Soft-baked and ultra chewy holiday magic 5 cookies are loaded with white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, pecans, coconut, and cinnamon. They’re essentially white chocolate cranberry coconut pecan oatmeal cookies. Wow, say that 3x fast! They’re just like my magic 5 cookies, but with a festive holiday twist.
Today we’re kicking it old-school with a classic favorite: oatmeal cookies! Not just any oatmeal cookies, but magic 5 oatmeal cookies—extra chunky, packed with flavor, lots of texture, and remind me of my oatmeal scotchies but with extra goodies packed inside.
What Are Magic 5 Cookies?
Magic 5 cookies get their name from 7 layer bars, aka magic bars or hello dollies. I typically call them 7 layer bars or magic bars, but what’s in a name? No matter what they’re called, you’ll get a bar piled high with any combination of sweet, crunchy, nutty, sticky, and chocolate-y that you can imagine. One of my favorite versions is my recipe for ultimate magic cookie bars. I also have a cookie variation with 5 add-ins known as my magic 5 cookies.
It’s time for a holiday rendition of magic 5 cookies, including sweet-tangy dried cranberries, creamy white chocolate chips, crunchy pecans, oats, cinnamon, and shredded coconut. With so many little pockets of flavor and texture, it’s practically impossible to eat just one.
We’re Using My Favorite Oatmeal Cookie Base Recipe
Oatmeal cookies will always be my favorite. 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 and adding lots of goodies. Here are some of my other recipes that begin with the same oatmeal cookie base recipe: oatmeal creme pies, oatmeal scotchies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, iced oatmeal cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies. It’s the very best base oatmeal cookie recipe and here’s why:
- Ultra buttery
- Unbelievable texture
- Sweetened with brown sugar
- Loaded with chewy oats
- Cinnamon spiced
- Flavored with molasses
- Taste just like grandma’s
- Pretty quick—only 30 minute chill time
Ingredients in Magic 5 Cookies
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the structure of the cookies.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cookies rise.
- Cinnamon: Can you even have oatmeal cookies without cinnamon? It pairs wonderfully with all of the add-ins, too!
- Salt & Pure Vanilla Extract: Both provide flavor.
- 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.
- Butter: Make sure you’re using proper room temperature butter, which is cooler than most think. Warmer butter is actually the first mistake that bakers can make, which results in cookies that over-spread.
- 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. I follow the same principle for the chewiest chocolate chip cookies, too.
- Eggs: 2 eggs help bind everything together.
- 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.
- White Chocolate Chips, Dried Cranberries, Coconut, & Pecans: These are what make today’s magic 5 cookies taste like the holidays. All of our favorite flavors of the season in one cookie! You can sub chopped pistachios for the pecans, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips for the white chocolate, raisins for the cranberries, and/or leave out the coconut if you’re not a fan.
Today’s cookies are slow bend cookies. These jam-packed magic 5 cookies have slightly crisp edges with soft centers and enough chew that they won’t immediately break when broken in half—aka a “slow bend cookie” as I like to call them. They’re super dense and hearty with that distinct nutty, toasty oatmeal cookie taste. I love these!
If you’re the kind of cookie lover who just wants to get the job done and move onto the next project (more cookies, I’m sure) then these are for you. There’s no royal icing or piping tips or sugar cookies to decorate—just a mixer, a baking sheet, and a truckload of holiday flavor.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Lace Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms (made from the same dough as my favorite Peanut Butter Cookies!)
Magic 5 Cookies, Holiday Edition
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 36 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft-baked white chocolate cranberry and pecan oatmeal cookies have the most unbelievable flavor and chew!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand) *optional, see post above
- 1/2 cup each: white chocolate chips (90g), dried cranberries (60g), sweetened shredded coconut (40g), chopped pecans (64g)
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and oats together. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and beat on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix on high until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, add the white chocolate, dried cranberries, coconut, and pecans. Dough will be thick, yet very sticky. Chill the dough for 1 hour in the refrigerator (and up to 2-3 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, though, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard and the cookies may not spread.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Roll balls of dough (about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes until very lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more white chocolate chips into the tops– this is only for looks!
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 4. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer, Silpat Baking Mat, and Baking Sheet
Keywords: magic 5 cookies, oatmeal cookies
Made these cookies and they are wonderful! Full of flavor and taste even better the next day. Definitely a keeper!
★★★★★
Can you sub gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour?
We haven’t tested it but let us know if you do!
I tried with gluten-free flour and it worked just fine!
Great recipe! Followed it as written (straight-forward, easy to follow) & baked 5½ dozen cookies. I’ve saved this in my bookmarks so I can quickly find it the next time – and there will be a next time…
★★★★★
what would the time be in a 9×13 pan?
Can I sub coconut sugar for the brown sugar, or the majority of the brown sugar, and Lakanto monkfruit sweetener for the granulated sugar? The sweetener is supposed to be a 1:1 sugar substitute, so I’d hope it would work out… 🙂 Thanks!
HI Sally, I made these cookies using old self-rising flour. I figured the salt was OK, but the baking powder was no longer active, so I added 1tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda. They came out perfect!
★★★★★
We have LOVED this recipe this holiday season. We have our third batch baking in the oven. The only thing we altered is adding some semi-sweet chocolate chips along with the white chocolate. Amazing!
★★★★★
I made them substituting mini chocolate chips for the white and they were delicious!
★★★★★
Hi, Sally.
I am going to try one of your oatmeal cookie recipes and was looking at this one and your Oatmeal Chocolate Chip recipe. It looks very similar, but that one you recommend 3 TBSP of dough per cookie and this one 1.5 TBSP. Yet, the same number of cookies per recipe. Can you help me understand why you recommend different sizes of cookies, even though the dough looks almost identical, except for the add ins? Thanks for your help!!
Hey Michelle! Thanks for catching that error. I just checked my notes. This recipe yields closer to 3 dozen cookies since we make them a little smaller.
I made these, and mailed half to a friend and sent the other half with a family member to take to a party (and saved a couple for myself, of course!). Rave reviews all around! These may very well be the best oatmeal cookie I’ve ever had…and I’ve had quite a few!
Another winner! Your recipes are all delicious and your instructions and photos are so helpful. Thank you!
I made these exactly as written and holy wow they are amazing. I had them every day for breakfast last week with a glass of milk. Basically like eating a nice healthy bowl of oatmeal right? Thanks for another winner!
I made these with buuterscotch bits, macadamia nuts, cranberries and the shredded coconut – oh Sally, they are TO DIE FOR!!! But, of course, your recipes are never a disappointment 🙂
That’s sounds like a great combo
I just made this dough last night. I don’t know that it’s going to live to see cookie form…the dough is SOOOO ridiculously good!!!
Made these this weekend for a party – semi sweet chocolate chips instead of coconut though since that’s what was in my pantry – everyone LOVED them! I wish there had been leftovers…guess I’ll just have to make another batch! 🙂
I made these this afternoon with my 3 year old and they were just the right recipe to follow with a short attention span helper. She spent most of the time asking when we would add the chocolate chips, mostly because she just wanted to eat some! But they really are a delicious cookie with so many interesting textures and a fabulous “chew.” Even my sugar-cookie addicted husband loved them and he usually doesn’t care for this kind of cookie as much. I left out the coconut because I didn’t have any and we didn’t miss it. Thanks for another great recipe!