Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

We bake a lot of cookies around here. Not just for our holiday boxes or for friends. Our cookie jar must be full at all times or the God of Baking becomes displeased (and by "God of Baking" I really mean the man of the house).

I try not to favour certain recipes over others. Though it may seem improbable, one can only have so many peanut butter chocolate chip cookies before wondering just what else is out there. Lately, I have become addicted to collecting cookie books and blogs, searching for that next recipe I can fool around with. I always have to find that shiny new recipe that puts a different spin on a familiar flavour combination.

This is one of those recipes.





Yes, this may seem like pretty basic stuff. We've all had oatmeal cookies. We've all had the Raisins vs Chocolate Chips debate. With this recipe, however, I may be able to throw a little wrench into your views about the dear old oatmeal cookie. And said wrench tastes like cranberries. Those little red spikes of flavour may not seem like such a change, but their tartness breathes new life into the oatmeal cookie.

When I first came across this recipe, I thought it might just be something quick and easy -- a small batch of simple cookies to have in-between one of my bigger batches of a more extravagant recipe. What I got out of the oven was a bit unexpected. It was a perfect balance of texture, sweetness, and tartness with a little hint of cinnamon to really warm up your heart (and stomach). This may be a recipe that revisit sooner rather than later.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
inspired by Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies 2001

Makes one dozen cookies

1 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries

1) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking powder. Then, in another small bowl, mix the vanilla, milk and egg together really well. In your third bowl, cream together your butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.

2)Gradually add the milk mixture to your butter/sugars, then the flour mixture. After everything has been incorporated, stir in the oats and cranberries.

3) Preheat oven to 350F. Form 2Tbsp balls of dough and place on your cookie sheet, putting them about 3 inches apart. Flatten your dough slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake until golden, but still soft in the middle - 16-18 minutes.


forget raisins and chocolate chips - these are your new oatmeal cookies now