry oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. White chocolate chips are great for the holidays, too!
Try different nuts. Replace the crunchy walnuts with chopped pecans, almonds, or even pumpkin seeds for a different flavor profile.
Use fresh cranberries. If you happen to have fresh cranberries on hand, you can use those instead! Since the tart cranberries are not sweetened, they may be too sour for some but others will like the balance of tart and sweet.

Above view of a cookie tray full of oatmeal cookies and a small bowl of dried cranberries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use instant oats for oatmeal cookies?

Although you can use instant or quick oats, they cook faster than old-fashioned or traditional oats and won’t have quite the same texture. Since cookies bake so quickly, there shouldn’t be too much of a difference in this particular recipe.

Do you need to chill oatmeal cookie dough before baking?

Yes! If you don’t chill the dough, the butter will melt too quickly and spread out on the baking sheet. Chilling also gives the flour a chance to rest, which will make the cookies more tender. If you want soft, chewy oatmeal cookies, always let them chill for at least 30 minutes first.

Why are my homemade oatmeal cookies hard?

There are a few reasons for hard, dry oatmeal cookies. First, check the temperature of your oven and dough. If the dough is not chilled, it can melt and turn crispy, and if the oven is too hot, they’ll bake too fast. You also want to use the right ingredients! The best oatmeal cookies will have some sort of moisture added, whether that’s vegetable oil, applesauce, or molasses. The extra moisture will make sure the cookies have nice, chewy centers with a little bite on the edges.

How to Store & Reheat

How to refrigerate Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies? Place your leftover cookies in a plastic container or bag and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

How to keep at room temperature? Leftover cookies have the best texture when stored at room temperature. Place them in an airtight container and eat them within a week.

Can I Freeze Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies?

How to freeze cranberry oatmeal cookies? You can easily freeze the leftover cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Simply thaw before eating, and enjoy! If you don’t want to bake the whole batch at once, you can even freeze the unbaked dough. I like to roll the dough into balls first, freeze them on a sheet tray, then move them to a freezer bag. Let the dough balls thaw in the fridge before baking like normal.

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If you’ve tried this walnut cranberry oatmeal cookie recipe, don’t forget to give me a star rating and leave me a comment below in the comment section. I love to hear from people who have made my recipes.

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