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.
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
- Butter: Make sure the butter is appropriately softened to room temperature, which is cooler than most think and the first mistake people make!
- 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.
- Eggs: 2 eggs help bind everything together.
- Pure Vanilla Extract + Salt: Both provide flavor.
- 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.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cookies rise.
- 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.
- Flour: Flour is the structure of the cookies.
- 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.
- 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
- Cream butter + sugars: Use a hand or stand mixer to beat the softened room temperature butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy.
- Add eggs, vanilla, + molasses: Add eggs, then mix on high for about 1 minute until incorporated. Add vanilla and molasses, then mix until combined.
- Dry ingredients: Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a separate bowl. Beat into the wet ingredients.
- Add the extras: Beat in the oats, cherries, and white chocolate chips on low speed.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. 🙂
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
- Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Peppermint Snowballs
- Flourless Monster Cookies
- Lace Cookies
For even more holiday cookie inspiration, here are 75+ Christmas cookies to try.
White Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 26-30 cookies
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my favorite oatmeal cookie dough with big chewy oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried cherries, and white chocolate. Chilling the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes is imperative.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, Tablespoon!)
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
- 1 cup (140g) dried cherries
- 1 cup (180g) white chocolate chips
- optional for drizzle: one 4-ounce quality white chocolate bar (113g), finely chopped*
Instructions
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and mix 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. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Beat in the oats, dried cherries, and white chocolate chips on low speed. Dough will be thick, yet very sticky. Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator. If chilling for longer (up to 2 days), allow dough to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before scooping and baking.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. I recommend using a cookie scoop since the dough can be sticky. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft and under-baked. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to “set” on the baking sheet during this time.
- Optional White Chocolate Drizzle: You can melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave: place the chopped white chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Drizzle lightly over cookies. Allow the white chocolate to set completely at room temperature for about 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Cover and store leftover cookies (with white chocolate drizzle or without) at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (optional for melting chocolate) | Squeeze Bottle (for drizzling chocolate)
- Oats: Use old-fashioned whole oats, not quick or instant oats. Whole oats provide the ultimate hearty, chewy, thick texture we love. Quick or instant oats are too fine and powdery.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs preferred. Good rule of thumb: always use room temperature eggs when using room temperature butter.
- Optional Chocolate Drizzle: For the best results, use a 4 ounce “baking chocolate” bar found in the baking aisle. I prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. Do not use white chocolate chips for the drizzle, as they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the proper consistency.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Can this recipe be placed in a 9×13 pan and be made into bars? If so, would there be any change in the baking time?
Hi Anna, this amount of dough would fit into a 9×13 inch baking pan, though the bars would be a little thin. Feel free to 1.5x the recipe (we wouldn’t double it– that’s too much). Same oven temperature, but we’re unsure of the best bake time. Keep a close eye on them!
I made these today and they are delicious! Love the cherry and oatmeal combination.
OMG! These cookies are AMAZING!! I never would have thought of sour cherries in oatmeal cookies, but they are so yummy! I was thinking that so could maybe they with dried apricots, i f I can find some good, meaty ones!
Could this be made into cookie bars, specifically in a 9×13 pan? Would I need to multiply the recipe by any amount? Would try the same temperature to bake and just watch closely on timing.
Hi Peggy, this amount of dough would fit into a 9×13 inch baking pan, though the bars would be a little thin. Feel free to 1.5x the recipe (I wouldn’t double it– that’s too much). Same oven temperature, but I’m unsure of the best bake time. You’re right– just watch them closely.
What type of dried cherries did you use? I have found dried tart, sweet and applesauce sweetened cheeries.
Hi Leeann, You can use any variety you wish! Personally, I love the way tart cherries pair with the sweet white chocolate.
Anyone tried this with Gluten Free Flour? Got a little boy that can’t have gluten.
We have not tested this recipe with gluten free flour but let us know if you try it!
Can you use semi sweet chocolate instead of white chocolate? Any changes to ingredient proportions? Thank you
Absolutely, just a 1:1 swap. No other changes necessary.
Thank you, can’t wait to make!
Hi Sally, I chilled this batch for 60 mins, and I feel my cookies spread out too much. And they are very brown, my first batch I did 12 mins, then second batch I did 10 mins.
Can I roll these into balls and chill then put them right into the oven from there?
Yes you can! You can even freeze the dough balls and bake right from the freezer (we do that all the time)! You may also find this post helpful: 10 Guaranteed Tips to Prevent Cookies from Spreading.
We love these cookies-made them numerous times and they’re wonderful! We don’t ice them though. My question is….now that I’ve baked them, can I freeze them?
Sorry-all I had to do was scroll further for freezing!!! Never needed to before as they never last. Thanks!
These came together easily! I think next time I will use a larger scoop for slightly larger cookies. As someone else mentioned, I think I might chop the cherries and use mini chocolate chips next time. I found them a little sweet (personal taste), and wonder how much I could reduce the sugar without compromising texture? Could I reduce by 50g?
Hi Katelyn! You can certainly experiment with reducing the sugar. Just keep in mind that sugar is not just responsible for taste, it’s also responsible for moisture and texture in baked goods. If you reduce the sugar expect a different texture to your cookies.
hi! if i wanted to add in walnuts, how much should i add? 🙂
Hi Dee, I recommend substituting some of the dried cherries and/or white chocolte chips wiht chopped walnut so that you have a total of 2 cups of add-ins.
These are hands down my favorite oatmeal cookie of all time! I made them the other night, but halved the recipe since I didn’t have enough ingredients to make the full batch. But oh man I wish I had made the full batch now, they are so delicious!! The only thing I will do different next time is roughly chop the dried cherries a bit, just so I get a piece in every bite 🙂 Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
I have everything but the molasses – ideas??
You can leave it out or replace with maple syrup.
Hi Sally!! I left out the molasses and these turned out wonderful . Thank you so much!!
! cup of brown sugar is the same as 1 cup white sugar plus 2 TBS molasses. If molasses are not available, use ALL dark brown sugar. That will make up for 1/2 TBS of molasses. You’ll still be a tad short, but not much
Sally, I would like to use diced dried apples and Kraft caramel bits for a Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookie. Can I use your oatmeal cookie recipe and substitute equivalent amounts of caramel bits for chocolate and dried apple for raisins?
Yes, that should work well, Mary! Enjoy!
I made these, their appearance was good, but I should have used more dough in each scoop to make them a bit larger. I had several taste-testers who reported that they came out good.
Best cookies , scrumptious, and easy to make.
OMG, everyone said these where now their favorite cookie, and I made several from Sally, for the holiday. I used honey, instead of the molasses. Baked Sally’s cheesecake , OMG, it came out perfect, so creamy.
Do the oats need to be cooked beforehand?
Nope! Just toss them in!
Do you think tart cherries would work?
Dried tart cherries, yes!
Wonderful!! Should I freeze with or without the white chocolate drizzle??
Thanks as usual!
Hi Chris! You can freeze with or without the chocolate on top.
I made these last night with dried cranberries because I didn’t have cherries on hand. Baked about half the dough, shaped the rest into balls and froze them for an upcoming party this weekend. They are AMAZING. Utterly delicious and addictive.
These look delicious. Can I use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and molasses?
Hi Archana! I haven’t tested the recipe with coconut sugar, but you can certainly try it!
Another winner, Sally!! Made these today and they are delicious. I wanted to note that the baking time for these was way off for my oven. I have baked countless of your recipes and never had any significant issue with times/temps, but my first tray burned at 12 min. 10 min plus a 5min rest before transferring was the trick! Just wanted to mention – especially since your times are usually perfect for my oven. Thanks again! Love all your stuff!
How about maraschino cherries as substitute?? Love your recipes, Sally. You are my favourite.
Hi Rosemary! I haven’t tested this, but you could try about 3/4 cup of finely chopped maraschino cherries. I recommend blotting out some of their moisture before adding to the cookie dough.
Hi! So you’re talking about Quaker old fashioned oats that take 20 min. To cook. Correct? Thank you!
Hi Gwyn! In boiling water, whole oats only take a few minutes to cook. Look for the canister that simply says “old fashioned” and not instant or quick.
Is there any reason you couldn’t use dark chocolate in place of white here? Thanks!
No reason! Feel free to use dark chocolate chips or chopped pure dark chocolate in place of the white chocolate chips.
hi, I would love to make these this weekend as my family loves all of your oatmeal cookie recipes. i’m not a big fan of dried fruits though, would it be ok to sub the cherries for some sort of nut like chopped pecans? thank you so much and merry Christmas to you and your family!
Hi Emily! Absolutely. I think chopped walnuts or pecans would be great with the white chocolate.
Hi Sally
I have a question would like to pull the batch together in the morning and I get home later from work, how long can the dough be in the fridge?
thank you
Hi, Beth! The dough can be chilled for up to two days, so it will be fine chilling while you are at work. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before scooping and baking. Enjoy!
This sounds so GOOD! Could you substitute dried cranberries?
Absolutely!
Have you tried this as a bar cookie? Would a 9 X 13″ be appropriate?
Appreciate all your great recipes and advice! Thank you!
Hi Maggie, You can definitely use this cookie dough for cookie bars. A 9×13 inch pan would be best. I’m unsure of the exact bake time.
Looks delicious. Sweetened or unsweetened dried cherries?
Either work! I usually use sweetened.