I grew up baking Christmas cookies with my mom so with Christmas right around the corner, I got the annual baking itch. Here is my gluten free cranberry oatmeal cookie recipe. With all of the test batches I baked and shared with friends and neighbors, I know this recipe is a hit! One said you should sell these! They disappear quickly. I've included notes for making these dairy free oatmeal cookies as well.
Gluten Free Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
I wanted something a little sweet and it had to be oatmeal. After days of baking (and now 9 test batches), I am happy to post my updated recipe for oatmeal cranberry cookies. With sweet dried cranberries, crunchy walnuts, bright orange zest and shredded coconut they are impossible to resist. It's hard not to just eat all of the batter.
Baking Gluten Free
Baking with gluten free flours is very different than baking with all-purpose white wheat flour, but one bite of these cookies will make you a believer that gluten-free can be good. Updating this recipe 6 years after the original, I simplified it to make it easier using Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour in the blue bag. You can still blend your on GF flours if you prefer. I've put my measurements in the recipe notes.
Tool Tips for Baking Cookies
- Digital scale - The best way to make these cookies is using a digital kitchen scale to weigh the flours. Weighing is fast and accurate. They are inexpensive and a good investment. If you don't have one, I've provided dry measurements.
- Rimmed baking sheets - I bake on rimmed baking sheets lined with parchment.
- Buy parchment in stores next to the foil and plastic film. Reynolds is a common roll brand, or buy package of pre-cut sheets at cooking stores and online (so handy). Parchment not only makes for easy clean up but protects the cookies from the direct heat of the metal baking sheet. They bake up nicely on parchment, golden and not overly baked on the bottom.
- Disher - While it looks like a small ice cream scoop, the professional term is a disher. I have these in about five sizes. Great little gizmo! It makes portioning dough, batter and lots of stuff easy and accurate. For these cookies I used a #40. You can also use a tablespoon.
- Zester - to get finely grated orange zest, use a microplane zester
Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie Dietary Options
About butter - After testing with coconut butter and vegan buttery sticks, I settled on using dairy butter. If you are a non-dairy person, the recipe should work fine with something like Earth Balance or Miyokos (which tastes great).
For a reduced to no added sugar option use a blend of erythritol and monk fruit such as the So Nourished brand. So bake them and share them. No one will ever know they are gluten-free.
For another family favorite cookie try sand tart cookies (not GF yet), or the chocolate chip meringue's called Forgotten Cookies (GF and DF).
Recipe updated from 12/2014
Ingredients
- 1 â…“ cups + 2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF baking flour 190 grams or 6.8 ounces
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted dairy butter or dairy-free butter 6 ounces, at room temperature
- ½ cup natural brown sugar
- ¼ cup natural granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 large orange, zested
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325º. Line a rimmed baking sheet (half sheet size) with parchment paper. Add flour, baking soda, and salt to a bowl and whisk to combine.
- In another bowl, add butter and sugars. With an electric hand mixer, beat until well combined and fluffy (start slow and build up speed). Add eggs, vanilla and orange zest and beat until incorporated. By hand blend in the flour, and then the cranberries, walnuts, oats and coconut.
- Using a tablespoon (or a #40 disher), drop rounds of batter about 1 ½" around onto the baking sheet. Bake cookies until light golden brown, approximately 24 minutes for a conventional oven. Convection ovens bake faster so watch the first batch and adjust your timing (each oven is different). Let cookies rest for a few minutes on the hot baking sheet then remove to a wire cooling rack. When totally cool, package.
Notes
- 53 grams (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) brown rice flour
- 53 grams (½ cup + 1 tablespoon) oat flour
- 26 grams (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) sweet rice flour
- 56 grams (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) cornstarch
Vivian Mendoza says
Hi Sally, thanks for the GF recipes. I'll be making the corn bread stuffing and mashed sweet potatoes for Alex this Thanksgiving. Will also try the oatmeal cranberry GF cookies! Have found lots of resources at Saddleback Church this year! Planning on joining a small group in January. Hope all is well with you!
Blessings, Vivian Mendoza
Sally Cameron says
Great to hear from you Vivian! Happy Thanksgiving to you and Alex. Hope the recipes are a hit. I am making that dressing too this year, by request :). So glad you've found lots of wonderful resources at Saddleback. God bless!
Wendy Libka says
I'd love to try these, thank you! I have a daughter with a nut allergy, would omitting the walnuts affect the recipe?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Wendy. Omitting the walnuts is fine, there just won't be as much crunch and heft to the cookies. Is she allergic to seeds like hemp seeds? They would provide some crunch. I've not tried it but that thought hit me as I was reading your comment. Maybe up the coconut thread. Let me know how it comes out. I need to bake some of these too! Problem is they are hard to stop eating 😉
Mike says
We would really like to try these but Maureen has a peanut , tree nut and coconut allergy. I see from one of the posts that it’s ok to remove the walnuts . Can we remove the coconut too?
Sally Cameron says
Sure, you can leave the allergens out. As long as we are messing with the recipe, I wonder how pumpkin seeds would be. Those are tough allergies but creativity helps get around them ;). Please let me know how they come out. Without walnuts the cookies spread more when baking creating a flatter crisper cookie. I tried it that way and they are still good.
Mike says
Hi Sally , I forgot to also ask if we could substitute goat butter for the regular dairy butter.
Sally Cameron says
Hi Mike, I have not tried goat butter. If you do, please comment again and let everyone know how it came out.
Vicki says
Hi Sally - I've love your recipes since my Daniel Plan days began. I'd like to make these yummy cookies, but I don't know what the coconut "thread" is in the ingredient list?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Vicki, thanks for making me correct this! That's an old term. I will edit to say unsweetened shredded coconut. I'm using one made by Let's Do Organic, the same people that make Native Forest coconut milk (Edward and Sons). Bought it online, probably Amazon or Thrive Market. I've already had a few friends go crazy over these and one said you should sell these! Anyway, they are so tasty. Hope you bake some and enjoy. Thanks again!
Debbie says
Hi Sally, I made these cookies over the weekend. Very tasty!!! But...mine didn't look like yours after baking. They didn't change shape at all, just stayed round. Any suggestions??? Many thanks!!
Debbie says
PS Do you measure the walnuts before or after chopping. I saw in a post in this thread that omitting the walnuts makes a flatter cookie. I measured the walnuts before I chopped them. Might there have been too many walnuts?? And might this be why they stayed in the round, ball shape??
Sally Cameron says
Hi Debbie, how timely your comment is. I just made my first batch of the season. Mine baked and did not flatten much. Still tasted great! I measure the walnuts after chopping or use pre-chopped walnuts. You could try using less and see if they spread more. I will make another batch and see if they spread or not with less walnuts. The other thing I might try is to press them down a bit after I portion the dough onto the cookie sheets (I use the tool I mention called a disher, faster and controlled).
Debbie says
Hi Sally, I want to make these cookies again but instead of the GF flour, I am considering using my fresh milled white wheat flour. I use it for most of my baking. Do you think I would need to make any changes in your recipe with my flour?? Thanks!!
Sally Cameron says
Hi Debbie, good question. I have not baked with wheat in a long time. I think you can keep the recipe the same. Please let me know how they come out so I can note it for readers who are not GF. One note I am making in the recipe is about sugar. I've used both succanat and regular brown (more moist) sugar. It seems when I use the succanat (sugar cane natural) they bake more flat. My last batch I used regular brown sugar and they did not spread much, the were more rounded. Delish either way!
L.H. says
Hi Sally,
I love the ingredients in this recipe. My question to you is should I change the measurements on the white and brown sugars? I ask because I substitute regular sugars with brown and white Truvia. The last time a made a batch of cookies, different recipe, going off of regular measurements using the Truvia, the cookies came out too sweet. Any recommendations?
Sally Cameron says
Hi L. Good question. Honestly I've never worked with Truvia. When I sub alternative sweeteners in recipes my usual choice is a monk fruit blend. Try this. Use 3/4 of the amount and taste the batter. It also depends on your taste buds. Like us, you may not like things really sweet (some people do). With the other recipe, were there any other sweeteners in it or just sugar? Let me know. I've been itching to make a batch of these they are so good.