Loretta Lynn's Easy Christmas Cookies Are Holiday Magic

Loretta Lynn's Christmas Day Cookies

The internet is loving vintage and nostalgic recipes right now, and for good reason: They're tried and true. While 140-year-old cookie recipes and 77-year-old lemon pie recipes seem to have caught the attention of at-home bakers everywhere over the last few months, with the Christmas holiday just a few weeks away, there's one in particular that has piqued my interest—Loretta Lynn's Christmas Day Cookies.

These cranberry-studded cookies are perfect for ringing in the holiday season. The best part? They come together in less than 20 minutes. After checking the cabinets to confirm that I had what I needed, I cranked up my country music playlist and got to work to see if these were as jolly as I thought they would be.

Get the recipe: Loretta Lynn's Christmas Day Cookies

Ingredients for Loretta Lynn's Christmas Day Cookies

The "Coal Miner’s Daughter" singer keeps it super simple with this recipe. If you're a baker, you're most definitely going to have the ingredients for these cookies in your kitchen already. You're going to need butter, sugar, eggs, oats, flour, baking soda, salt, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Related: The 150-Year-Old Cookie Recipe That's Wildly Simple

How to Make Loretta Lynn's Christmas Day Cookies

Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer until fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time. Next, mix together the oats, flour, baking soda and salt and add to the butter mixture. Mix until incorporated before adding in the cranberries and white chocolate.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom.

What I Thought of Loretta Lynn's Christmas Day Cookies

I had to write a book report on Loretta Lynn in elementary school, so I'm well-versed (pun intended!) on the country singer. Although I'm not a country music fan, I was always impressed by Loretta's strength, grace and tenacity. And just like the woman herself, these cookies absolutely delivered.

Simple, delicious and completely no-nonsense, Loretta's Christmas Day cookies reminded me of the chunky cookies my mom makes on Christmas with walnuts, chocolate chips and raisins. They have a dense, but not too heavy consistency with pockets of sweet white chocolate complemented by bright bursts of dried cranberry. It's the perfect cookie for dunking in milk or putting out for Santa.

If you're a cranberry white chocolate fan—or just looking for a twist on a classic oatmeal raisin—this is the cookie for you. They keep well, freeze well and ship well (I tested out all three), making them perfect for your Christmas cookie baking.

Related: Loretta Lynn's Chicken & Dumplings Is a Comfort Food Classic

Tips for Making Loretta Lynn's Christmas Day Cookies

1. Line your cookie sheet. Loretta's original recipe says to use an ungreased cookie sheet but there's nothing worse than making a whole batch of cookies just to have them stick, so I always use a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. Use unsalted butter. The recipe doesn't specify unsalted or salted butter, but a good rule of thumb is to use unsalted butter in your baking. It'll give you more control and avoid oversalting your sweets. Fun fact: unsalted butter is also fresher than the salted butter you get at the store (salt acts as a preservative).

3. Don't worry about spreading. These cookies don't spread at all. They stay in nice little cranberry-and-white-chocolate lumps, so you don't have to worry about spacing them apart too much.

4. Customize the recipe. The base of these cookies is so simple, you could switch out the white chocolate and the dried cranberries easily if you're not a fan of either. Swapping out raisins or dried pineapple for the cranberries or dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips for the white chocolate chips would all be delicious.

Up next: We Just Discovered Dolly Parton's Baking-Related Pinterest Page, and Now Our Weekend Plans Are Set