Holiday cookie season has officially arrived. I am currently in a dessert transition period where my ice cream making endeavors are dwindling and my fits of cookie baking are on the rise. From that first bite of raw cookie dough to the last daring bite of hot, freshly baked cookie, I just love the entire cookie making process. I have decided to kick off this year with one of my favorites. Moist and chewy, these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are studded with flavorful bits of dried, tart cherry and toasted pecan. Continue reading for the recipe and please share some of your Holiday favorites.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
- 1 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F . Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Line one or two baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper and set aside.
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Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
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Add butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer* and cream on medium speed until fluffy (you might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times). Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on a lower speed until incorporated.
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Add half of the flour mixture and stir to combine. My stand mixer has a “stir” setting. If yours does not, just use the lowest setting. Repeat this process with the other half of the flour mixture. Add oats, pecans, dried cherries and chocolate chips, continuing to stir to incorporate. Try not to let your mixer run the whole time. Stir in the ingredients in short burst until just combined. Overmixing the batter will result in tough cookies.
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Using your hands, scoop up some of the batter (about ¼ cup) and roll into a ball. Gently press the ball into a disc (1-inch thick) and place on the lined baking sheet. Continue this process with the rest of the batter. The cookies will be big, so make sure you leave some room for expansion (I placed 6 cookies on each sheet). One sheet at a time, bake the cookies for 12 minutes. Rotate the tray and bake for another 5 minutes. You will know the cookies are done when they are golden brown but still soft in the middle.
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Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
* If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can certainly complete the creaming and mixing by hand. In a large bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Stir in the flours in two additions using a wooden spoon. Finally add the oats, pecans, dried cherries and chocolate chips, stirring to combine. Once again, do not overmix!
eatgreek.net says
they must be very tasty! 😀
HappyWhenNotHungry says
These look so yummy especially with the cherries! I love baking traditional Christmas cookies like peanut butter blossoms or magic cookie bars. But my mom’s side of the family is Italian, so I’ve been very obesessed with baking Venetian cookies, Pignoli cookies, and any cookie with almond paste. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
briarrose says
Yummy. I like the use of cherries.
Maren says
These look delicious. Oatmeal cookies feel like fall cookies. Such a beautiful post.
Kate @ Scarpetta Dolcetto says
These look amazing! I love the texture of oatmeal in a cookie, and who doesn’t love cherries with chocolate?
Evan Thomas says
These look great!
Becky says
i make these cookies at Christmas, but I use the craisins or I sometimes use the dried cherries. Very good with the sweet chocolate chips and tart dried fruit.
The Chocolate Priestess says
I love making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but my family would not eat them if I put tree nuts (allergies) or fruit in them. I just don’t tell them when I use applesauce in place of oils.
Gigabiting says
I do love a good holiday cookie swap. These look like winners.
Joy says
That looks great. I love this recipe.
Jeannie says
THose cookies look scrumptious and healthy too! Yum!
Brandon Matzek says
@HappyWhenNotHungry I’m not sure what a peanut butter blossom cookie is, but it sounds delicious!
@Kate I love cherries and chocolate!! I need to start incorporate the combination into more recipes.
@The Chocolate Priestess That is an interesting addition. I’m not above lying about ingredients in a dish (well… I will mention things if people have allergies). I have a friend who won’t eat onions. I mean… seriously? I put onions in just about every savory dish. So I’ve stopped telling him that there are onions in the dish. He still enjoys everything – blissfully unaware.
Fallon says
Love your twist on an oatmeal cookie using dried cherries!
January says
i’ve been munching on raisin oatmeal cookies lately and your post came in time because i’m looking for more oatmeal cookie recipes!
Lisa~Korean American Mommy says
I’m going to make these this week!