I have been making my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe for over 15 years now. It is the base for my chai toffee oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and these apple oatmeal cookies. This oatmeal cookie dough is chewy, moist and the perfect base for adding all sorts of delicious things into…
These cookies are particularly fabulous with dried cherries, pecans, chocolate and sea salt. Need I say more? They are sweet, salty, nutty and decadent with all of the textures a great cookie should have.
They come together in one bowl, do not require chilling and stay tender for days at room temperature.
If you are looking for a recipe that will turn oatmeal cookie haters into lovers then this one is for you.
Let’s get started…
Begin by creaming 12 tablespoons of room temperature butter with 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar until fluffy.
Add 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and mix until creamy.
Now add 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, a teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix until mostly combined. We still need to add the oats and add ins, so don’t worry if the flour isn’t completely incorporated.
Add 3 1/4 cups of old fashioned oats a little at a time and mix until they are fully incorporated and then add 3/4 cups of chopped dried cherries, 3/4 chopped pecans and 3/4 cup of chopped chocolate chunks and mix until they are evenly distributed.
Drop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto an ungreased non-stick baking sheet or a parchment lined one, whichever you have will work fine.
Bake the cookies in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until the edges are just starting to develop a little golden brown color. The cookies will still be soft, so let them cool on the cookie sheet until they firm up enough to transfer off the sheet without falling apart.
These cookies are special if I do say so myself. Each bite is bursting with flavor and the texture of these cookies is not your typical dry oatmeal cookie at all. They are chewy, moist and the underside develops a little bit of caramelization that I absolutely love.
If you want to make these cookies look as good as they taste, press a little extra cherries, pecans and chocolate over the top of each cookie as soon as you pull them out of the oven… while they are still nice and warm.
Regardless of if you dress them up or let them go au naturale, one thing is for sure, you are going to love these cookies!
Dried Cherry, Pecan & Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup of brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 3 1/4 cups of old fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup of dried cherries, chopped
- 3/4 cup of pecans, chopped
- 3/4 cup of chocolate, chopped (milk, semi-sweet or dark)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large bowl, mix together 12 tablespoons of room temperature butter with 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. You can do this by hand with a whisk or with a stand mixer using a paddle attachment
- Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and mix until the batter is smooth
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Add the combined dry ingredients into the wet batter and mix until fully incorporated
- Add 3 1/4 cups of oats in three parts, mixing as you add
- Add 3/4 cup of chopped dried cherries, 3/4 cup of chopped pecans and 3/4 cup of chopped chocolate and mix until evenly distributed
- Place 1 heaping tablespoon of cookie dough onto ungreased baking sheets
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes
- As soon as you see the edges begin to brown, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes
- Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack to cool fully
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature
