Dark Chocolate Cookies with Cranberries and Walnuts
These dark chocolate cranberry walnut cookies have a crisp edge and a soft, fudgy center studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips , dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts.
- Prep
- 20 mins
- Cook
- 10 mins
- Total
- 30 mins
- Makes
- 36 cookies
These Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies have a crispy outside and a soft, fudgy center packed with semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and toasted chopped walnuts. They are rich and chocolatey, need no dough chilling before baking, and make a great addition to any holiday cookie box!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
The taste. These cookies deliver a little sweet, a little tart, and a hint of nutty flavor. It is a three-way flavor combination in cookie form!
The texture. The edges turn crisp while the middle stays soft and fudgy. Every bite brings a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and toasted Diamond of California chopped walnuts.
Great for a holiday cookie box! This recipe makes 36 cookies, so it is easy to fill your holiday tins. They are just as good for sharing with family at home!
No cookie dough chilling! Like my Lemon Shortbread Cookies and my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookies, this dough needs no chilling at all, so you can mix, bake, and enjoy them right away.
What You Will Need
To make these dark chocolate cranberry walnut cookies, gather the following ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour. Use your favorite brand. I did not test these with any other kind.
- Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder. Regular unsweetened cocoa works just as well.
- Baking Soda and Salt. Baking soda is the usual leavening in cookie recipes. The salt rounds out the flavors and balances the bitterness of the unsweetened dark cocoa.
- Unsalted Butter. It should be softened and at room temperature.
- Sugars. You will need granulated sugar or organic pure cane sugar, plus light brown sugar. If measuring the brown sugar with cups, pack it in lightly.
- Eggs. You will need two large eggs, at room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract. Pure vanilla gives the best flavor!
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. You can also use milk chocolate in place of semi-sweet.
- Dried Cranberries. Look for these in the dried fruit section of your grocery store.
- Diamond of California Chopped Walnuts. These come in the Baker's Box from Diamond of California, which you can find at your nearest Costco! The box holds 3 bags, each 22-ounce, of chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, and slivered almonds. Costco also sells an online-exclusive Baker's Box with macadamia nuts in place of the slivered almonds. Be sure to toast the walnuts before folding them into the dough to bring out their wonderful aroma!
How to Make the Recipe
Here is a short overview of how to make these easy dark chocolate cranberry walnut cookies.
Toast the chopped walnuts. Use a small skillet over medium heat. No oil is needed at all! Toast them for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until they smell fragrant and turn slightly darker than when you started. Do not walk away, since they can darken quickly.
Toasting the chopped walnuts is optional, but it really boosts their flavor alongside the other ingredients.
Make the cookie dough. Whisk the dry ingredients together, then mix the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. A hand mixer or a stand mixer works for this step.
Fold in the rest. Use a spatula or spoon to stir in the semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and toasted Diamond of California chopped walnuts.
Scoop and bake. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375ºF. I fit 12 cookies on each baking sheet using my 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop.
Let the cookies cool. Leave them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a wire cooling rack. They will be very soft, so use a spatula! For perfectly round cookies straight from the oven, see my tips below!
Tips for Perfectly Round Cookies
Use a cookie scoop. I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop.
Use a circle cookie cutter. Right after the cookies come out of the oven, press a circle cookie cutter, or any round object a little wider than the cookie, over each one. Move it in a circle until the cookie forms a perfect round.
For a more detailed walkthrough, check out my Salted Brownie Crinkle Cookies recipe!
More Cookies You Will Enjoy
If you tried this Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and tell me what you thought in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Dark Chocolate Cookies with Cranberries and Walnuts
These dark chocolate cranberry walnut cookies have a crisp outside and a soft, fudgy inside, filled with semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and toasted chopped walnuts. They are a rich, chocolatey cookie that needs no dough chilling and fits right into any holiday cookie box!
- Prep
- 20 mins
- Cook
- 10 mins
- Total
- 30 mins
- Makes
- 36 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed
- 2 Large Eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1/2 cup Diamond of California Chopped Walnuts, lightly toasted
- 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
Method
- In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the chopped walnuts for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly until they smell fragrant and look slightly darker. You do not need any oil in the skillet.
- Move the oven rack to the 2nd position from the top, just above center, preheat the oven to 375ºF, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, unsweetened dark cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Switch the mixer to low and slowly add the whisked dry ingredients until just combined. Then fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips, toasted chopped walnuts, and dried cranberries.
- Using a spoon or a cookie scoop (I used the 1 1/2 tablespoon size), drop the dough onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375ºF.
- Take them out of the oven and let them cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of bread for up to a week.
Baker’s notes
- Adapted from my Double Chocolate Salted Caramel Cookies recipe.
