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These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy with lightly crispy edges. The combination of oatmeal, chocolate and cherries is delicious and so fun!
So back when the boys were born, our neighborhood did a meal train for us. It was so incredibly nice and SO helpful after having just had twins. If you aren’t familiar with what a meal train is, people basically make a calendar and pick days to deliver meals. So for several weeks we had meals delivered to us. Not every night, but most of them. And considering we were new to the neighborhood, it was even more sweet of everyone to do for that us.
One of the nights, the dinner delivered also had some cherry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies included. It wasn’t a combination I’d had before – mostly because I hadn’t had dried cherries before – and I LOVED them! I’ve always loved oatmeal cookies, and had never had this combination before. Ever since, I’ve wanted to recreate them and I finally have! They are soft, chewy and full of flavor!
To tell you the truth, I’ve been making more and more cookies lately and even though people think cookies are pretty simple to make, I actually think they are one of the hardest. Not because the actual process is hard, but because small changes in ingredients make a BIG difference in the final result. More so than in cakes, cupcakes and cheesecakes. If you over measure your flour be a tablespoon or two in a cake, it can make a difference for sure, but it’ll still turn out relatively well (generally).
But with cookies?? A couple tablespoons of flour really make a difference. Not to mention all the other ingredients. It’s really quite interesting and seems to leads to more missteps than with other desserts. So today I’m giving you all my best tips to successful cookies!
These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies only need a handful of simple ingredients. You’d be amazed by how easy it is to pack incredible flavor into a little cookie with the right combination.
To make these cookies you will need:
- all purpose flour
- baking soda
- ground cinnamon
- salt
- unsalted butter, room temperature
- light brown sugar
- sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- quick cook oats
- dried cherries
- semi sweet chocolate chips
Step 1: Make Your Cookie Dough
Cream the butter and sugar: These cookies begin by creaming butter and sugar together – both brown sugar and regular white granulated sugar. The addition of some brown sugar adds great flavor and extra moisture.
Add the eggs and vanilla: Add two eggs and vanilla extract. Once everything is combined, it’s time to add the dry ingredients.
Add your dry ingredients: The dry ingredients include all purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. I find that I generally prefer baking soda in cookies and that the cookies stay soft and chewy for longer that way. The cinnamon adds a hint of flavor that I love in all oatmeal cookies. And the salt is for flavor – always. Salt just amplifies all the already-tasty flavors.
Add the oats, cherries and chocolate: With your cookie dough well on its way, it’s time to add the oats, dried cherries and chocolate chips. You want to use the quick 1 minute oats.
Step 2: Refrigerate Your Cookie Dough
Refrigerating the cookie dough gives it time to soak up all the flavor and really come together. This is especially true for oatmeal cookies. Letting them sit in the fridge for a bit allows the oats to soak up the moisture and results in a chewier oatmeal cookie.
In fact, if you bake these cookies right away, they will spread a good bit more than after they’re refrigerated because the moisture hasn’t really been absorbed by the oats yet.
How long to refrigerate the cookie dough? I like to refrigerate them overnight. If you can stand the wait, this easy trick results in a tasty and chewy oatmeal cookie that is pretty much perfect! But if you’re short on time, or just can’t wait to eat a tasty cookie, I’d suggest refrigerating these cookies for 2-3 hours. Don’t refrigerate the dough for less time than this.
Step 3: Bake Your Cookies
When it’s time to bake the cookies, let the dough sit out for a bit (I waited an hour) for them to come closer to room temperature, then bake them. The colder the cookie dough, the less the cookies spread and we want to be sure they spread enough.
Bake your cookies for about 8 minutes. You may need to adjust baked on your oven, but that time was perfect for me. You may notice that the cookies spread the most in the last couple minutes of baking, so don’t worry if it seems like they aren’t spreading enough – they should spread nicely toward the end.
- Be sure to refrigerate your cookie dough for at least 2-3 hours so that the oats soak up the moisture and give you a nice, chewy cookie.
- Let the cookie dough sit for about an hour to come closer to room temperature before baking. If the cookie dough is too cold, it won’t spread as much. The longer the cookies sit in the fridge, the less they’ll spread too.
- If you find that your cookies aren’t spreading enough, it could be the temperature of the dough, but it could also be that the flour was over-measured. The best way to be accurate is with a food scale to weigh your flour and other ingredients.
- Keep in mind that sugar adds moisture to cookies. If you are tempted to reduce it, just know that you’ll be reducing the moisture in the cookies and they’ll likely spread less.
- Mix-ins also make a difference. More mix-ins mean less spreading and vise versa.
- If all things seem right with your cookie dough and they still aren’t spreading enough, try flattening the cookie dough balls out a bit before baking them.
- The final thing to note with cookie baking is that larger cookie dough balls spread more than smaller ones. I make 2 tablespoon-sized balls for these. If you make larger or smaller balls, your cookies will spread differently.
These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are best stored in an air-tight container and will keep for up to 5 days. If they last that long, which honestly has never happened in my house.
You might also enjoy these oatmeal cookie recipes:
White Chocolate Chipped Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Moist and Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: about 35 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy with lightly crispy edges! The combination of oatmeal, chocolate and pops of fruit from the cherries is delicious and so fun!
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups (228g) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (168g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (104g) sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (175g) uncooked quick cook oats
1 1/2 cups (229g) dried cherries
1 cup (169g) semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
1. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color and texture happen and know it’s ready.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined after each.
4. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is just combined. Do not over mix. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.
6. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips and dried cherries.
7. Create 2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough until all the cookie dough has been used.
8. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2-3 hours or overnight. I think they are best if refrigerated overnight, but they are still very good if refrigerated for 2-3 hours.
9. When ready to bake the cookies, remove the cookie dough from the fridge and let it sit for about an hour to come closer to room temperature.
10. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
11. Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes. Remove just as the edges begin to turn golden. Don’t over bake. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool. For tips and troubleshooting help, check out the post above.
12. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 164
- Sugar: 15.7 g
- Sodium: 75.5 mg
- Fat: 6.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.3 g
- Protein: 2.2 g
- Cholesterol: 21.1 mg
Can I use Scottish oats instead
I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure.
Theses are very easy and sooo good! Made them yesterday and thought they were good. Today though…..OMG even better. Definitely making these again. Instant hit with the family
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Can you use dried tart cherries in this recipe
Sure. As long as their dried, I imagine they’d be ok.
These are sooo good! Mine didn’t spread though and look like yours, still tasted amazing though!
Can I freeze the raw cookie dough?
That should be fine.
My husband and l love them ! I didn’t do anything to tweak the recipe, but I couldn’t wait . I had to make a small pan for us to eat before bed . Looking forward to tomorrow. Thank you!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them!
Are the dried cherries sweetened or unsweetened?
Sweetened.
What dried cherries did you use
I believe mine were Publix brand.
Can you use non-quick cook oats?
I haven’t tried it to be able to say for sure but it may not soften as well.
I just made these cookies today and they are delicious (and almost gone)! I’ve been on a dried cherry kick recently and have wanted to put them in cookies. Great recipe and great tips. I love cookies probably as much as the Cookie Monster and these are now going to be one of my go-to’s. Thanks for sharing!
So glad to hear you enjoyed them!
These cookies look delicious! Do you form the cookie dough into balls before or after you refrigerate?
You could do it either way. I typically do it beforehand just to get the hard work out of the way LOL.
I came across the recipe on a whim yesterday while looking for an alternative to my usual go-to. Used it for a 9in (decrease bake time by a couple min) three layer citrus infused cake packed full of homemade lemon curd and covered in cream cheese buttercream. Guuuuuurrrrrlllllllll, this cake got raving reviews from all who tasted— even from very opinionated kids!!! Looks like I’ve got a new go-to. Many thanks!!! (And I so appreciate no egg waste recipes)
Can I use frozen cherries
Frozen cherries will have a very different texture and lots of moisture compared to dried cherries. That will add more moisture to your cookies. You could do it, but it will change the outcome.
Made these cookies for all my neighbors in our 50 apartment building. They were the biggest hit with everyone. They are “bet you can’t eat just one” kind of cookie. We are all staying in here in Willowick ohio and the cookies brought smiles to all of us who are all 55 and over living here. Thank you for the super recipe and now back to making more batches!
Yay! So glad to hear that!
Help me as from now I’m addicted to these cookies. Me and my boyfriend finished it so fast
Can I roll the dough in balls then freeze them? thanks i can’t wait to try these!
I didn’t try freezing them, but usually that is just fine.
That was such a sweet thing for your neighbours to do for you! It’s so wonderful when people help each other 🙂 And these cookies look great! I love oatmeal cookies. And I’m sure my dad would love these, as he’s a big fan of both oatmeal cookies and cherries. Maybe I’ll get a little inspiration from your story and make these for a friend at church who’s expecting her first child 😀
It was so sweet. I hope you enjoy them if you try them!
These look delicious – some great cookie baking tips there too!
Thanks Kelly!