Cranberry and Orange Zest Oatmeal Cookies

Hello!

I love to bake. Specifically yummy things that contain a lot of butter and sugar :)

I do try to give most of it away, unless its brownie related. Then it's all mine.

It's pretty easy to fool yourself into thinking that these cookies are healthy, though. Saves you from the guilt. ;)

I made up this cookie recipe about a month ago as part of Adelle's teacher appreciation gifts. I made the Chalkboard Teacher Gift along with cookies for all of her various teachers and assistants. I've used this oatmeal recipe in the past with cranberries and walnuts, but since Adelle attends a nut-free school I had to get creative!

I remembered having a cranberry and orange zest scone once that blew my mind, so I thought it just had to be good in oatmeal cookies.

They are extra yummy, so I thought this photo deserved an extra large size. :)

Would you like the recipe?

Cranberry and Orange Zest Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 cups oats

1 cup dried cranberries

zest of one orange

Heat oven to 350*

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda and cinnamon, mix well. Slowly add oats, cranberries and orange zest, mix together.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheet. 

Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool for a minute and move to a rack.

Enjoy!

This recipe makes around 4 dozen cookies, plenty to share at work and enjoy at home!

I also thought you might like to see my awesome new mixer in action!

I love these cookies, and you can experiment with different add ins. I'm not really a fan of raisins, so that's why I used cranberries. It's also amazing with chocolate chips and walnuts or pecans. And I promise it tastes great with whole wheat flour. You can't even tell! But if you don't believe me, you can always do half white half wheat or plain white flour. 

I hope you enjoy this treat and your weekend is going as wonderful as mine is! We had fun at the beach yesterday :)