Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies
These cherry pistachio oatmeal cookies are the perfect combination of sweet, salty, and tangy. Stuffed with chopped pistachios and a whole bunch of tart Montmerency cherries, the crunchy and chewy texture will keep you coming back for more. Make them as part of a holiday cookie box like I did, or just as a treat for your family, everyone will love them!
There are no raisins in this recipe but these cookies came out of my utter distaste for raisins baked into practically anything LOL. The only time I like raisins is when I go to the movies, get a huge popcorn and throw some Raisinettes in.
Damn that sweet and salty is such a good combo.
But anyways, I most especially DO NOT LIKE raisins in my oatmeal cookies. No thank you, never ever, bye.
I don’t know who came up with that combo or why it is so popular but honestly why ruin a good cookie with raisins I ask.
Why? When I was recipe testing for my holiday cookie gift box, I knew I wanted to add in an oatmeal cookie of some sort and thought about what I could add in that was way less gross than raisins.
My first thought is always chocolate, because let’s be honest, as a professional baker, when is chocolate never not on my mind. That led me to these chewy white chocolate oatmeal cookies.
But then after ravaging through my pantry for ideas, I found dried cherries and pistachios and thought ding! ding! ding! Let’s make cherry pistachio cookies!
Flavor balance
What I love about these chunky cherry pistachio oatmeal cookies is that they have a great balance of sweetness, saltiness, and tanginess.
In one bite you get all three sensations and the impulse to just keep shoving them into your mouth. They are also so festive looking!
How to make them
These cookies are super easy to make, but they do require some chill time. Normally I prefer to make cookies that don’t have have to chill in the fridge because I am impatient when it comes to cookies, but these really need it. There’s no going around it.
- Prep two sheet trays with parchment paper and set them aside while you make the batter.
- In stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in the bowl of a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together well. The mixture should look like yellow and fluffy.
- Then add in the eggs, and vanilla extract and mix again.
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) and mix again until a dough forms. Now add in the oats, chopped pistachios and cherries.
- Mix well. It might be easier to mix by hand at this point.
- Scoop the cookies using an ice cream scoop and lay them 2″ apart on the trays. Chill them for 1-2 hours, then preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 15 minutes.
Other Add-ins
Feel free to get creative here! Other nuts and dried fruit work here, as well as chocolate. If you use raisins its fine, just dont ask me to try them, ha!
Yield
This recipe makes between 16-18 cookies, but you can double the recipe for more.
Storing
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the dough balls and bake them as you’d like to eat them if you don’t need a whole batch.
Frozen cookies
I actually LOVE to eat frozen oatmeal cookies. I dont know why, but I love them. These cookies freeze really well. Store them in a zip top bag and freeze for up to 3 months!
Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, large
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup pistachios, shelled and chopped small
- 1/2 cup tart dried cherries, montmerency
Instructions
- Prepare 2 half sheet trays with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar on low-medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Add the eggs one at a time, combining into the mix before adding the next. Then add the vanilla extract and continue to mix. You may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl to mix everything together.
- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and continue to mix until dough forms. Then add in the oats and mix on low till combined
- Stop the mixer, add the pistachios and cherries, and mix by hand, so you don’t break up the pieces too much.
- Using an ice cream scooper, or a ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop the dough into even shaped balls and line then up on the sheet trays with about 1” of space in between. Chill for 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F, then bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Cool.
Make these, for the love of all things holy in this world, just MAKE THESE. Except don’t make them to give away to other people. You won’t want to. They’re that good.
AHHHHH im totally blushing over here, thank you!!!!
These cookies are absolutely fabulous! The perfect balance of salty and sweet. I add some white chocolate chips to the dough to make them extra festive and flavorful!
It’s in my Christmas cookie repertoire forevermore!
Thanks for sharing it!
Oh YAY! Thank you so much for letting me know Julie! They are so festive- cant wait for the holidays! Thank you so much for coming back to write a review and leave a 5 star rating!!