Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Posted on by Immacolata
orange cranberry oatmeal cookies

These cookies were inspired by the orange oatmeal cookies my mom used to bake. They contain minimal fat (even less if you sub applesauce for the butter) and maximum deliciousness. A light orange flavored oatmeal cookie thick with sweetened dried cranberries, almonds and chocolate chips. I had to restrain myself from eating them all before I could take the picture!

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Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp ground flax seed
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup oat flour (grind rolled oats in blender)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp orange zest (see notes)
  • 1/4 cup vegan butter (see notes)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips (vegan, see notes)
  • 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
  2. Stir together flax meal with orange juice in a cup or small bowl, set aside and let it get thick.
  3. Stir together flour, oat flour, rolled oats, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and orange zest.
  4. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy.
  5. Stir vanilla, maple syrup and orange juice/flax seed mixture into butter mixture.
  6. Add rolled oats, cranberries, white chocolate chips and almonds and stir to combine.
  7. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto parchment-paper lined baking sheet and bake at 375F for about 11 minutes (until edges are starting to brown.)
  8. Let cool on sheet for a minute or two, then remove from sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Notes

You can grate your own orange zest from the skin of an orange, but it takes a lot of grating to get a tablespoon. I buy dried orange peel in the spice aisle and it’s much more convenient, although fresh grated has more flavor. You can double up on the orange peel if you like a stronger orange flavor.

You can use a vegan butter like Earth Balance or if you like you can substitute coconut oil. If you want really low fat cookies, use 1/4 cup applesauce instead.

Although I used vegan dark chocolate chips this time, vegan white chocolate chips go very well with this cookie. They’re hard to find in grocery stores, but Amazon sells a 4-pack of King David Kosher Vegan Lactose Free White Chocolate Chips.