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These Double Cranberry Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies have a browned butter and nutmeg dough loaded with chocolate chunks & cranberries, both dried and fresh! The fresh cranberries add a tart bite to these cookies. They’re the perfect addition to your holiday cookie platters!
Cranberries are a symbol of winter. The festive, cheery red color, the sweet sauce (hopefully homemade) that gets slathered all over your Thanksgiving dinner, and the piles of bags of cranberries that you see placed at the front of the produce section of the market, basking in their 15 minutes of fame, until Christmas passes and they’re replaced.
And this year, I’m preparing for cranberry overload because I’ve been having too much fun playing with cranberries in the kitchen! I’ve always adored the tart, sweet bite that cranberries add to any dessert, and I’ve always fondly remembered how much I loved these browned butter cranberry lime muffins that I made way back when Bakerita was only a few months old. The tartness of cranberries adds a flavor to dessert that I find absolutely enticing, and if you’ve never tried it, well…you’re in for a major treat.
The dough for these cookies is a favorite. We start with some browned butter (invite your friends over because your house will smell amazing). It makes the cookies ultra chewy! The browned butter makes the dough extra special with just a hint of ground nutmeg. The nutmeg is subtle but there and highly recommended. It adds an extra hint of holiday warmth and comfort and pairs beautifully with the browned butter and the cranberries.
How to brown butter:
Melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium skillet, stirring nearly continuously. Butter will melt, then begin to foam. It will then begin to turn golden brown and smell nutty. Take the pan off the heat as soon as the butter turns brown. Continue to stir for about 1 minute to ensure carryover heat doesn’t continue to cook and subsequently burn the already browned butter. Transfer the browned butter to a small bowl, scraping the sides of the pan to get ALL of the toasty brown butter bits. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the butter is solidified but still soft.
Now, we add double the cranberry. We add fresh, bright cranberries and chewy, dried, sweet cranberries are to the dough, along with chunks of dark chocolate. Fresh cranberries add a gorgeous shock of red color to any dish that they grace. I love how that pop of color adds some lively, festive cheer to these cookies.
If you’ve been around Bakerita a bit, you know I love to chop my chocolate for cookies instead of using chocolate chips. But you can do what’s most convenient! If you’ve never tried chopped chocolate, I highly recommend it. Many chocolate chip brands use wax to help them hold their shape, which inhibits their meltiness. The chocolate in the cookies will stay soft and gooey by using chopped chocolate, just as I like it!
These cookies disappeared off the plate in record time and were a major house favorite. The cranberries make for an unexpected but most definitely welcome addition to the cookie party. These Double Cranberry Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies are perfect for your cookie platter this holiday season or simply to share with family and friends and bask in a little holiday love. Enjoy!
Double Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick, 4 oz unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature
- 1/4 cup 2 oz white sugar
- 1 cup 7.5 oz light brown sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 oz. dark chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (or add more as desired, up to 6 oz)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt, for sprinkling on top before baking
Instructions
How to brown butter
- Melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium skillet, stirring nearly continuously. Butter will melt, then begin to foam. It will then begin to turn golden brown and smell nutty. As soon as the butter begins to turn brown, take the pan off the heat and continue to stir for about 1 minute to ensure carryover heat doesn’t continue to cook and subsequently burn the already browned butter.
- Transfer the browned butter to a small bowl, scraping the sides of the pan to get ALL of the toasty brown butter bits. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the butter is solidified but still soft.
To make the cookies
- Add the butter to a large mixing bowl. Add the sugars, and cream the butter and the sugars until fully combined, about 5 minutes on medium-high. Scrape down the side of the bowl.
- Continue mixing and add the egg. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, baked soda, nutmeg, and salt in another bowl with a whisk to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over-mix. The dough may be slightly crumbly. Fold in the dark chocolate, dried cranberries, and fresh cranberries with a spatula. Refrigerate dough for at least one hour 1 hour, or up to 5 days.
- Use a medium-sized cookie scoop to form cookies. Sprinkle a light amount of sea salt on top. Bake at 350ºF for 11 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Cool completely before storing. Enjoy!
OMG you are the queen of the cookies, Rachel!! This looks so divine and delicious!!! Thanks for the tip on using chopped chocolate instead of chips : )
What a compliment! Thanks so much, Olivia.
Rachel,
love these cookies!! anything that starts with browned butter is a-ok by me!! so festive and love love the fresh cranberries! so pretty!!
Yes! These look so good. The brown butter in these cookies must really kick the flavor up. Those cranberry pieces really make this cookie look divine! Yum!
Looooove these! I am a big dark chocolate/cranberry fan!
They look fabulous..love how thick and soft the cookies are! Pinning.
These cookies are gorgeous! Love cranberry and dark chocolate together! So perfect for the holidays!
Hello! I made these this afternoon. The dough was very loose and didn’t form well. It really wasn’t sticky. Is this how it’s supposed to be?
Hi Kristin. The dough isn’t supposed to be sticky necessarily. I’m not sure what you mean by loose, was it too wet or too dry? Sorry I can’t help more – I just need a few more specifics!
I guess too dry? It was difficult to get the dough to form and hold into small balls. The still taste delicious. I’m hoping to make them again, so just wondering if I did something wrong!
I made slightly large cookies, so maybe that could have been the problem. You can try making them bigger next time! Also, because they have so much stuff loaded in them, dough can get crumblier. Oh, and make sure you aren’t using too much flour! If you don’t have a kitchen scale, gently spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level so the flour doesn’t get packed in. Hope this helps!!
Lovely, thank you for the suggestions! Love the recipe! :))
Glad to hear that! Thanks for commenting and trying the cookies, Kristin!
Um WHAT. I just licked my computer screen.
I’ve been playing with cranberries a lot too and I just can’t get enough of them! These cookies look soo good and they are filled with some of my favorite things!