Classic chocolate chip cookies get a holiday flavor boost when tart dried cranberries and bitter dark chocolate are combined in these Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies. They are sure to be a new hit for this Christmas baking season.
COOK + BAKE | Updated November 25, 2023
One ingredient that screams Christmas is cranberries.
When I see the seasonal fruit in a recipe, I know that it will be a perfect one to try for the holiday season. And the colorful pop of red is always a welcome addition to any Christmas cookie tray.
In this particular treat, dried cranberries take a traditional chocolate chip cookie and transform it into something sure to excite those reaching for a baked good this holiday.
And they freeze well, too, which means you can make a couple batches to enjoy as you please over the next month or so.
What’s Special About These Cookies
You won’t find many people who dislike chocolate chip cookies, even if they aren’t considered a favorite. But there are times when you want to dress them up and take them a little past basic and safe. These Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies do just that.
PAIRING OF FLAVORS
What makes these cookies especially unique is the combination of a slightly tart cranberry, hint of bitter dark chocolate and deep, almost caramel flavor of the dark brown sugar.
ELEVATED BAKERY STYLE
You’ll find some tips here in this post that will guide you towards easily making cookies that look like they’ve been purchased from a fancy bakery.
Little details like using chocolate chunks over ordinary chocolate chips and adding a few more pieces of chocolate and cranberry into the top of the cookie after baking make all the difference.
CHANGE UP THE INGREDIENTS
I love recipes that are flexible where you can use the same base recipe to make a variety of different flavors and combinations.
While the cranberry dark chocolate combination is delicious, you can use any dried fruit (raisins, chopped up dates, dried cherries, etc.) or type of chocolate (milk and white).
And feel free to add your favorite type of nut, too. You just want to make sure that your additions don’t exceed two cups total, so if you’re adding nuts, you’ll want to decrease the amount of chocolate and cranberries.
What You’ll Need
Want to try making these cookies? Here’s the ingredients you’ll need:
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda - helps to give your cookies that golden hue
- salt
- unsalted butter - I prefer unsalted so that I can control the amount of salt in my recipes
- dark brown sugar - dark brown sugar has a deeper, more caramel flavor thanks to the additional molasses, but feel free to substitute light brown sugar if you don’t have any
- granulated sugar
- corn syrup
- large eggs
- vanilla extract
- dried cranberries - learn more about how to rehydrate and plump them up below
- dark chocolate chunks or chopped baker’s chocolate - you want to use real chocolate over chocolate chips for the added flavor and meltability
How to Make Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Making these cookies is not much different than a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe. I’ll walk you through what I did here, but a printable recipe with the full ingredients list and instructions appear near the end of the post.
STEP 1: Before putting your ingredients together, you may want to soak your dried cranberries. This step is optional, but rehydrating dried fruits makes them plump and ensures they won’t dry out further when baking. This is especially important if your dried cranberries are older and more dried out.
HOW TO REHYDRATE DRIED CRANBERRIES
- Pour boiling water over cranberries in a glass bowl until completely covered.
- Allow them to soak for 10-30 minutes. When done, they will be plump and round. Some rehydrate more quickly than others depending on how dry or old they are.
- Drain using a strainer or colander, pat the cranberries dry and return them to the bowl. They are now ready to be added to your recipe.
STEP 2: Combine your dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
STEP 3: Using an electric mixer, beat butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar and corn syrup just until creamy on medium speed. Then beat in the eggs and vanilla until blended.
STEP 4: Reduce speed to low and slowly add your flour mixture in batches making sure that each amount is mixed in before adding more.
STEP 5: Fold in two thirds of both the cranberries and chocolate chunks with a silicone spatula or wood spoon. (If you aren’t planning to press extra cranberries or chocolate into the tops of the cookies after baking, you can add the full cup of both ingredients now.)
STEP 6: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least one hour to overnight.
STEP 7: When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375°. Use a cookie scoop to drop dough by rounded Tablespoons onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet, two inches apart. Keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator until ready to use.
STEP 8: Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until they are golden brown.
STEP 9: Immediately after removing the cookie sheet from the oven, press some of your remaining cranberries and chocolate chunks into the tops of the cookies. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
STEP 10: Repeat the steps with your remaining dough.
Tips for Success
Whenever I’m trying a recipe for the first time, I try to investigate what steps I can take to ensure my cookies, cakes, or baked goods turn out exactly like they are supposed to. Aside from getting your ingredients ready ahead of time and measuring correctly, these are a few other helpful tips for this particular recipe.
USE DRIED CRANBERRIES OVER CRAISINS
Craisins typically have a sweeter flavor, so you’ll want to grab plain dried cranberries when shopping for ingredients. While it won’t technically hurt your recipe, it will alter the overall flavor profile.
CHILL YOUR DOUGH
You’ll need to allot at least an hour for chilling your dough in the fridge before putting your cookies into the oven. This firms up the soft cookie dough, which prevents the cookies from over-spreading as they bake. It also gives the flavors in the dough a change to settle and meld together.
USE A COOKIE SCOOP
A cookie scoop is your best friend when it comes to making cookies that are of equal size quickly. Not only does this help visually for great looking cookies, but they also bake better.
EXTRA CRANBERRIES AND CHOCOLATE
As I mentioned above, this step is completely optional, but for an elevated bakery style touch, you can press additional cranberries and chocolate chunks that you’ve reserved into the tops of your cookies. As soon as you remove the pan from the oven, simply press a few of each into the top and take your cookies from basic homemade to bakery wow.
Recipe Variations
We all like to change up a good recipe once in awhile, either for simply a change in taste or because we’ve got ingredients to use up (or are missing something!) This recipe is perfect for customizing and getting creative!
CHOCOLATE
While I’ve written the recipe specifically for dark chocolate, you can use whatever your favorite type of chocolate is and whatever brand you prefer. And you can buy it already in chunks or purchase 8 ounces of baker’s chocolate that you can chop yourself.
What’s important is that you use real chocolate over processed chocolate chips for the best flavor.
DRIED FRUIT
Dried cranberries are perfect for Christmas cookies, but you can prepare this recipe year round just by changing up the dried fruit you include. Add dried cherries, blueberries, chopped up dates or apricots, or raisins.
ADD NUTS
I’m not a nut-in-my-chocolate-chip-cookies kind of girl, but I know many people love the additional ingredient. Feel free to add pecans, walnuts, pistachios, or whatever your favorite is to the recipe.
Just make sure that you keep all of your add-ins (the chocolate, fruit, and nuts) equal to two cups. So, if you add the nuts, you’ll want to add less chocolate and fruit.
CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES
Classic chocolate chip cookies get a holiday flavor boost when tart dried cranberries and bitter dark chocolate are combined for a recipe that is sure to be a holiday hit.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried cranberriese
- 1 cup dark chocolate chunks or 8 ounces of baker’s chocolate chopped into bite sized chunks
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1: (Optional) Soak cranberries in boiling water for 10-30 minutes to make them more plump and soft.
STEP 2: In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
STEP 3: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup on medium speed until just creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until blended.
STEP 4: Reduce the speed to low and slowly add flour mixture in batches making sure each amount is mixed in before adding more.
STEP 5: Fold in two thirds of both the cranberries and chocolate chunks with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Reserve the other one third of each for pressing into the tops of cookies after baking.
STEP 6: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour to overnight.
STEP 7: When you’re ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 375°.
STEP 8: Drop dough by rounded Tablespoons (I like to use a cookie scoop) onto a parchment lined baking sheet, two inches apart. Keep remaining dough in the refrigerator until ready to use.
STEP 9: Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
STEP 10: (Optional) Immediately after removing cookie sheet from oven, press some of the remaining cranberries and chocolate chunks into the tops of the cookies. Then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the above steps with your remaining dough.
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week or in the freezer for up to one month.
Frequently Asked Questions
HOW SHOULD THESE COOKIES BE STORED?
The cranberry chocolate chunk cookies should be stored in an airtight container on the counter for up to one week.
CAN THE CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES BE FROZEN?
Absolutely! Place them in an airtight container with waxed paper or parchment between the layers for up to two months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature. If you’d like a freshly baked taste, reheat them in the oven for a few minutes.
IS IT NECESSARY TO USE BOTH BROWN AND GRANULATED SUGAR?
Sugar does more than just sweeten your cookies. The brown sugar helps give them a chewier and softer texture, while the white sugar aids in your cookies spreading. A combination of the two results in more flavor and a more moist cookie.
These Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies are a seasonal twist to a traditional chocolate chip cookie that will be well received by all those who try them.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHUNK GINGERBREAD COOKIES
- CRANBERRY PISTACHIO BISCOTTI
- RASPBERRY JAM GINGERSNAP SANDWICH COOKIES
- SOUR CREAM COOKIES - a family favorite that is similar to sugar cookies!
A FEW MORE CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies by Ella Claire & Co. || Whipped Shortbread Cookies by Inspired By Charm || Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies by anderson + grant
Stamped Gingerbread Glaze Cookies by Handmade Farmhouse || Peppermint Sugar Cookies by Fruetcake || M&M Christmas Cookies by I Heart Naptime
Click here to see all of the Tastes of the Season recipes I've shared in the past.