Dark Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies

Welcome to recipe 2 in our week of cookies.

As a refresher: this week I’m sharing 4 new cookie recipes on my blog to celebrate the release of Sally’s Cookie Addiction, my 3rd cookbook, on September 19th. We’re only 1 week away from its big debut! Don’t forget to enter this cookie supplies giveaway that ends on Sunday. 🙂

And did you miss yesterday’s new cookie recipe? Caramel apple thumbprint cookies!

Caramel + apple spice… you know I love ya, but does anything really compare to dark chocolate? Dark chocolate, cinnamon, almonds, and tart dried cranberries? There’s absolutely no contest. And I’m sorry to my one true love, ♥ raisins ♥, as they do not pair as beautifully with dark chocolate as dried cranberries do. (Who am I right now??)

These dark chocolate cranberry almond cookies are some of the best cookies I’ve made in awhile and they check off everything our cookie lists.

• Extreme softness.


• Crisp edges.


• Epic thickness (soooo darn thick).


• Sweet sweet cinnamon.


• Tart/nutty/dark chocolate flavor combo.


• Buttery. HOLY COW these are buttery cookies.

Bonus: I froze the majority of this batch to enjoy after our baby arrives. I also have a big ol’ container of these apple crumb muffins hanging out in there too. I’ve never been more excited about my freezer contents.

The cookie dough is a little bit of a test experiment. It’s based off of these soft chocolate chip cookies. I know that many of you love these cookies as much as I do, so it was a no-brainer starting off point for today’s variation. I added a teeny bit of flour to bulk up the dough, but not too much to dry out the baked cookies– only 2 Tablespoons. I reduced the cornstarch a tad, while still leaving in 1 teaspoon to ensure softness. I added a touch of cinnamon because FALL, p-l-e-n-t-y of real dark chocolate, and a generous handful of dried cranberries. And finally, some sliced almonds to bring together all these festive fall flavors.

One thing I didn’t change: more brown sugar than white sugar. Remember, that is what helps create a super soft and tender dough. And chilling the cookie dough! Most important step to avoid excess spreading.

CHOCOLATE OPTIONS!

You’ve got options here! For the dark chocolate, I recommend chopping up some quality dark chocolate bars. I used Baker’s brand, but Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Nestle baking bars also work. What I love most about using real chocolate bars (as opposed to chocolate chips which contain stabilizers) is that real chocolate melts down. And you get these crazy decadent pools of melted chocolate inside each warm cookie. Did you read that? Pools of melted chocolate.

Keeping that in mind, you could also get away with dark chocolate chips– I know Ghirardelli makes a 60% bittersweet chocolate chip that would be sooooo good in these. Of course, if dark chocolate just isn’t your thing, semi-sweet, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate works too. If it’s chocolate, it can’t be wrong.

Are you going to dunk these massively thick cookies into milk? I hope so.

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Dark Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies

★★★★★
5 from 2 reviews

• 
  Author: Sally


• 
  Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes


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  Cook Time: 12 minutes


• 
  Total Time: 2 hours, 35 minutes


• 
  Yield: 24 cookies


• 
  Category: Cookies


• 
  Method: Baking


• 
  Cuisine: American

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Description

By far one of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made! These super soft and thick dark chocolate cranberry almond cookies are full of flavor.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)


• 1 teaspoon baking soda


• 1 teaspoon cornstarch


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature


• 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar


• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar


• 1 large egg, at room temperature


• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


• 6 ounces (170g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*


• 3/4 cup (105g) dried cranberries


• 1/2 cup (55g) sliced, slivered, or chopped almonds (I used closer to 2/3 cup)*

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Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.


2. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.


3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, beat in the chocolate, dried cranberries, and almonds until combined. Cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.


4. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.


5. Roll cookie dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.


6. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chunks/dried cranberries/or almonds into the tops– this is only for looks!

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Notes

1. Make Ahead Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 4. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Click here for my tips and tricks on freezing cookie dough.


2. Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Silpat Baking Mat | Cookie Sheets | Cooling Rack


3. Chocolate: I used 1 and 1/2 4-ounce bars of Baker’s bittersweet chocolate to get the 6 ounces. You can also use a semi-sweet chocolate bar, a milk chocolate bar, or a white chocolate bar. 1 cup of chocolate chips works too!


4. Almonds: Anywhere around 1/2 – 2/3 cup sliced almonds is perfect.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sallysbakeblog on Instagramand hashtag it #sallysbakingaddiction

Remember my butterscotch pretzel chocolate chip cookies? Because you should make those too.

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