Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries

I always feel good about making a fresh batch of homemade cookies, but putting a few elements that are on the healthier side of the spectrum is an easy way to feel just as good about eating them, too. These Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries have quite a few good-for-you ingredients in them. They’re made with whole wheat flour, oatmeal and are packed with antioxidant-rich mix-ins like dark chocolate and dried cranberries. They’re not health food, since they also have a good amount of butter and sugar in the dough, but I know that I always like a good reason to reach for a second cookie.

The cookie dough comes together like a standard chocolate chip cookie dough. Whole wheat flour can make cookie dough drier than regular all purpose flour can, so you will notice that there is less of it in this dough than in your average chocolate chip cookie recipe, even though the texture of the finished dough will be about the same. The cookies have a crispy edge and a nice chewiness to them when they come out of the oven. You can taste a little of the whole wheat flavor, but it blends well with the nuttiness of the oatmeal and is balanced well by the butter in the dough, which adds just enough richness to keep these from tasting like health food. The cookies aren’t overly sweet, and the rich dark chocolate and bright cranberries really stand out to make for a very satisfying cookie.

Regular whole wheat flour works very well in these cookies and gives them pleasant, mild whole grain taste. Most of the people that you serve these to won’t even notice that they’re eating whole grains. If you do want to make the whole wheat element a even more subtle, you can use white whole wheat flour instead or a blend of whole wheat and regular all purpose flour. I prefer to use quick cooking oats because I like both the look and texture that they give to the finished cookies. Both dark/bittersweet chocolate chips and semisweet chocolate chips (which are actually just another way of naming dark chocolate) will work beautifully in this recipe, giving the cookies a good dose of chocolate in every bite and contrasting well with the tart cranberries. The cookies will keep very well when stored in an airtight container for a few days.

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (pref. quick cooking)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups dark or semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract.
Stir in flour mixture, followed by oatmeal, dried cranberries and chocolate chips.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches between cookies.
Bake for 11-14 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned around the edges.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen.