Soft and Chewy Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies

Free of refined sugar, made with nothing but wholesome ingredients, these Soft and Chewy Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies are so crazy healthy and good for you, they might as well be seen as portable oatmeal. They make for a great snack for kids and adults alike!

I know what you’re probably thinking… “What? Oatmeal Cookies? Again?” Well, what can I say… I love me a good oatmeal cookie, and I recently got inspired to revisit some of my older cookie recipes; after I improved my Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Cookie recipe, I decided to treat this one to the same privilege.

While both versions are fairly similar in their composition, and both make for a crazy healthy snack, they have very distinct flavor profiles, and honestly, I can’t tell you which one I prefer! Ultimately, it all comes down to what you’re in the mood for.

One thing I can tell you is that these cookies, they are incredibly YUMMY! They have the coolest chewy and soft texture, a rich, buttery flavor, plus, they are super moist and surprisingly sweet despite containing no added sugar whatsoever. The addition of dried cranberries, shredded coconut, orange and cinnamon greatly contributes to creating a true illusion of sweetness.

Still, if you preferred your cookies a tad on the sweeter side, you could very well add a little bit of honey to the recipe. Pay close attention, I’ll tell you when to do that!

Whatever you decide to do, I’m telling you, these cookies they’re so healthy they could practically be called portable oatmeal! 

As always when baking, I like to start with a good mise-en-place. That’s a fancy French term to say prep all your ingredients!

So, in a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, rolled oats, almond meal, ground flax seeds, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt  and whisk until thoroughly combined; set aside.

Then, in a separate bowl or large measuring cup, combine the eggs, buttermilk, unsweetened applesauce, orange juice, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, orange zest and essential oil and mix thoroughly with a whisk until fully combined.

Now would be a good time to measure your add-ins too, i.e. dried cranberries, shredded coconut and chopped pecans.

Oh, and this is where, if you were the kind who preferred a sweeter cookie, you could sub liquid honey for all or some of the unsweetened applesauce… 

Once that’s done, pour the wet ingredients over the dry all at once…

… and mix delicately with a rubber spatula until just combined,

Throw in the dried cranberries, shredded coconut and pecans.

Note that I chose to use pecans, but any nuts would work just as well… 

Now, using a large spring-loaded cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough onto a cookie sheet that’s been lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper. If you didn’t have one of those, a large spoon would also do the trick – you’ll want to use about 3 tbsp of dough per cookie.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes then take the pan out of the oven and immediately press the cookies down gently with a fork to flatten their tops; return the cookies to the oven for another 2 minutes to finish baking.

Delicately transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

If your cookies didn’t all fit on a single baking sheet, repeat this process with the rest of the dough… 

Keep your uneaten cookies in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator, for up to a week.

Yes, that’s in the fridge. Since there is no sugar in those babies to help preserve them, it’s much preferable to take this precaution. But you know what? It only serves to make them even chewier!

Personally, I love it!