Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Years ago, we showcased a cranberry granola cookies recipe from Enjoy Life Foods featuring their once-beloved granola. It was a unique little top allergen-free cookie. But since their granola is no longer available, I wanted to revamp the recipe. As a result, these delicious cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies were born.

Truthfully, I pretty much butchered the original recipe. It was heavy on granola, so I needed more than just one ingredient to take it’s place. Consequently, in came the quick oats, trail mix, salt, and baking soda. I used the Mountain Mambo No Nuts Seed & Fruit Mix (a.k.a. top allergen-free trail mix), because it has a melange of ingredients that go so well with cranberries. The comforting autumnal blend actually includes cranberries, along with apples, mini chocolate chips, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

And after tasting the dough, I decided to make cranberries and chocolate chips the star of the show, adding in an extra dose of each. Suddenly, a recipe that made just a dozen or so cookies, had turned into enough to feed a small army.

But that didn’t seem to be a problem in our household. The dough and finished cookies freeze well, and we’ve been enjoying them faster than I can make them. These cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies aren’t too sweet either, so they’re perfect for packing in lunch boxes. They’re a treat, but not overly sugary.

And as you can see below, I went a little crazy testing sizes and shapes. My first batch, shown in the photo above and on top in the photo below, was rounded tablespoons. Aren’t they cute? Then, I flattened and shaped them. But I wondered, would these hold up as bigger cookies? I tested 2 tablespoons and then jumbo 3 tablespoons, and all resulted in perfect cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Plus, when flattened and shaped, they take the same amount of time to bake!

This post with my “new and improved” cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies is sponsored by Enjoy Life Foods.

Special Diet Notes: Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, and top food allergy-friendly.

Alisa Fleming

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

5 from 2 votes

This recipe is adapted from a Cranberry Granola Cookie recipe originally shared with us by Enjoy Life Foods. I tested and updated it quite a bit for a new, but delicious new spin. The resultant cookies aren't too sweet, and perhaps even bridge the snack-dessert divide.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6 dozen small or 3 dozen medium cookies

Calories:

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 1¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup light brown sugar firmly packed
• ¼ cup rice bran grapeseed or other neutral baking oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups gluten-free flour blend I used Enjoy Life All-Purpose Flour Mix or an option in the notes below
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
• 3 cups quick oats certified gluten-free, if needed
• 1 6- ounce bag about 1 1/3 cups allergy-friendly trail mix (I use Enjoy Life Mountain Mambo Seed & Fruit Mix)
• ½ cup dairy-free mini chocolate chips I use Enjoy Life Mini Chips
• ¼ cup dried cranberries

Method

 

1. Place the applesauce, sugars, oil, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and mix by hand or with a hand mixer until thoroughly combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum to thoroughly distribute the ingredients.
3. Add the flour blend to your mixing bowl and mix by hand or with a hand mixer for a minute or two to thoroughly combine. This helps the xanthan gum work its magic.
4. Fold in the oats, trail mix, chocolate chips, and cranberries.
5. Let the dough sit while you preheat your oven to 375ºF and line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
6. Scoop the dough by the level tablespoon onto your baking sheets. You can leave them as domes, flatten or shape them with slightly damp hands (the dough is sticky!). For bigger cookies, use 2 level tablespoons per cookie and flatten and shape with damp hands.
7. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes minutes, or until slightly firm and lightly browned around the edges.
8. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. These cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies will keep at room temperature for a few days, and can be frozen. Simply take one (or two) out of the freezer and pop it in a lunch box for a midday treat. If you have excess dough, that also freezes well.

Notes

Flour Options: You can use 1½ cups white rice flour plus ½ cup tapioca starch for the flour blend. However, if wheat is okay for you, you can swap in all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour and omit the xanthan gum.

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