These Diabetic Friendly Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and Chocolate Chips make a delicious treat for dessert. Or you can serve them as a snack, too. Packed with tart cranberries and dark chocolate, they won’t last long!

Much of what makes this easy oatmeal cookie recipe so delicious is the cookie’s chewy texture. That, and you’re not actually eating junk that you know isn’t healthy for your body — this is actually a pretty healthy oatmeal cookie recipe.

Just look at those little nuggets of delicious goodness. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill regular oatmeal cookies. They’re packed with flavor. And I intentionally make them a bit smaller than a traditional cookie — mainly to help with the carb count per cookie, but also because they’re so dang cute!

How to Make THIS Diabetic Oatmeal Cookie RECIPE

The very first thing you will want to do is set out your egg to come to room temperature. You can do this about 30 minutes before you are ready to get started. You can also melt your butter in advance as well. This will give it time to cool down so it isn’t too hot when you are ready to use it.

6 Steps to Make Diabetic Friendly Oatmeal Cookies

1. Combine THE Dry Ingredients

To get started making these Diabetic Friendly Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberry and Chocolate Chips, you first combine the oats, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Just give these ingredients a quick mix until the color of the mixture is even throughout and you’re good.

2. Combine THE Wet Ingredients

Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Just make sure your melted butter isn’t too hot from being melted so it starts cooking the egg. No one wants a scrambled egg in their cookies!

Did you get some shell in your egg when you cracked it? No worries! Here’s a fun kitchen hack: use the shell in your hand to scoop out the small piece of shell in the bowl. Shell attracts shell; you will have it out in no time!

3. Incorporate all oatmeal cookie Ingredients Together

Then, add the oat and flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Stir just to incorporate them evenly, and don’t overmix it.

Why be careful not to overmix? Overmixing is literally just stirring something too much. Doing that can create texture issues from too much gluten developing in the dough, which leads to tougher cookies. Also, consider that you will be stirring just a bit more to fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips in the next step.

4. Add THE Cranberries and Chocolate Chips

Next, it’s time to fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips. Again, just fold. Don’t stir too much. Then chill the dough for 30 minutes or more before baking. Try not to eat it as is. I know it will be tempting because the mixture looks so gooey and delicious. It would be such a sweet treat, but there’s a raw egg in this mix. It’s sad. I know. Just cover it up with some plastic wrap, put it in the fridge, and walk away.

Why chill the dough? Chilling the dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. Chilled and solidified fat in the cookies takes longer to melt than room temperature fat in the dough, so cookies will hold their shape better while baking. And, more importantly I think, chilled dough retains flavor better — so you get a more flavorful cookie! Plus, you know you have something you can do for at least a half hour while it chills in the fridge anyway. So go do that thing and come back to it in a bit.

5. Scoop THE oatmeal Cookie BATTER onto a Baking Sheet

After the dough has spent at least 30 minutes chilling in the fridge, now is the time to preheat the oven. Let it heat up while you’re scooping. Then you’re ready to drop each cookie dough ball onto a prepared baking sheet in rounded scoops. I used a hand-held cookie scoop that holds 1 1/2 tablespoons for these cookies. Then flatten them down to your desired thickness. The cookies will not spread during baking, so what you have on your baking sheet is what you will get in the end.

I personally love to bake with a silpat mat to line my cookie sheet. The texture provides an amazing non-stick surface for cookies. The bottoms of the cookies tend to not brown as much. And they are incredibly easy to wash up. Anything left on it (think the chocolate from cookies or melted cheese even) seems to just slide right off! (I hate scraping pans, so I love this feature!)

6. Time to Bake these No Sugar Added oatmeal Cookies!

Now that the cookies are on the baking sheet and pressed down to your desired thickness, it’s time to bake them. The baking time should be roughly 9-12 minutes. You’ll know they’re done by both a quick touch to feel the texture of the tops of the cookies, and they will start to barely turn light golden brown.

Once their cooking time is up, remove them from the oven and allow them to rest on the cookie sheet for up to five minutes. Then, cool the cookies fully on a cooling rack before enjoying. At least for a few minutes. They are super delish when they’re warm though. With a soft blanket. And a glass of milk. Or a cup of coffee. With the perfect amount of cream.

Looking for more cookie recipes for diabetics?

Try my collection of a dozen diabetic Christmas cookie recipes!

SUGAR FREE OATMEAL COOKIE CARBS

These are a healthy cookie overall, especially with no sugar added, but there are still definitely carbs to consider for someone with diabetes. The oats, whole wheat flour, maple syrup, cranberries, and chocolate all add up!

With the specific brands of ingredients I used for this recipe, the entire recipe totaled 315g. With this recipe making 18 cookies, that’s 17.5g of carbs per cookie. Not bad for a cookie recipe! These will satisfy your sweet tooth without sending your blood sugar rocketing.

Be sure to work these into your diet how you best manage your diabetes. And be sure to count the total carbs (or net carbs) in the products you use. Different brands vary in ingredients, so be doubly sure of the nutritional information in what you’re eating.

What Makes these cookies diabetic friendly?

So here’s the thing with something being “diabetic friendly.” We all have different diets and preferences and ways to manage our diabetes. And although most people with type 2 diabetes limit carbs and sugar intake for a low carb lifestyle, some people with type 1 diabetes will tell you they can eat literally whatever they want as long as they dose for it. And I won’t say that’s not true.

For me, after living with type 1 for 30+ years, I consider something to be diabetic friendly if it is either:

• a recipe that combines whole grain, protein, and healthy fats to help stabilize blood sugar levels to avoid a blood sugar spike
• a healthier alternative to the ingredients you would normally find in a traditional recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes because these particular no sugar added cookies fit both of these criteria! First, they contain whole wheat flour, fats, and protein from the hearty oats in this recipe. Second, they contain whole wheat flour and dark chocolate chips — two substitutions to make the cookie recipe a bit healthier. This is a great way to increase the nutritional value of the recipe, and more wholesome ingredients that make this recipe a better choice.

I’m all about ingredient substitution, and I have been for years. I love to sub in healthier ingredients for traditional ones. Sub in whole wheat flour for all purpose flour. Exchange dark chocolate for milk chocolate. Sub applesauce or vegetable oil or coconut oil for butter. Use greek yogurt for sour cream. Try natural sweeteners or a sugar substitute for regular sugar. You get the picture. And you can get any of these things at any grocery store around, so it’s super simple to make healthier substitutions.

STORING FOR LATER

I hope you’ve enjoyed this free oatmeal cookies recipe. These cookies will keep in an airtight container or cookie jar just as you would store other baked goods at room temperature for 4-5 days. If they last that long — they don’t in my house! They will also freeze well to thaw and eat later. Next time, double the recipe so you can freeze some for later!

And now for your free recipe:

DID YOU MAKE this recipe?

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NOTE: I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician. Nothing here should be taken as professional medical advice. Any nutritional information provided should be used as a general guideline and estimate only. For the most accurate information, please calculate based on the specific ingredients and brands you use, as well as any changes you make to the recipe.

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