Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cherry Cookies

This is an awesome recipe with awesome results! Its sweet, soft, crunchy and delicious, all in an oatmeal chocolate chunk cherry cookie.

About the recipe

With all our Shelter in Place right now I am watching way more TV than I usually do and Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa is one of those shows I’ve been watching a lot.

I may have mentioned before that though Ina’s recipes are predominantly meat-based, I try to improvise and substitute her meat ingredients with vegetarian substitutes.

However when it comes to Ina’s desserts I just follow her recipes as is, just as I did with this one. These oatmeal cookies are the best I’ve ever made! Soft, with crispy edges, chocolatey with tangy fruit flavor these cookies are deliciously good!

Oats, Chocolate and Dried Fruit

Ina describes these cookies as a mash-up of her favorite oatmeal raisin cookie with her husband Jeffrey’s favorite chocolate chunk cookie. Made with plenty of oats, chocolate chunks and an unexpected tang from dried fruit such as dried cranberries and dried cherries, these cookies taste outstanding.

Honestly, without the sour cranberries or cherries I think these cookies will be like any other oatmeal chocolate chip cooke, too sweet. The dried fruit on the other hand balances the sweetness of the cookie perfectly turning these cookies into something unique and delicious.

Plan Ahead

These cookies do require a little planning ahead. The butter and eggs have to be room temperature for the recipe to work out perfectly. So plan ahead and leave the butter and eggs outside the night before. Then have fun making these cookies the next day.

Wet ingredients, Dry Ingredients, Mix together & Bake

With the usual classic baking instructions, these cookies involve the same process. Whip wet ingredients together, mix dry ingredients together, combine the two, and bake.

Delicious cookies in just 10 minutes.

The best part of this recipe is how fast the cookies bake – in as little as 10 minutes! For delicious oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies with the added tang of dried fruits give this recipe a try! Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookie by Ina Garten

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies
Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookie from Ina Garten
makes 28 cookies
with a few modifications

Ingredients:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1¼ cups old-fashioned oats, such as Quaker
3/4 pound bittersweet chocolate, such as Lindt, chopped in chunks
3/4 cup dried cranberries
Fleur de sel

Cook’s Notes: I left the Fleur de sel salt out because I didn’t have any. I also substituted dried cranberries with dried cherries. And dded 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans for a crunchy texture.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 3 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. On low speed, add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl again.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix in the oats. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Don’t overbeat it! With a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate and cranberries until the dough is well mixed.

With a 1¾-inch ice cream scoop (or two spoons), scoop round balls of dough onto the prepared sheet pans. Sprinkle lightly with fleur de sel. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until nicely browned.