chewy cranberry oatmeal cookies

I love old fashioned oatmeal raisin cookies, so when I came upon this recipe, I had to try it. The end result is delicious, and tastes very similar to your traditional oatmeal raisin cookie with maybe just a little more zing because of the dried cranberries.
I found this recipe on a blog and copied it on my computer, and now that I am posting it, I can't figure out what blog it came from. if I figure it out, I'll post a link, but for now, I'm sorry to whoever the credit of this recipe goes to! And again, no pictures, but I did freeze 2/3 of the dough so next time I bake some of them, I'll be sure to take a picture.
Speaking of freezing the dough, this is a great way to have cookies on hand any time. All you have to do is separate the dough into thirds and roll them into logs on pieces of wax paper. Just roll up the wax paper, tape the ends, label what type of cookie it is, and stick it in your freezer. Instead of making a huge batch of cookies (and as a result eating WAY too many!), you can have the dough on hand any time you want to make 10 or 12 cookies! This is the third cookie recipe I've done this with, and I wish I had tried it a long time ago. Homemade cookies meet slice and bake convenience after just a little preparation on the front end!


I N G R E D I E N T S :

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs, beaten lightly

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 cup chopped pecans




D I R E C T I O N S :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (if baking right away) and prepare sheet pans with parchment or cookie spray.


Mix the dry ingredients together, then stir in the oats; set aside.


Beat the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy.


Add the eggs, then scrape down the bowl; add the honey and vanilla and beat until blended.


Add the flour mixture in two additions, beating each until well combined. Stir in the cranberries and pecans. (At this point, you can either bake, or freeze.)


To freeze, just scrape the dough onto plastic wrap, roll into a log, wrap tightly, and freeze until ready to bake.

Then just take them out of the freezer, let sit for about 15 minutes, then slice into 3/16" thick slices and bake as directed.

To bake immediately: drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on parchment lined sheet pans.

Bake until the centers of the cookies are soft and no longer look wet; about 9-11 minutes.

Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.