These healthy cranberry oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy. They are just 3 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, refined sugar, eggs or butter. They are easy to make and store well. They can be eaten for breakfast, snack or dessert.
I am back to baking some oatmeal treats for my family to snack on. We took a little break during the holidays but I’m actually happy to be eating these again. They are so easy to make and customize.
Ingredients
- Quick Oats
- Applesauce
- Dried Cranberries
Quick Oats: These cookies are made with quick oats which are regular oats that have been further processed so that they are thinner and smaller and cook faster. Please note that quick oats are not the same as instant oats which have sugar and other ingredients added. Quick oats are just smaller sized regular oats. If you don’t have quick oats you can also run regular oats in a food processor a few times until they become the size of quick oats.
Applesauce: I used unsweetened applesauce but you can use sweetened if you want the cookies to be a little sweeter. Unsweetened applesauce is still sweet and is used to provide natural sweetness for the cookies. Applesauce can also be substituted with finely mashed bananas. Using bananas will also make the cookies taste sweeter. I decided to use applesauce because I like how cranberries and apples pair together.
Dried cranberries: You can use unsweetened, lightly sweetened, naturally sweetened or just regularly sweetened dried cranberries. I used dried cranberries lightly sweetened with unsweetened apple juice. I found that the combination of the lightly sweetened dried cranberries with the unsweetened applesauce was just enough sweetness for the cookies. If you use unsweetened cranberries, you may want to add a little maple syrup or honey to the cookies since unsweetened dried cranberries are quite tart.
How to Make Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
The quick oats and applesauce are mixed together until the oats are fully incorporated into the applesauce. The dried cranberries are then mixed in. The dough is then scooped out with a cookie scoop. The cookies are placed onto your prepared baking sheet and flattened and shaped into round disks. The cookies are then baked.
Taste, Texture and Variations
These cookies are very lightly sweetened. They have a soft and chewy texture. There are various ways to customize these cookies to suit your personal preferences:
- To add some healthy fat to the cookies (which will make them chewier and richer tasting), you can substitute 3 tbsp of applesauce for 3 tbsp of natural peanut or almond butter.
- To add more sweetness to the cookies, you can add 1-2 tbsp of maple syrup or honey to the cookie batter.
- If you like white chocolate chips in your cranberry oatmeal cookies, you can add them into the dough.
More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Apple Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Crispy Oatmeal Bars
3 Ingredient Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (90 g) quick oats
- 3/4 cup (187 g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup (30 g) dried cranberries roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Add oats and applesauce to a large mixing bowl. Stir until the oats are evenly mixed and fully coated in applesauce. The mixture will be thick and wet.
- Stir in dried cranberries until evenly mixed throughout the cookie dough.
- Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop out cookie dough. Release cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the dough balls about 1.5 inches apart. Use the back of a metal spoon to press down on each cookie dough ball so that it forms a thick round disk. Smooth the sides of the cookie disks if desired. The cookies will not spread during baking so you want to shape the cookies to how you want the final outcome to be.
- Bake cookies for about 13-14 minutes or until the cookies are done (the surface should no longer be wet). Let the cookies cool on their baking sheet before removing them. Store uneaten cookies in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Roughly chop the dried cranberries so that they are smaller and will be more evenly distributed in the cookies.
- The cookies are only lightly sweetened. If you prefer sweeter, you can use mashed bananas instead of applesauce or you can add 1-2 tbsp of honey or maple syrup to the cookie dough.
- I used dried cranberries lightly sweetened with applesauce. I found that the lightly sweetened cranberries along with the applesauce was just enough sweetness for the cookies. If you are using unsweetened cranberries, you likely will want to add honey or maple syrup to the cookie dough so that the cookies are sweet enough.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I’d love to make this recipe but I’m counting calories and I don’t know how to calculate a kcal. Internet says 1000 calories per kcal but surely these cookies aren’t 4300 calories per cookie!
Hi Jane! 1 kilocalorie equals 1 calorie in nutrition, so 43 calories per cookie!
Yum!! I added some chopped walnuts. Thank you for thus easy yummy recipe!
Sounds like a great addition! Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Can I use chocolate chips instead of cranberries
Yes, you could add chocolate chips into the dough!
Am really new on this page , just trying to learn new things as I proceed
Like your recipes very easy, and I have most of the ingredients on hand. I haven’t had the chance to make them yet ?. But very soon. I’ve signed up for your recipes into my email. Yea,yea!!!
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Can you use fresh cranberries in this recipe?
Sorry, but we haven’t tried using fresh ones.
I’ve made this recipe with applesauce and with bananas. I’ve added peanut butter and almond butter. I’ve used dried cranberries, raisins and dried blueberries and I must say, these are absolutely the best. I haven’t added any sweetener to any of the iterations. They are extremely easy to make. They remind me more of an energy bar than a dessert cookie. We’ve taken them hiking and skiing. Today I made them with bananas, peanut butter, shredded coconut and semi sweet chocolate chips. They are absolutely fantastic and will be perfect for our next ski day. My husband loves them. These will go with us on every outdoor adventure.
So glad you are enjoying them!
If you double the amount of everything and use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop (as the recipe calls for) filled evenly and packed down, you will get exactly 14 cookies so the amount of servings is off. Otherwise, a great recipe!
the amount of cookies the recipe yields is correct. Are you using US 1.5 tbsp? Also not quite sure what you mean by “packed down.” I didn’t pack down my scoops. It is just 1.5 cookie scoop and then level off the surface, but it is not packed in.
Thnx for Ur healthy versions of mkg snacks. Will try them for my weekly Prayer meeting & for any small or big gatherings (like potlucks or funersl receptions, etc.)
Again, I appreciate these recipes…
We’re so glad you like them!
This reminds me of baked oatmeal in cookie form. If you love oatmeal cookies, this won’t hit the spot. If you love oatmeal and want a quick easy way to eat it, this is perfect. I added more cranberries, and a few drops of vanilla flavoring. I will make this again.
We’re glad you enjoyed them!
Love this recipe! Do you have similar recipe for oatmeal muffins. Thank you so much.
You might like our Oatmeal Cups – they look like muffins, but are similar to this recipe.
Really like these simple, nutritious recipes. Thank you.
You are welcome!
Or use date syrup
Excellent recipe
Thank you!
At what temp do you bake these at for ten minutes???????
350F. It is stated in the instructions
Can I make these cranberry cookies in a bar form?
Probably, but the baking time may be different
These sound fun and yummy! I love the flavor combination of orange and cranberry. Do you see a way to incorporate this variation? Oooooo, with some vanilla? Lol I know…. A lot of ingredients 😀
You could try adding in 1 tbsp of fresh squeezed orange juice or some orange zest