Oatmeal Cherry Cookies

Big, thick Oatmeal Cherry Cookies are soft and chewy, loaded with tender oats, dried cherries, white and dark chocolate chips, and warm, cozy spices. They take just minutes to make with no chill time, so you can dig into soft, warm, homemade cookies as quickly as possible. 

For more fun cookie recipes, try Strawberry Jam Cookies and Lemon Shortbread Cookies next! 

I'll be the first to admit that classic oatmeal raisin cookies aren't my all-time favorite. Mostly because there aren't any chocolate chips in them. Which brings me to these cherry oatmeal cookies. 

Cherry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are big, thick, chewy, chunky cookies with lots of stuff in them (including chocolate chips!).

These soft oatmeal cookies have a rich molasses flavor and a chewy texture because they're made with brown sugar only. The dried cherries are sweet, tart, and chewy, and since I couldn't decide between white chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips, I put them both in. They taste great dunked in cold milk or with a warm cup of chai. 

🧈Ingredients

See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.

• Unsalted butter. Use room temperature butter that is firm enough to leave an indent when pressed, but not so soft that your finger would press through it. 
• Brown sugar. One secret to the rich flavor and moist texture of these cookies is they are made with only brown sugar. No white sugar at all. I love dark brown sugar because it has more molasses, but light brown sugar will also work. 
• Almond extract. Just a little bit of almond extract complements the cherry flavor. You can omit or add more if you like. 
• All-purpose flour. Measure flour carefully to avoid dry cookies. Rather than scooping the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. 
• Cornstarch. Cornstarch helps create a soft, tender cookie and keeps it from spreading. 
• Spices. You probably expect to see cinnamon in an oatmeal cookie recipe. But maybe not allspice. And even though it's its own thing and not a blend of all the spices, like it sounds, it does taste like a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a not-too-clovey kind of way. 
• Old fashioned oats. Use regular old fashioned rolled oats, not quick cooking oats, which can become mushy. 

🫚Substitutions or Variations

• Dried fruit. Switch out the tart dried cherries with any kind of dried fruit like dried cranberries or dried blueberries. 
• Spices. Play around with your favorite warm spices like ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, mace, even blends like pumpkin pie spice. Or a little black pepper or cayenne pepper!
• Chocolate chips. If you're not into dark or white chocolate, use your favorite type of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, like milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate. If you can find them, cinnamon chips would be amazing in these!

🥣How to Make Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Step 1: Cream the butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl at medium-high speed. Mix in the eggs, then the vanilla and almond extract. 

Step 2: Sift in the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, spices, and salt. Mix on low until just combined. 

Step 3: Add the oats, dried cherries, and chocolate chips. Mix on low until just combined. 

Step 4: Scoop the dough into 3-4 tablespoon dough balls. Tear the dough ball apart and press the halves together, torn sides out. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If desired, top the dough balls with additional cherries and chocolate chips. 

Step 5: Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. The centers will look underdone but will continue to bake. 

Step 6: If desired, sprinkle the tops with a little flaky salt. Cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. 

👉Top Tip: Bake cookies right away or chill the dough for 30-60 minutes for even thicker cookies. 

🎁Storage

• Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for about a week. 
• Freeze cherry oatmeal cookies between layers of wax paper in ziptop freezer bags or airtight freezer-safe containers. 

📅Make Ahead

Make the cookie dough up to 3-5 days ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap. Before baking, let it sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes or until it is soft enough to scoop. 

To freeze the dough, scoop it into portions and freeze them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place the frozen cookie dough balls in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. 

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