White Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

These white chocolate chip cherry oatmeal cookies are extra chewy and soft, using my favorite oatmeal cookie base recipe. Made with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried cherries, and white chocolate, they’re just as irresistible as they are flavorful.

Oatmeal cookies will always be my favorite. I’m not biased either—I love oatmeal creme pies, peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal scotchies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, iced oatmeal cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies all the same. Between my family’s recipes, my cookbooks, and my website, I have about 30 oatmeal cookie recipes under my belt.

Today we’re using my favorite oatmeal cookie base recipe. We’re swapping raisins for dried cherries and adding plenty of sweet white chocolate. Let me list why you’ll love these.

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These White Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies Are:

• Soft & buttery in the centers
• Slightly crisp on the edges
• Sweetened with brown sugar
• Loaded with oats
• Studded with sweet/tart cherries
• Cinnamon and nutmeg spiced (holiday perfect!)
• Pretty quick—only 30 minute chill time (just like white chocolate macadamia oatmeal cookies)

My cookie loving friends, it doesn’t get much better than this!!

Ingredients You Need

1. Butter: Make sure the butter is appropriately softened to room temperature, which is cooler than most think and the first mistake people make!
2. Brown Sugar + Granulated Sugar: Sugar is not only used for sweetness, but also for providing structure and tenderness. I like to use more brown sugar than white sugar because (1) brown sugar has incredible flavor and (2) brown sugar contains more moisture than white. This promises a softer oatmeal cookie.
3. Eggs: 2 eggs help bind everything together.
4. Pure Vanilla Extract + Salt: Both provide flavor.
5. Cinnamon & Nutmeg: Can you even have oatmeal cookies without cinnamon? And yes, it pairs beautifully with tart dried cherries and white chocolate! For even more flavor, I add a little nutmeg too.
6. Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cookies rise.
7. Molasses: Molasses is my secret ingredient in oatmeal cookies. 1 scant Tablespoon enhances all the wonderful flavors—just like how Grandma used to make them.
8. Flour: Flour is the structure of the cookies.
9. Oats: Oats provide a fabulously chewy texture and we’re using 3 whopping cups here. Use thick old-fashioned whole rolled oats, not quick oats. Quick oats are thinner and more powdery, so you’ll miss out on a lot of texture.
10. Dried Cherries & White Chocolate Chips: These are the stars of today’s cookies and a winning flavor combination, especially when paired with brown sugar, molasses, oats, vanilla, and cinnamon. Tastes like the holidays! Not a fan of dried cherries? Use dried cranberries instead like we do in these white chocolate chip cranberry cookies.

How to Make White Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

1. Cream butter + sugars: Use a hand or stand mixer to beat the softened room temperature butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy.
2. Add eggs, vanilla, + molasses: Add eggs, then mix on high for about 1 minute until incorporated. Add vanilla and molasses, then mix until combined.
3. Dry ingredients: Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a separate bowl. Beat into the wet ingredients.
4. Add the extras: Beat in the oats, cherries, and white chocolate chips on low speed.
5. Chill: The cookie dough is pretty sticky, so chilling it is imperative. Without at least 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator, your cookies will spread into flat puddles. Chilling cookie dough is my top tip for how to prevent cookies from spreading.
6. Roll: Shape the cookie dough into balls and place on a lined baking sheet. I always recommend a medium cookie scoop when making my oatmeal cookies because the dough is textured and sticky.
7. Bake: Bake the cookies at 350°F (177°C) until lightly browned around the edges. The cookies might look under-baked, but they will continue to set as they cool.

Do you like chunky cookies? Because these are PACKED!

Optional White Chocolate Drizzle

Because it’s fun to be extra, especially around the holidays, drizzle the baked cookies with melted white chocolate. This is completely optional, but it adds that extra something special. You need one 4-ounce white chocolate baking bar, such as Bakers or Ghirardelli brand, found in the baking aisle. Chop it up, then use the microwave or a double boiler to melt it down. I always use a squeeze bottle for drizzling, but a spoon works too.

You could do the same drizzle on these white chocolate Biscoff oatmeal cookies, too. YUM!

The Return of the Slow Bend Cookie

Before I leave you with the recipe!

I’ve used the term “Slow Bend Cookie” before. Like my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal M&M cookies, oatmeal scotchies, and oatmeal raisin cookies, these white chocolate chip cherry oatmeal cookies are soft in the centers with buttery crisp edges. They’re so chewy that the cookies won’t immediately break when you bend them. (Assuming you don’t over-bake the batch!) This is what I call a slow bend oatmeal cookie.

There’s enough chew to make a salt water taffy jealous. 🙂

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