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These cranberry orange oatmeal cookies are vegan, oil-free, refined sugar-free and make a wonderful holiday treat.

A stack of 4 cranberry orange oatmeal cookies sitting beside a cooling rack on a white surface.
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Cookie Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to enjoy these delicious, holiday-inspired cookies:

  1. Almond butter. I’ve made these with almond butter and tahini and like them both. Just make sure the nut or seed butter you use isn’t too dry. It should be pourable.
  2. Maple syrup. The cookies are naturally sweetened with maple syrup making them refined sugar-free. I have not tested any other sweetener but you should be able to sub agave if needed.
  3. Orange. I love the combination of vanilla, orange, chocolate and cranberries! You’ll need 1 navel orange to grate some orange zest for these cookies. I’ve tried the recipe with up to 2 tbsp of orange zest and found that was way too much. We’re looking for just a hint of orange, not to totally overpower the cookies.
  4. Rolled oats. Rolled oats add hearty, yummy texture to the cookies. Old fashioned, rolled or large flake oats all work.
  5. Whole wheat flour. You’ll need 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I have not tested a gluten-free flour but you should be able to use all-purpose flour if needed. I suspect a gluten-free flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill would work just fine but I haven’t tested it.
  6. Dried cranberries. Any kind of dried cranberries work but my favourite are the apple juice sweetened cranberries from Patience and Co.
  7. Chocolate chips. I like Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips but any vegan brand works.

That’s all you’ll need besides some baking basics and spices like nutmeg and cinnamon.

Grated orange zest on a cutting board.
Raw cookie batter with cranberries, chocolate chips and pecans being mixed in.

How to Make these Cookies

These cookies are very easy to make. You’ll need 1 bowl and about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Before you start: preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. You want it to be fully heated before you start baking the cookies.

  1. Mix up the nut butter, orange and maple syrup until smooth and creamy.
  2. Fold in the dry ingredients until you have delicious, thick cookie dough. Try not to sample too much! It’s hard not to, I know.
  3. Drop 10 cookies onto a baking tray and bake away!
Maple syrup and almond butter mixed together in a glass mixing bowl.
Baked cranberry orange oatmeal cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
Raw cranberry orange oatmeal cookie dough in a glass mixing bowl.
Cranberry chocolate chip cookies cooling on a cooling rack.
Cranberry orange cookies stacked on a cooling rack with a few dried cranberries and chocolate chips sprinkled around.

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

These sweet and spiced cookies feature orange zest, cranberries and chocolate chips making them just perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the rest of the holiday season.

The recipe is vegan, oil-free, refined sugar-free and easy to make in one bowl. You’ll need about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Quick Tip: Use an inexpensive kitchen scale for accurate measuring and best results.

Recipe Variations

  • For plain oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, omit the orange, pecans and cranberries and increase the chocolate chips to 1/2 cup.
  • Use vegan white chocolate chips for cranberry white chocolate cookies.
  • Try using almond extract instead of vanilla extract and replacing the pecans with slivered almonds.

More Cookie Recipes

Looking for more holiday recipes? Try my vegan turtles, no-bake Nanaimo bars, vegan rum balls, vegan eggnog or something from my collection of Thanksgiving recipes.

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A stack of 4 cranberry orange oatmeal cookies sitting beside a cooling rack on a white surface.

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies

  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 13 mins
  • Total Time: 23 minutes
  • Yield: 10 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Vegan

Delicious, vegan cookies featuring holiday flavours like orange, nutmeg and cranberry. These cookies are perfect for the holiday season! This recipe is refined sugar-free and oil-free!

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews
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Scale

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (120 g) drippy almond butter or tahini 
  • 1/2 cup (145 g) maple syrup
  • 1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup (100 g) rolled oats
  • 1 tsp finely grated zest from an orange (substitute with 1 tsp orange extract)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Add the almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla to a bowl and whisk until smooth.
  3. Add the flour, oats, salt, nutmeg and baking soda, stir to combine.
  4. Mix in the cranberries, nuts and chocolate chips.
  5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or give it a light spray with non-stick cooking spray. 
  6. Drop 10 spoonfuls of the dough onto the baking tray, pressing each one into a rough cookie shape.
  7. Bake for 13 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
  8. These can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days but I like them best stored in the fridge. They’ll keep in the fridge for a week or so, or they can be frozen up to 2 months.

Notes

For plain oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, omit the orange, nuts and cranberries and increase the chocolate chips to 1/2 cup.

Keywords: best, ww, healthy, plant-based, oil-free