These delicious and easy to make cookies are filled with the sweet fruity taste of cranberries and decadent chunks of dark chocolate. Perfect for parties, large batch baking, or filling up the freezer for a quick and easy dessert! Guaranteed to be the recipe you can’t go wrong with!
The Key to a Great Cookie
There are TONS of cookie recipes all over the internet these days! Everyone claims to have the “best” or the “softest” and many other words to describe why their cookie is number one. I have to say in most cases, the best cookie is the one I’m eating- they’re all delicious!
This tip is specifically for this recipe and that is chilling the dough. Sounds super simple! However, for this recipe it is the key. I will be honest, I skip over this step on pretty much all cookie recipes I find online. You can with this one but I have found that the best results happen with adding this very inconvenient and somewhat annoying step.
So to get the best cookie using this recipe I highly recommend chilling the dough overnight in the refrigerator. If you are short on time you can chill the dough in the freezer for about an hour instead. The reason for this step and its necessity is that it helps all the butter to incorporate with the other ingredients. If you choose not to chill the dough you will have a GREAT tasting cookie but it will be a bit less fluffy and very flat. This is great if you prefer a crunchier taste.
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Making it Healthier
I realize this is a cookie recipe and more than likely if you are here you probably are not looking for a healthy version! However, I always like to offer options in my recipes for a bit of a healthier option. I will not say that using this method will make these cookies “healthy”, it may just make them better for those with dietary issues. Here are some tips…
- These cookies do call for lots of sugar. I personally prefer using organic cane sugar. It is still sugar but it is a bit less processed and a more natural option. The recipe also calls for a good bit of brown sugar. If you want a healthier option you could use the same amount of brown coconut sugar instead or make your own brown sugar using maple syrup and cane sugar.
- Using organic cranberries sourced from a place you can trust is another way to make a more healthy, natural version of this recipe. I use Thrive Market.
- Zero added sugar (or lower sugar count) dark chocolate is another great way to help these cookies be a bit friendlier to the body. There is plenty of sugar in the cookie itself that when you add a low sugar or zero sugar chocolate it actually creates a beautifully balanced taste.
Ingredient List for Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
As always I like to provide a little grocery list in addition to the ingredient list found in the recipe card. To make it simple you can copy and paste the list below to your notes app or screenshot this section of the post.
- white sugar (or organic cane sugar)
- brown sugar (or brown coconut sugar)
- eggs- 2 large
- butter- 2 sticks or 1 cup
- vanilla extract
- baking powder
- baking soda
- all-purpose flour
- 1 bar dark chocolate
- cranberries- about 1/2-3/4 cup depending on preference
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Freezing Cookie Dough
The most efficient method for freezing cookie dough is to freeze them in individual, pre-shaped cookies that are ready to pop on a pan and into the oven. This method is perfect for individual or small family snacking. Larger families may find it easier to bulk freeze the dough since you will need more cookies at a time.
To individually freeze pre-shaped cookies, line a baking sheet with parchment, shape balls or rounds of cookie dough, place them on the baking sheet and allow to freeze overnight or until solid. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet after freezing and place them in an airtight container or ziplock freezer back for storage. To bake simply place cookie dough pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup white or cane sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar or brown coconut sugar
- 2 sticks salted butter softened
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 3-3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 bar dark chocolate hand chopped into chunks
- ½-¾ cup organic dried cranberries
Instructions
- Cream together softened butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Add salt, baking powder, baking soda, and 2 cups of flour. Continue adding ½ cup of flour at a time until the dough is thick and holds shape well.
- Add hand chopped chocolate bar (chunks) and ½-¾ cup of cranberries to the dough. You may need to hand mix them into the batter because of the thickness.
- OPTIONAL (for best results): Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator overnight or in the freezer for one-two hours.
- Arrange the dough on a greased baking sheet and bake for 325℉ for 8-10 minutes or until the tops start to turn golden brown.
