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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!
How many does this recipe make, trying to decide if I need to double it. Thanks!
Hi Catherine! This makes about 18-24 cookies, depending on how big you make them. I ended up with 18 using a large cookie scoop.
Oh my gosh these look amazing!! I’ll have to paleo-ify them for me since I’m allergic to gluten but LOVE the idea!!
Thanks so much Dana! I hope they turn out just as deliciously GF!
These look amazing!! Can’t wait to try them! I want to make them for a holiday cookie swap–can you tell me how many cookies this recipe makes (or did I miss that somewhere)? Thanks!
Hi Lynn! I got 18 cookies from this batch using a large cookie scoop. You may get a few more if you use a smaller scoop. I hope you (and whoever receives them) love the cookies!
OK, most of the posts talked about the beautiful photos and how wonderful these must taste. Did anyone actually make them and follow the recipe? I did and I’m a pretty gosh darn good baker and the dough is unbelievably crumbly and impossible to work with. NEVER AGAIN and they were expensive to boot!
Hi Kathy, I’m so sorry you had trouble with the recipe. I’ve made it a few times and have had a few friends make it, and haven’t had any issues. The dough is a bit on the crumbly side because of all the add-ins, but it should have stuck together. Did the cookies not taste good? I’d love to help figure out what went wrong.
I had the same problem. The dough was so dry that I couldn’t shape the cookies at all (even after putting it in the fridge for awhile.) I tried to save it by adding a bit of vegetable oil, but it didn’t help. Maybe the measurements for the butter are off?
Hi Lee, I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you! Did you weigh out your flour? If your flour was too tightly packed in the measuring cup when it was measured, it could definitely make the dough too dry to work with. If you don’t have a scale, I recommend the scoop-and-level measuring method. I’ve made this recipe numerous times with this amount of butter and haven’t had any issues, so I’m not sure if that would be the cause of the issue.
I had the same problem. They’re so good, though, I had to make them work. Enter: the mini muffin pan. I packed the dough into 48 wee cups (minus some that had to go to testing, obviously), baked them until they were lightly brown – which was super quick – and drizzled them with melted chocolate. They are wonderful and the dough is much easier to work with. Hope to help out my fellow crumbly dough people!
Thanks for this tip, Sarah!! Sounds like a great solution to the problem. I’m going to play with the recipe a little bit to try and make the dough less crumbly, but I’m glad you figured out a way to make it work and enjoy the cookies. Happy holidays!
These cookies look amazing, so I made them for the first time for a party just now. Unfortunately, if you follow the recipe based on cups for flour (1 3/4c.), it’s far too much and the dough ends up being completely crumbly – I couldn’t even get a ball to form. I had to have my husband sift out the chocolate chunks and cranberries while I try to quickly whip up another batch using the weighing method (which makes the flour to be about 1 1/2 c.). We’ll see! I’m looking forward to the 2nd batch!
Hi Tammy, I’d love to know how the second batch turns out! I may need to adjust the measurement in the recipe, so I’d love your feedback if that change made the dough more cohesive.
I made the second batch and they came out fantastic! I reduced the flour down to 1 1/2 cups and kept everything else the same. Perfect! The nuttiness of the browned butter made them taste even better. They were a hit with my entire family and I’m sure they will be for the party, as well! Thank you!
Awesome! I’m going to adjust the recipe to 1 1/2 cups flour, thanks for your input. I always measure by weight, so my mistake that the volume measurement wasn’t correct. So glad you liked the cookies, Tammy.
I just tried this. When I combined suger and butter cream, fullyness never happened to me as if there was not enough butter. It was very crumbly. So even after mixing the flower mixture also turned out to be dry/crumbly.
Not sure what I do so wrong
Taste great with fresh cranberries. I enjoyed the contrast of sweet/tangy/salty.
Hi Michelle, I’m sorry you had issues! I actually just adjusted the recipe yesterday so reduce the amount of flour to 1 1/2 cups, which should make the dough less crumbly. You also need to ensure you scrape the sides of the saucepan to make sure you get all the butter out. I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavors though!
I made these (using the weight for measurements) and didn’t get creaminess when combining the butter and sugar – I didn’t see how it was possible! I proceeded with the recipe and added the egg, and from there on I was able to get the right texture. The end result is fantastic.
Hi Marissa, it does take a few minutes for the mixture to get creamy. I’m glad the recipe turned out well for you. Thanks for commenting, happy holidays!
Great Recipe! Is there anyone out there that knows if it is possible to add cocoa to the recipe for even MORE chocolate without changing the chemistry of our cookie?
Hi Ryan! This recipe will be a little tricky to convert, but if you want the same flavors in a chocolate cookie, I recommend using the recipe for my Loaded Dark Chocolate Cookies, but replacing the butterscotch, PB & caramel chips with the dried and fresh cranberries. Enjoy!
These cookies are SO good! I made some yesterday and they’re all gone already! The only adjustment I found I needed was an extra egg to give them a bit more moisture, but otherwise these are absolutely delicious :-D
Awesome! So glad to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Cosette. Thanks for commenting! Happy holidays!
Wonderful recipe. These are in the oven right now and looking marvelous. I used all fresh cranberries (3/4c), half the recommended amount of sugar, added 1/2c chopped walnuts and a little extra freshly ground nutmeg (1/2t). I also did not wait and chill the dough. Above all ingredients, I can smell the brown butter most. Might even go for a little more nutmeg next time. Thank you!!
Hope you love them, Mariah! Isn’t brown butter the best?!
I’m planning to make several kinds of cookies for gifts, do you know if these will be ok if I freeze and thaw them? Thanks for any suggestions, trying to plan to cut down on what needs to be done last minute : )
Hi, yes they should be just fine to freeze and thaw! :)