Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans and Cranberries
Some cookies make you feel all warm and homey inside. Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans and Cranberries are crisp on the outside and full of chewy goodness on the inside. And there’s nothing like warm cookies fresh out of the oven!
I’ve tried so many recipes searching for the perfect oatmeal cookie, and I’ve finally found it. Leave it to Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, to have the best recipe!
This recipe is adapted from her cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
I have sugar-free and gluten-free options in Kate’s Notes below.
Ina makes hers with raisins, but I much prefer sweetened, dried cranberries for their sweet/tart taste and chewy texture.
Why I love this recipe:
- It’s easy to make.
- You can use the same basic dough recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Leave out the raisins and add in the chips.
- Who doesn’t love oatmeal cookies?
- When baking, they make your whole house smell wonderful!
- And they’re the perfect cookie to slip in lunch boxes:)
Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans and Cranberries
Easy, yummy oatmeal cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups pecans
- ½ pound 2 sticks unsalted organic butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup brown or dark brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar see notes for an alternative sweetener
- 2 extra-large or 3 large organic eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose organic unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups organic Oats
- 1 ½ cups organic raisins or Dried Cranberries - I use the ones by Eden Organic because they are only sweetened with apple juice instead of sugar.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop very coarsely.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, cranberries, and pecans and mix just until combined.
- Using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.
Kate’s Tips
- You don’t have to bake the pecans but it does add a nice toastiness.
- You can sub in (or leave out) any nut. Walnuts work well.
- To keep these sugar-free, I use monkfruit. You use it 1 to 1, and it works perfectly!
- Gluten-free? Use spelt or cassava flour.
- When baking cookies, I prefer to use Silpat Mats rather than parchment paper, because you can use them over and over, and they last forever!
- There are times I’ve been known to increase the cinnamon and add some ground cloves or a bit of allspice or nutmeg for when you want things a little more spicy 🙂
- I prefer dried cranberries, but raisins always work. Or try dried cherries.
- You could also add chocolate chips.
- I think these would be delicious with some sweetened, shredded coconut, maybe 1/2 a cup added with the oats.
- I use a 2-tablespoon scoop to measure the dough.
- When baking cookies, I’ve learned to always turn the cookie sheet halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.
- My favorite vanilla extract is Nielson-Massey Madagascar Pure Vanilla Extract. It’s a bit more expensive, but since I don’t bake that often, it’s worth the splurge!
- Preheat oven to 350
Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop very coarsely.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.
Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, cranberries, and pecans and mix just until combined.
Using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.
