Thick, chewy cookies filled with dark chocolate chunks and chewy cranberries make these Cranberry Dark Chocolate Cookies a total knockout dessert! Not to mention that these cookies share basically the same ingredients as trail mix so that makes them healthy. Oh, is that not how that works?! My bad...
Dark Chocolate Math
Chocolate has to be my favorite math. I think I can remember the exact moment I stopped liking math class and I think that was the day we stopped using chocolate bars to learn fractions…
Dark chocolate gets its name through the amount of cocoa solids that are in the chocolate. Most often, you’ll see dark chocolate labeled by the percentage of cocoa in it, such as 60% or 70%. The percentage comes from the amount of cocoa solids that is that particular bar, which means if the chocolate bar has more cocoa solids like 70%, there was less room for other ingredients such as sugar, milk, and cocoa butter. Because there’s less room for the other ingredients, the chocolate ends up less sweet, hence the name ‘dark chocolate’. Pretty cool math, huh?
I really like the dark chocolate in these cookies because it helps the cranberries shine. If the chocolate was too sweet, it would overwhelm the cranberries and you wouldn’t be able to taste them as much. With the slightly bitter dark chocolate, it helps the sweetness of the cranberries shine.
Of course, you can always sub in whatever chocolate you like best. White chocolate would also be very delicious!
Fresh versus Frozen
This recipe calls for dried cranberries! Usually I’m one to welcome substitutions of all kinds, I like that recipes can be flexible like that!
For this recipe, I really recommend sticking to dried cranberries, so you don’t have to worry about adding any extra liquid to the cookie dough. Most cookie doughs don’t contain too many liquids which helps create the cookie texture and shape we all love.
By adding fresh cranberries or even frozen, you risk adding too much liquid to the cookie dough, which could end up affecting the shape of the cookie.
Plus, I really like the texture that the dried cranberries add to the cookie. It’s slightly chewy and sweet which pairs perfectly with the dark chocolate!
Ingredient List
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Butter - Room temperature butter works best for this recipe!
- Egg
- Brown Sugar
- Sugar
- Vanilla
- Dark Chocolate Chips - I like to use chocolate chips, I always keep some in my pantry! But you could also use a bar and chop it into pieces! I like how chocolate bars melt into the cookies.
- Dried Cranberries
Tips and Tricks
Don’t skimp the vanilla in this cookie dough! If you want the most flavorful, delicious cookies, be sure to add in that vanilla!
I live my life with the belief that chocolate chips shouldn’t be measured. So if you think you have enough chocolate chips, add in a few more for good measure.
These Cranberry Dark Chocolate Cookies are so unbelievably good. I thought they were going to be delicious when I was crafting the recipe, but actually tasting them!? The melty, creamy, dark chocolate with the chewy, sweet and tart cranberries is such a delicious combination that will have you coming back for more!
Cheers!
-Holly Michelle
P.S. Can't get enough dark chocolate? Check out these Dark Chocolate Pretzel Cookies!
Cranberry Dark Chocolate cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 stick Butter room temperature
- 1 Egg plus one egg yolk
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar packed
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- ½ cup Dried Cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter with both sugars until light and fluffy
- Add in the egg and egg yolk, then mix.
- Add in vanilla.
- To the butter mixture, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together.
- Once the dry mixture is almost fully added, add in the chocolate chips and cranberries.
- Take a medium cookie scoop and place large dollops of cookie dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Top cookies with a few extra chocolate chips and bake for about 13 minutes.
- When the cookies are done, sprinkle with a little bit of flaky sea salt.
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