These cookies blend the hearty chew of oatmeal (thanks to a mix of steel-cut and old-fashioned oats) with sweet, shredded coconut, tart cranberries, and rich dark chocolate. Coconut oil gives the dough a light, tropical depth without overpowering the other flavors. They bake up with slightly crisp edges and soft, chewy centers. They are easy to scoop and taste great warm or cooled! These cookies have simple ingredients, but with maximum flavor. Perfect for hiding in your pantry with a Dirty Diet Coke to help you get through a Monday.
I love a good oatmeal raisin cookie, but when push comes to shove, when all the cookies in all the world are on the table, I’m going for the chocolate chips first.
Ingredients Needed
- butter
- dark brown sugar
- white sugar
- egg
- egg yolk
- vanilla extract
- almond extract – If you want a stronger coconut flavor, you can substitute the almond extract with coconut extract
- all-purpose flour
- quick-cooking oats
- baking soda
- baking powder
- kosher salt
- dark chocolate chips
- coconut
- dried cranberries
- baking sheet
How to Make Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate, Cranberries, & Coconut
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Preheat oven to 325°F; line baking sheets if desired.
- Beat butter and sugars until fluffy; mix in egg, yolk, and extracts.
- Stir together dry ingredients, then add to wet mixture.
- Fold in chocolate, coconut, and cranberries.
- Scoop dough onto baking sheets (about 6 per sheet).
- Bake 12 – 15 minutes until edges are lightly browned.
- Cool briefly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack.
Storage & Other Tips
- These are best stored at room temperature, to preserve that soft chew. Once the cookies are fully cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 – 5 days.
- To Freeze: flash-freeze the cookies on a sheet, then layer them with parchment paper in a freezer-safe container or bag. They’ll taste great for up to 3 months.
- Freeze and Scoop Ahead: you can make and scoop the dough ahead of time, leaving the cookies unbaked. (So yes, you can have freshly baked cookies at a moments notice!) Scoop the dough onto a baking sheet and freeze on a tray until firm. Then store in a container or bag for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, although you may need to add a few minutes to the baking time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can replace the almond extract with vanilla or coconut extract ot shift the flavor profile to your liking.
Steel-cut oats add a hearty, chewy texture thanks to their rustic cut, while old-fashioned oats provide structure and shape. You can use all of one type, but combining both gives the best balance.
It’s not required in this recipe, but I do fine that allowing the dough to rest (especially with oatmeal cookies), results in a chewier texture. Giving some time to allow the oatmeal to hydrate makes a big difference, but they are still delicious either way!
You can gently mix in a teaspoon or two or additional coconut oil until it’s easier to shape and scoops cleanly.
Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate, Cranberries, & Coconut
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 egg large
- 1 egg yolk large
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract If you want a stronger coconut flavor, you can substitute the ½ teaspoon of almond extract with ½ teaspoon of coconut flavor
- 2 cups all-purpose flour lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife (very high altitudes may want to try adding 2 additional tablespoons of flour)
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
- ¾ cups coconut
- ¾ cups cranberries dried
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉. If desired, line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Beat the softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extracts and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (except the raisins). Add to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips, coconut, and cranberries
- Using a ¼ cup ice cream scoop, drop the dough by the scoopful onto the prepared baking sheets. You should be able to get about 6 cookies per sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until they begin to turn light brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
Your first sentence made me laugh out loud, because of the awesome placement of the parentheses. I read: Any time I make cookies and children… Then I laughed and re-read a couple of times and then realized that you were not, in fact, talking about making children 🙂 These cookies look awesome! That original chocolate chip cookie recipe is one of my favorites, and you can’t go wrong with cranberries and coconut!
I was right there with you. I was wondering how making babies was going to come into play. 🙂
I, too, was confused by that opening sentence. The ‘my own or others’ thing made me think Kate was a surrogate mother. 🙂 These cookies look great! Love the 1/4 cup size.
I had the same reaction and it made me giggle! I wish my kids were like all of y’all’s and were afraid of grown up ingredients… doesn’t quite seem fair that I still have to share no matter what I add to them. 🙂 These look yummy!
Of course! I got them at West Elm:
http://www.westelm.com/products/modern-bowls-e574/?pkey=cbowls&cm_src=bowls||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_–_-
Thanks for taking time to reply!
Thank you, my dear! 🙂
And, what do you usually make with the leftover egg white?
I usually just toss it–egg whites freak me the heck out. 🙂
Ha ha. You are so funny. As amazing as you seem, its nice to see you are human too. Refreshing.
Can’t wait to try these. Love your recipes. I’ve always wondered why the dry ingredients should be mixed together first, rather than just adding them to the creamed mixture with the flour last so they will still mix well. You don’t seem like one to add unnessary steps. Do you know the science or reasoning? I hate dirtying one more dish, and thought you would know if it really makes a difference. I like learning the science of cooking– but not quite as much as eating the results. Thank you for all the week tested recipes. Its so nice that you tweak them as needed to make them better, or easier so we don’t have too do so many trial and error adjustments. And you post things we like to eat, aka not mushy casserolish dishes. Its so nice that the few casserolish dishes you two post are really good. Thanks again for making my cooking better! And making me laugh.
Yes!! I know it seems like a pain, but there’s actually a great reason for it. As soon as you add the baking powder or soda to liquid ingredients, it begins to activate and it’s less likely to be evenly incorporated into the dough. So when you whisk all the dry ingredients together first, you’re ensuring that the ingredients are properly mixed and you’ll have better luck with baked goods coming out right. I didn’t always do it, but when I started, my cookies became infinitely more successful. 🙂
Thank you! Long time wondering over. My cookie making will now move up another notch.
Yes please tell us where you got those measuring spoons, so cute!
I have also come to the realization that this is the most awesome versatile cookie recipe ever. So much so that I threw a party in honor of them (I kid you not) and made the dough and had people bring various add ins to make their own combos. A few favorites were dark chocolate with orange zest and orange oil, dried cherry white chocolate and almond slivers with almond flavoring and lemon rind and white chocolate.
oh, and also smores (choco graham cracker pieces and marshmallows).
Oh, yum!!! That sounds like such a fun idea! 🙂
I secretly love putting grown-up things in my cookies so my kids don’t like them as much. Muah ha ha…
These look yummy! Where did you get your cute measuring spoons?
Love this post and the cookies look amazing! I may skip the coconut. Not my favorite.
Go for it! I would probably do 2 cups of chocolate chips (so 1 bag) and 1 cup of Craisins.
I finally got around to making these and they are so yummy. I omitted the coconut and added the entire bag of chocolate chips. Even my milk chocolate chip cookie loving husband said they were really good. I made smaller cookies with my small cookie scoop. I baked them at 350 for 10 minutes. Even the next day they are still soft and chewy. Thanks for yet another great recipe.