My Favorite Christmas Cookie Comes from a Craisins Bag

I’m definitely extra cheery during the holiday season, mostly because my mom makes hundreds of Christmas cookies for my siblings and I to devour. Think pizzelle, biscotti, ricotta cookies, pignoli cookies—is it obvious we’re Italian American yet?

But outside of the traditional Italian bites, there was one cookie that stood out beyond these classic flavors, and I still request it every year. Those that have tried it understand that it’s oatmeal raisin’s more sophisticated sister—the “cool aunt,” if you will.

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I’m talking about Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries & White Chocolate Chips, and if you’re thinking that this sounds like a lot, I promise it’s so easy. Probably the easiest cookie in my mom’s cookie lineup, if we’re being honest. It requires simple ingredients and minimal steps—and the recipe is pretty quick to find as it’s typically on the back of an Ocean Spray Craisins package, and you’ll need a bag to make the cookies.

According to the Ocean Spray recipe, all you need to recreate this dessert is ⅔ cup of softened butter, ⅔ cup of brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 ½ cups of old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoon of salt, one 6-ounce bag of dried cranberries and ⅔ cup of white chocolate chips. If you’re a baker, you likely have most of these ingredients on hand already.

Use a whisk or electric mixer to beat the softened butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until lighter in color and fluffy. Then add in your eggs until combined. In a separate bowl, mix your oats, flour, baking soda and salt together before adding those dry ingredients to your butter mixture just a bit at a time.

Fold in your dried cranberries and white chocolate chips until evenly distributed in the dough. Scoop your dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place your cookies on a lightly coated baking sheet. Bake in a 375ºF oven for about 12 minutes or until golden.

After the cookies are cooled down on a wired rack for 10 minutes, the result is a beautifully delicious bite worth baking for your family and friends. This cookie should definitely be in your own baking schedule this year, as I would argue that the texture is even better the next day.

EatingWell’s version of this recipe, Oatmeal-Coconut Cookies with Cranberries & White Chocolate, adds coconut to this cookie and it’s loved by our readers for a reason. The unsweetened shredded coconut adds a deeper sweet and nutty taste. Plus, these cookies are super easy to make ahead of time by storing them in an airtight container until your gathering.

Get the Recipe: Oatmeal-Coconut Cookies with Cranberries & White Chocolate

These cookies taste and look like Christmas—OK, have I convinced you to try them? If you do, you should also try one of our oat-filled breakfasts with any leftover rolled oats you have from this recipe. These High-Fiber Apple-Cranberry Baked Oats are sophisticated enough to serve on Christmas morning, yet simple enough to include in your meal-prep routine.