These Salted Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies are super thick and chewy with slightly crispy edges and a soft centre. Packed with walnuts, dried cranberries, rich dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt, these cookies are loaded with irresistible flavours!

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Remember when I made these White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies for Christmas a few months ago? Well I just noticed that I still had a huge bag of dried cranberries just sitting around waiting to be used. 

In my opinion, the best place for dried cranberries is inside a cookie, and since my white chocolate cranberry cookies were such a huge hit with my fam, I decided to make them again — with a twist! 

Salted Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies 

Once you’ve tried these Salted Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies, you’ll never want to go back to regular old chocolate chip cookies again. Well maybe you would, if you made my Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Speaking of which, since everyone who has made those cookies agreed that it was the BEST CCC recipe they’ve ever tried, I used those cookies as a base for these new ones. 

First, let me start by giving credit to Baker by Nature for being the inspiration behind these cookies. I thought those cookies looked absolutely amazing, and the flavour idea was totally unique. 

So I took my own chocolate chip cookie recipe to use as a base. One difference I made was that I threw in a bit of cinnamon to complement the other flavours. Now that I think about it, these cookies are perfect for Fall! Though I am posting them in Spring, so hey! I guess they’re perfect for any season. 

How to Make the Best Cookies

One of the major keys in making my amazing cookies is the butter. Some people soften the butter and cream it with the sugar, others melt the butter completely. I’m in the middle, I start with cold butter and melt it halfway. That way it’s half melted and half softened, this will give us a cookie that has both the soft and thick texture the softened butter method gives and the chewiness the melted butter method gives. The best of both worlds! 

Equal amounts of brown sugar and white sugar to make these cookies super soft, tender and a bit crispy. I should also mention that I used dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar this time around to add a deeper flavour to these cookies. 

And remember to chill the dough! It really helps and will give these cookies the best thickness and texture!

What Type of Chocolate Should You Use?

Instead of using chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, I chopped up a ton of real dark chocolate and threw it into these cookies! I recommend using the best-quality chocolate bar you can find, I used Belgian dark chocolate, but you can use Lindt, Ghirardelli or any other high-quality brands you can find. 

You can also use semisweet, milk or even white chocolate if you prefer. Though in my opinion, the dark chocolate compliments the other flavours best. 

Why do we use Chopped Chocolate instead of Chocolate Chips?

Chocolate chips were made to hold their shape when baked. However, real chopped chocolate will melt down completely. So when these cookies finish baking, you’ll be left with pockets of rich melted chocolate throughout the entire cookie! Of course after a few hours the chocolate will set up, but you can easily reheat them in the microwave for about 30 seconds and it’ll melt back down.

Along with the chopped dark chocolate, we’re gonna add a cup of sweet dried cranberries and chopped toasted walnuts. Now if you wanna switch things up a bit, you can replace the dried cranberries with raisins (if that’s your thing) and maybe use chopped toasted pecans or almonds instead of walnuts. 

This is definitely one of my favourite cookie recipes ever! They’re super soft in the middle with slightly crispy edges and perfectly thick — everything a cookie oughta be! 

The sweet and tart dried cranberries, rich dark chocolate and toasted walnuts compliment each other so well. The cinnamon cookie dough adds so much great flavour and a sprinkle of sea salt immediately after taking out of the oven perfectly ties all of these sweet flavours together! I can’t get enough!

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Salted Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies

Yield: 22 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 21 minutes

These Salted Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies are super thick and chewy with slightly crispy edges and a soft centre. Packed with walnuts, dried cranberries, rich dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt, these cookies are loaded with irresistible flavours!

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Ingredients

Cookies:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, cold
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 and ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped + more for topping
• ¾ cup sweetened dried cranberries + more for topping
• ¾ cup toasted walnuts, chopped + more for topping
• Coarse sea salt, for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Microwave the cold butter in 20 second intervals until the butter is halfway melted. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, add the semi melted butter and both sugars. Beat on medium speed until fully combined, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Turn the mixer to medium-low speed and add eggs one at a time and mix until just combined. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, add flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
5. Add dry ingredients to the stand mixer bowl and mix until incorporated. Fold in chopped dark chocolate, dried cranberries and chopped toasted walnuts. 
6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours or overnight. 
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Set aside.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator (if it’s been chilling for longer than 2 hours, let it sit for 30 minutes to make scooping easier) and scoop out ¼ cup of cookie dough. Roll dough into a ball. 
9. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing them about 2 to 3-inches apart on the cookie sheet so they have space to spread. 
10. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are set and the center of the cookies still look undercooked. Rotate the sheet at the 6 minute mark so the cookies can bake evenly. 
11. Remove from oven and immediately press more chopped chocolate, cranberries and chopped walnuts on top, along with a sprinkle of sea salt. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookies. 
12. These cookies are best served warm, but you can store the leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for about 1 week. Just reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Make Ahead: Cookie dough can be made and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Bring to room temperature before rolling into balls. 
2. Freezing: After rolling into balls, cookie dough can be stored in a ziplock bag in the freezer for 2-3 months. There’s no need to bring them to room temperature, just bake immediately from the freezer, however you’ll need to add an extra 1-2 minutes to the baking time. 
3. Chocolate: Use the best quality dark chocolate bar you can find. I used Belgian chocolate, but you can use Lindt, Ghirardelli or any other type of chocolate you prefer. You can even substitute for semisweet, white or milk chocolate. 
4. Cranberries & Walnuts: Dried cranberries can be substituted for raisins and walnuts can be substituted for toasted chopped pecans, almonds or any other kind of nuts you prefer.  
5. I like to use real chopped chocolate because it melts completely, but you can substitute for 1 cup of chocolate chips if you want to. 

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield, 5-Quart, Empire Red
• 
  Wilton 15 x 21-Inch 2105-0109 Perfect Results Non-Stick Mega Large Cookie Pan
• 
  Silpat Premium Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat, Half Sheet Size, 11-⅝" x 16-½"
• 
  Bellemain Cooling Rack - Baking Rack, Chef Quality 12 inch x 17 inch - Tight-Grid Design, Oven Safe, Fits Half Sheet Cookie Pan

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 22 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 269Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 202mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 2g

BON APPÉTIT!

Love, Dedra

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