Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pistachios & Dried Cherries

I'm not a big fan of fancy things. Rather, I am a jeans and T-shirt, mini-van drivin', no frills, plain Jane sort of girl. It holds true for how I dress down to how I bake. I like to keep things simple. Christmas cookies are the perfect example of how I operate. This time of year most people break out their "fancy-schmancy" cookie recipes. They're baking nut cups, almond crescents and other uber traditional treats, but not me. No, I like to make an overabundance of the no-frills cookies that I love to eat throughout the year, plus a few others that make the holiday cut... for good measure.

Every year, come December, I am in the kitchen amidst a Christmas cookie whirlwind. I am baking piles upon piles of cookies including: Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Sugar, Gingersnap, Chocolate Crinkle, Peppermint Twist, Peanut Butter Ditties, and these babies, which I consider my "fancy" cookie - The Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookie with Pistachios and Dried Cherries. Yes, these are about as fancy as I get people. Pistachios. Dried Cherries. Oooooh, fancy! OK, not really, but they do look great on a Christmas plate.

These cookies are not only perfectly festive for the holidays with their sparkling red dried fruit and brilliant green pistachios, but they are completely delicious. They are an oatmeal cookie at heart, but with the addition of sweet white chocolate, salty pistachios and tart cherries or cranberries. What a sensational combination. I do recommend adding them to your annual Christmas cookie repertoire, even if you don't consider them to be fancy :)

Have a Sweet Day!

Jaime @ The Great Cake Company 

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OATMEAL WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES with PISTACHIOS & DRIED CHERRIES

Recipe from The Great Cake Company
Makes about 5 dozen cookies

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For The Cookies

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, uncooked

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tablespoons Crisco, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

10 ounces white chocolate chips (good quality)
1 cup dried cherries or cranberries

3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped

Method 

Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place oats in food processor and process to a fine powder. Transfer to a medium bowl and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and Crisco on low speed until combined and smooth. Add sugars, and beat on medium speed until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, and add dry ingredients slowly, about 1/2 cup at a time. Stir in the chips, cherries and pistachios. Mix until well incorporated.

Place tablespoon sized balls of dough on cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake until just golden brown, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets after about 5 minutes to ensure even browning. Remove from oven and cool cookies on sheets for a few minutes before removing. Cool completely on cooling rack.