These fruit and nut cookies are chewy cookies that are loaded with oatmeal, dried fruit, and mixed nuts. They are easy to make and so addictive.

These cookies are basically decadent chewy trail mix cookies. They are buttery, hearty, and addictive. They are seriously one of my favorite cookies to make (and eat!) I love making these cookies in the Fall and Winter but you can make them anytime.

The inspiration for these delicious fruit and nut cookies comes from a French restaurant I used to visit often for their small bites with coffee and tea service.

They served these amazing fruit and nut cookies that I am sure had at least triple the butter of this recipe but it was loaded with nuts and dried fruit which is healthy and full of nutrients and made me feel so much better about the decadence of the cookie 🙂

These Fall and Winter cookies are just as delicious as that restaurant's but I am sure with much less butter. These cookies are still made with brown sugar, butter and flour but they also have loads of healthy stuff like ground oats, coconut, nuts and dried fruit.

For special occasions like the holidays, I love to make a batch of these for breakfast. I am not going to lie and say these are good for you but they probably have no more sugar than a muffin or donut 🙂

While I love making my ricotta pancakes, and brioche French toast for an indulgent breakfast or treat that I can can make ahead of time or eat on the go, I turn to these cookies!

Ingredients needed

These fruit and nut cookies are going to be chewy and lofty thanks to the brown sugar in them and all of the add-ins. Here is what you will need:

Unsalted butter
All-purpose flour
Mixed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans). I love using pecans and walnuts together.
Old fashioned oats
Light brown sugar. The brown sugar helps make these cookies chewy.
Dried cranberries, You can use raisins or any other dried fruit that you prefer.
Unsweetened shredded coconut
Vanilla extract
Baking soda
Egg
Kosher salt

How to make fruit and nut cookies

Toast the nuts, coconut, and oats: Add these ingredients to a sheet pan and toast them up for 5 minutes to bring out their flavors.
Cream: The first thing you want to do is cream together the butter and brown sugar.
Mix: Now mix together all of your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt).

Stir: Now stir together the butter and flour mixtures and then stir in the dried fruit, oats, coconut and nuts. This dough is really thick!
Scoop: Scoop the cookie dough onto a lined sheet pan. Give the cookies just a little space to spread.
Bake: Now bake for about 10 minutes in a 375-degree oven. They will need about 10 minutes to rest when they are done baking.

Variations

Add pumpkin: When I can, I like to sometimes add pumpkin to this fruit and nut cookie recipe for a nice Fall theme. The flavors of this cookie are like you are eating decadent chewy trail mix cookies and the pumpkin goes so well with that. To do this just add ½ cup of pumpkin and one extra egg to the recipe. The rest of the recipe stays the same.
Use different add-ins: Use hazelnuts, raisins or whatever you love or have on hand.

Storing And Freezing

Storing: These cookies store really well! I always make a batch on the weekend and eat them throughout the week. To store them, just stack them on a plate and cover them with plastic wrap. You can leave them on the counter since these cookies do not need to be refrigerated.
Freezing: You can freeze these cookies two ways, either freeze the dough or freeze the baked cookies. To freeze the dough, I like to scoop the cookie dough onto a baking sheet and place it in the freezer. Once the dough is frozen (after about 12 hours), I place the frozen dough into freezer-proof bags and freeze for up to 2 months. If you want to freeze the baked cookies, let them cool, then place them in a freezer-proof container and they also freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw them on the counter.

Tips

Toast the nuts, oats, and coconut: When you are working with nuts in baking recipes, you want to make sure to take a couple minutes to toast them up to bring out the natural flavor in the nuts. Toasting also helps to bring out the flavor of the coconut and oats.
Use room temperature ingredients: Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature (eggs, butter, etc). This helps the creaming process and lightens the cookies and makes them fluffy and chewy.

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Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Chewy Fruit and Nut Cookies

These fruit and nut cookies are chewy cookies that are loaded with oatmeal, dried fruit, and mixed nuts. They are easy to make and so addictive.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Servings: large cookies

US Customary - Metric

Author: Melissa Oleary

Ingredients

1 cup Unsalted butter at room temperature
2 ¼ cup All purpose flour
1 large egg
1 cup mixed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans) Just a quick coarse chop of the nuts. You can use slivered or chopped nuts.
1 cup old fashioned oats
¾ cup light brown sugar packed down
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon Kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the nuts, oats, and coconut to the sheet pan and bake for about 5 minutes, mixing them around halfway through.
1 cup mixed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans), 1 cup old fashioned oats, ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Remove them from the oven and let them cool.
In a large bowl, cream your sugar and butter until light.
1 cup Unsalted butter, ¾ cup light brown sugar
Add your egg and mix that in well.
1 large egg
Next add your vanilla and mix until incorporated.
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
In a separate bowl, sift together your flour, baking soda and salt.
2 ¼ cup All purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
Now add your coconut, old fashioned oats, nuts and cranberries to your flour mixture.
½ cup dried cranberries
Mix the dry ingredients together until it al the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Now add this into your butter mixture and mix until all incorporated.
With a medium sized ice cream scoop (for larger cookies) or a heaping tablespoon (for smaller cookies), scoop your batter on to the baking sheet and spread them about ½ inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes for small ice cream sized scoops or until they are turning golden brown on the top and on the edges.
Let cool for at least 10 minutes to set up on cookie sheet once they are out of the oven. They will firm up as they cool.
After 10 minutes, remove from the sheet pan on to a cooling rack and let completely cool for another 10-15 minutes. They will be soft and chewy and delicious!
Enjoy!

Nutrition