Oatmeal, Cranberry, and Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I saw these being made on Giada at Home and just HAD to try them.  While most kids love chocolate chip cookies, I dislike them.  My favorite is still my mom's homemade oatmeal raisin cookies.  They're warm, chewy, and comforting - just like a big hug from mom.  That being said, Giada's recipe is terrible!  I was left with a heaping pile of crumbly oaty messiness that made me sad for the loss of an entire cup of cranberries which are my favorite baking ingredient.

I decided to send Giada's recipe to the recycling bin and pull out mom's tried and true recipe and make my own changes.  The result is pure awesomeness.  I brought these to work as brain food for an institute day for my fellow teachers.  I left a small container on my table and saved the rest to bring for a large group work day.  After about two and a half hours of listening to a speaker we rotated tables for an activity and I came back to find a post-it on the container that read "Please hungry me cookies."  Clearly the brain food idea was a good one.  They were a huge hit and I left for the weekend with only a few cookies left.  They're delicious!  Crunchy on the outside, chewey on the inside and packed with delicious cranberries and chocolate - these might be my new favorite cookies.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal, Cranberry, and Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes 3 dozen

• 2 C flour (I used equal parts all purpose flour and whole wheat flour)  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 C old fashioned oats
• 2 sticks of room temperature butter
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 1 C packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 C dried cranberries
• 6 oz chopped semi sweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and oats.
3. Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy.
4. Mix in the vanilla and eggs.
5. Mix in the dry ingredients until incorporated.
6. Mix in the cranberries and chocolate until just combined.
7. Scoop and roll the dough into walnut sized balls.
8. Place on your baking sheet about 3 inches apart and bake for 10-14 minutes.