Close your eyes and imagine the smells of nutty . . . buttery . . . vanilla . . . scents wafting through the air as a batch of Cranberry Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies bakes in the oven. Cranberry Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies will remind you of the familiar oatmeal cookie with the chewy center and crispy edges, but the flavor is a modern twist on the classic cookie.
What’s In The Pantry?
I’ve been making these cookies for a few years now. The recipe came about one Christmas when I wanted to bake a batch of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. As I was gathering my ingredients I discovered not only did I not have any white flour, but I also didn’t have any chocolate chip morsels or raisins. Classic oatmeal cookies often combine dried raisins in the dough to add to the cookie’s sweetness and texture. In the last 75 years or so, chocolate chip morsels started to appear in recipes.
Lacking the white flour and traditional add-in ingredients, I decided to improvise.
Instead of using white flour in this recipe, I used whole wheat flour in addition to old-fashioned oats. The whole wheat flour adds to the nuttiness of the cookies. If you like the nutty flavor of oatmeal you won’t be disappointed in this switch.
After looking in my baking pantry, I found a full bag of butterscotch morsels. I also discovered a partially used bag of dried cranberries.
Always one to try new combinations, I decided to give the butterscotch morsels and dried cranberries a try in my recipe.
A New Version Is Created!
That original batch of Cranberry Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies was a hit! I gave the cookies as gifts that year and received many compliments.
In the years since I typically bake a batch or two of these cookies around Christmastime to give in cookie exchanges or enjoy at home.
This fall I made a batch of Cranberry Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies to use as dessert on a girls weekend. The girls loved the cookies! Again, I was reminded that this combination of flavors brings together a great taste that I want to share with others.
You can’t smell the cookies baking in my oven, but you can bake up a batch for your family. I promise you, once you eat one of these cookies you will never want a plain oatmeal cookie again!
PrintCranberry Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
Traditional oatmeal cookies taste even better with this twist! The sweetness of dried cranberries and buttery flavor of butterscotch morsels provide your mouth with a taste sensation that will have you grabbing for seconds.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 36-40 cookies 1x
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 2 cups old-fashioned oats 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 cup butterscotch morsels 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees while you mix the cookie dough. Using an electric mixer, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar until both ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. This will take about 2-3 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat the egg to mix the yolk and egg white. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla to the egg mixture and stir. Next, add the egg and vanilla to the butter/brown sugar mixture. Mix the egg with the butter/brown sugar mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix these ingredients together. Slowly add the dry ingredients (1/3 at a time) to the butter/brown sugar mixture. Then mix the dry ingredients into the butter/brown sugar mixture each time until all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the dough. Add the butterscotch morsels and dried cranberries to the cookie dough and use a wooden spoon to mix these ingredients into the dough. Roll and form 1 inch balls of cookie mix (using your hands). Place on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart from one another. Bake the cookies on Airbake cookie sheets for 12 minutes. Remove baked cookies from the oven and cool on cookie racks.
