These pomegranate oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are flavored with orange zest and extract to make the perfect winter themed cookie. A great addition to your holiday baking!

I’m sure you all have your favorites or family traditions when it comes to holiday cookies. I know my family certainly does.

In case you’re curious, you’ll always find lemon iced cookies, biscotti, chocolate thumbprints weirdly filled with those fake candy cherries (I prefer these more classic vegan thumbprint cookies) and pecan crescent cookies on our Christmas baking menu.

Pignoli cookies are always there as well but often from the bakery unless I commit to making my version.

And while not a cookie, apricot brandy pound cake always makes an appearance Christmas Eve night. I still stand by this being the best pound cake in all the world. Trust me, make it.

That said, I’m always game for trying something new.

In fact, I’m sitting here wondering why we even do those weird chocolate ones with the fake cherries when there are so many better options out there!

These chocolate cashew cookies would be a great alternative and definitely a better ingredient list…

A leftover pomegranate from a photoshoot inspired these pomegranate oatmeal chocolate chip cookies this season.

And upon tasting one still warm out of the oven, my annoyance at having to get the seeds out of the delicious yet highly annoying pomegranate fruit completely vanished.

There are few pomegranate recipes that leave me feeling that way (because let’s be real, it’s a PIA fruit to deal with) but this pomegranate salsa is another one where the effort is validated.

Texture wise think of an oatmeal raisin cookie colliding with a chocolate chip cookie because that’s exactly what you have in these pomegranate oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

You get that little bit of softness in the middle from an oatmeal cookie except with the crunchy exterior of a chocolate chip cookie and then of course, chocolate chips instead of raisins.

Is there even a better marriage of two cookies out there?

Try these cranberry chocolate chip cookies for something similar. An old recipe (with REALLY old, horrible photos!) but still legit.

Complementing the bursts of sweet pomegranate is fresh orange flavor making these pomegranate oatmeal chocolate chips cookies just a little bit more special than your average chocolate chip cookie.

They’re sweet but not overly so, bursting with winter flavors and still classic enough (does it get more classic than chocolate chip cookies?) to be approved by the masses.

So if you’re looking to expand your holiday cookie horizons this year, give these a shot.

They whip up easily and definitely don’t require any special or unusual prep.

They can also easily be made gluten-free, see the note in the recipe below for my suggestion there.

A simple swap of gluten-free baking flour is all you need! I suggest this one.

I also love these gluten-free peppermint snickerdoodles for the holidays!

More holiday cookies to try:

Chocolate Drizzled Matcha Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Cashew Almond Butter Cookies with Candied Sage
Almond Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Dark Chocolate Dipped Orange Macaroons