If you’ve ever craved three kinds of cookies at once, these are the cookies for you. Full of hearty oats, chunks of dark chocolate, and tart cherries, they’re the perfect thing to bake when you can’t decide on one flavor or ingredient.

I usually crave chocolate chip cookies, but lately, I’ve been craving oatmeal cookies. Maybe it’s because we’ve been having a longer than usual winter; maybe it’s because I’m trying to be a little healthier in the New Year. For whatever reason, the idea for these oatmeal dark chocolate chip cookies with cherries came to me a couple weekends ago and I made a big batch.

If you’re not a fan of cherries, you could substitute another dried fruit such as cranberries or raisins. I like the cherry in the cookies, though, because it pairs well with the dark chocolate. When I scooped the cookies on the baking sheet, I tried to make sure I got a little of the chocolate and cherry in every bite.

I did something that I never do with these cookies and I froze about a third of them. Freezing cookies while they’re still balls of dough is one of the best and easiest baking tricks. Load up a few trays with dough balls as if you were going to bake all the cookies, and then take as many balls as you want to freeze and place them in a plastic bag in the fridge for an hour. Then, once they’re chilled, you can put the bag in the freezer.

When you’re ready to bake the cookies, all you have to do is get as many as you want out of the freezer, place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and bake them as you would regular cookies.

These cookies are great with a cup of tea or on their own. I bet they’d also be good with a scoop of ice cream in between. I might test this theory the next time I bake some of the ones I have in the freezer.

These cookies keep for about five days in an airtight box or bag, but to be honest, they’re best right out of the oven. Melted chocolate, tangy cherries, soft oats…I’m almost speechless.

Here’s a song to get you started on your oatmeal chocolate chip cherry cookie journey.

Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cherries

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp unsulphured molasses
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup dried sour cherries, chopped

Directions

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium high speed for a minute until smooth. Add the sugar and beat the mixture at medium speed for a couple minutes until creamed. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract and beat on high until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low until combined. With the mixer still running on low, add the chocolate chips, oats, and cherries to the bowl. If you need to, you can give the mixture a couple stirs with a firm spatula. Put the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough out of the bowl, roll into a ball, and place the ball on the prepared baking sheet. Make sure the dough balls are spaced at least 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time in the oven for 13 to 14 minutes or until browned around the edges and still soft in the center.

Let the cookies sit for five minutes on the baking sheet and then carefully place them on a wire rack to cool the rest of the way. Enjoy!