Soft and chewy oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip cookies that are easy to make and also happen to be vegan AND gluten-free! These cookies will become a new favourite to make during the festive season and beyond.
Cookies are, of course, a popular treat to have on your holiday baking list, but if you want to make something a little different from the regular sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, and gingerbread cookies, then I have a cookie recipe that looks just as good as it tastes and will make a nice addition to your holiday baking lineup.
Not only do they taste and look good, they’re also VERY easy to make and require minimal ingredients and steps. PLUS, they’re vegan, gluten-free, egg-free, and also dairy-free. AND…so delicious.
Are you new to vegan gluten-free baking? If so, be sure to read all of my vegan gluten-free baking tips!
In the picture above, you’ll see the different components you’ll need: the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another and then the add-ins that make this cookie special…the dark chocolate chips and the cranberries.
Whole VS. Chopped Cranberries
I like to roughly chop the cranberries for this recipe so the pieces are smaller. This way, you won’t get bites that are overpowered with whole tart cranberries.
You can keep them whole if you prefer them that way, but when you chop them, there will be more cranberry pieces in each cookie and the smaller pieces balance nicely with the dark chocolate chips.
How to Make Them
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions at the end of this post.)
First, you’ll combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another and then combine the two.
After this is done, you’ll then add in the chocolate chips and cranberries and mix well so everything is combined.
Next, you’ll use either a tablespoon or a medium-sized cookie scoop (Amazon link), like the one I’m using in the picture below, to scoop out the dough for each cookie.
These cookies don’t spread a lot as they bake, so you need to flatten them slightly before they go in the oven. And speaking of baking, they just take 10-minutes in the oven, that’s it!
After they come out of the oven, they need to sit for a while to firm up. Once that time has passed (and it will be hard to wait!), you’ll have a perfect batch of soft, chewy oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip cookies. for your family to snack on, to share with friends and family, for bringing to a potluck, or to bring in to the office to treat your co-workers.
They can also be given as a food gifts…because what better gift is there to give and receive than food?!
For some more holiday food gift ideas, check out this post that contains 20+ Vegan Food Gifts to Make and Give This Holiday and for some non-food gift ideas, check out these Gift Ideas for Vegan Foodies.
Can Fresh Cranberries be Used Instead of Dried?
I always use dried cranberries for these cookies and have not tried making them with fresh or frozen cranberries, so I can’t say from experience if the cookies will still turn out. I do know that if fresh cranberries are used, they will release liquid as they bake which will likely alter the texture of the cookies, so proceed with caution.
What Kind Chocolate Chips Should be Used?
I use semi-sweet / dark chocolate chips in all of my baking. This type of chocolate chips work particularly well as a contrast to the tart cranberries. The flavours work very well together and will give you great tasting dark chocolate cranberry cookies.
Most dark chocolate chips are vegan, but to be 100% sure yours are, read the ingredient list and look out for dairy ingredients.
Here in Canada, President’s Choice decadent semi-sweet chocolate chips are vegan and very easy to find (it’s what I used in this recipe), and there’s also Enjoy Life, or Kirkland Signature at Costco.
In the US, you can use Enjoy Life, Kirkland Signature from Costco, or check Whole Foods, or Trader Joe’s.
If using vegan chocolate is not necessary for you, any good quality dark chocolate chips will do.
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If You Make These Cookies…
…let me know by sharing a pic with me on Instagram or by leaving a comment below!
And If You Like Them…
…you may also like these!
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies
- Vegan Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Almond Butter Cookies
- Vegan Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
AND FINALLY…if you love cranberries, you’ll probably like these other cranberry recipes:
Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 ¾ cup oat flour
- 1 cup gluten free rolled oats (regular rolled oats are also fine if you don’t need the recipe to be gluten free)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup soft coconut oil (see note below)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries roughly chopped
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Prepare your baking sheet(s) by lining with parchment paper.
- Prepare your flax eggs by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flax mixture, soft coconut oil, vanilla extract, and coconut sugar.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Fold in cranberries and chocolate chips.
- Using a tablespoon (or a medium sized cookie scoop), scoop equal amounts onto the baking sheet(s). (See image above)
- Flatten each cookie slightly. Leave enough space around each cookie, they will spread a little as they bake.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until golden around the edges. Don’t over bake! (see note below)
- Leave cookies on the cookie sheet to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove and place on a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes:
- Calorie count is based on 24 cookies, which is the amount you will get if you use a tablespoon to scoop them out. If you make them with a medium sized cookie scoop, (medium scoops are usually 1.5 tablespoons), you will end up with less cookies. When I make them with a scoop, I get about 22).
- For this recipe, you want your coconut oil to be soft, not melted.
- Don’t buy oat flour, if you can, make your own! It’s really easy and so much cheaper. Here’s how to make your own oat flour.
- This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour.
- Cookies may seem under baked when you take out of the oven because they will be very soft. Not to worry, they firm up as they cool.
- Nutrition info listed below is based on one cookie and the recipe made as written. Nutrition info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click here to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
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