I have today off, but Josh had to work…so I am having a “me” day. I am going to the gym, doing a little shopping, cleaning, and baking. I also hope to start a new book and relax for a little bit.
After the holidays, I took a baking break. I tend to overdo it during December, I just can’t stop baking. I love it, but it wore me out this year.
My break didn’t last very long. I missed my KitchenAid Mixer, she is my best friend in the kitchen, besides my husband:) Baking is also a great stress reliever for me-I need to bake-it cheers me up. I turn on my tunes and let my creative juices go. I love the entire process- measuring, mixing, taking my creation out of the oven, testing, and sharing with others. Baking makes me happy. I just love it.
I was having a “down” day last week so I decided to bake dark chocolate cranberry cookies to lift my spirits. These cookies did the trick. I loved getting back into my baking groove. I usually do white chocolate with cranberry, but this time I decided to go dark. I loved the sweet cranberries with the deep dark chocolate. Mmmm!
I am going to make these for Valentine’s Day-I think they are the perfect cookie for the day of LOVE! Bake a batch for your special someone!
Dark Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
- 1/2 c. white sugar
- 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 1/4 c. flour
- 1 1/4 c. oats
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips I used Nestle Special Dark
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat and set aside.
- Combine sugars and butter with an electric mixer until creamy-this will take about two minutes. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl combine the salt, baking powder, soda, flour. Whisk together. Add flour mixture slowly to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
- Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries.
- Make dough balls-about 1 Tablespoon of dough per cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges and starting to set. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for about three minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Have you tried this recipe?
Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod
If you like these cookies, you might also like:
Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and White Chocolate from Two Peas and Their Pod
Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod
Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod
Oatmeal Flaxseed Cranberry Cookies from Baking Bites
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from Andrea’s Recipes
yummy! I want to make these for Josh but use cherries instead of cranberries (crazy guy isn’t a cranberry fan). Hope you had fun at pump this morning and got a great workout! I just got back from teaching pump and am about to get started on work! I may make a batch of granola bars though…hmmm 🙂
These cookies look delicious!
Baking is a stress reliever for me too! I love it 🙂
Enjoy your day off!
Oooh! These look so good! I love the flavours in them =D.
I so can relate with you. Were trying to eat better and therfore I have been doing much less baking. My daughter lost 5 pounds since I cut back on my baking! She is in track so this has been a good time for me to cut back during her training for the Simplot Games.
We had so many cookies during Christmas, I was sick of sweets too. But like you I like to bake and it relaxes me a whole bunch!
Your cookies look so good and Im sure they made you feel better! Be sure to check out my blog on TWD day. The bars we made are incredible! I gave most of them away!!
Enjoy your day off and happy MLKJD!
Dark chocolate & cranberries? Sign me up!
omg I am obsessed with dried cranberries in cookies! Love these!
I love the combination of dark chocolate and cranberries! I took a baking break as well but had to get back into it this weekend – I missed my mixer too 🙂
Fabulous! You usually see cranberries with white chocolate, but I love the idea of dark!
I’m jealous of your day! My husband is working and both boys are off from school. I am going to take them to yoga with me and then we’ll do something fun. Cookies are in my future too!
Sounds like a fabulous combination Maria! I agree, baking is such a stress reliever 🙂
Oooh, nice! Dark chocolate and dried fruit is a winning combo!
I am making these for sure! I love the Hershey’s Dark Chocolate chips, excellent.
I also have some cranberries to use up. These look delicious.
I love dark chocolate – looks yummy!
Baking makes me happy, too! These look delicious! I love chocolate and cranberries together! 🙂
i love to bake as well, there’s just something so calming abou it. i’m in love with those cookies, and if it’s any consolation, i saw on dr. oz that dark chocolate is actually a “tummy tightening” food. so these cookies are practically health food!
you’re right–there’s something about the deep red cranberries and deep, rich dark chocolate that makes these appropriate for v day. make ’em in the shape of heart, why dontcha? 🙂
I love baking, too. You probably knew that! 😉
Yum to the cookies. I just made some the other day with dark chocolate and tart dried cherries-also a great combo, they also had some granola and were on the vegan/healthy side. Good stuff.
Your cookies look perfect!
I love baking too. It gets my creative juices flowing for sure. Would you believe I still do not have a mixer? Crazy I know.
Baking cheers me up too! I know these cookies would make me happy too!
Lovely cookies! That is a terrific combo!
Cheers,
Rosa
I tend to head to the kitchen for a pick me up too. There is something comforting in the predictability and the process of baking. These cookies sound so interesting – wouldn’t have thought of this combo but it sounds delightful!
happy to hear these cookies were able to lift your spirits!! Have a wonderful me day!!
these sound delicious!!
Mmm wow these look delicious, I bet dark chocolate and cranberries go perfectly together in cookies!
Great minds – I’ve just posted something very similar!!!
These cookies look nice! gloria
Dark chocolate plus anything works for me. Toss in some oatmeal, and I get really happy.
So, what book did you start? I just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (I wonder if anyone has ever made and enjoyed a Potato Peel Pie) and it was awesome. I think my next book will be Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
These really look wonderful. Enjoy your day off.
Oh, to have a cook like you in our home!
Maria, thanks so much for your comment on my site! It led me to discover your gorgeous blog! Your cookies look divine especially with the addition of cranberries. I made some dark chocolate choc. chip cookies and my husband’s little nieces even noticed the difference it makes as compared to semisweet.
Look forward to checking out your archives!
Did not last long indeed, lol 🙂 I like how it sits on its throne of chocolate chips. I bet it tastes fabulous! 🙂
I just made these cookies with craisins and milk chocolate chips (ran out of dark choc) and they are delicious!! Next time im gonna try them with dark chocolate. I just posted a pic of on Twitter 🙂
My bf (and friends) love your Apple Cinnamon Squares, I think these cookies will be a hit too. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
I know I’m probably the only person in America that does not like CC Cookies! But adding the dried cranberries makes CC Cookies extra special…have to make some!
Baking makes me happy, too girl! Though I do still have some Christmas cookies in my garage. They are going in the trash tomorrow. I haven’t baked a cookie since Christmas!
Thanks everyone! I had a great day off!
Dawn-you need to get a KA mixer for that new kitchen:)
Liz-I started The Sharper the Knife, The Less You Cry. Have you read it?
Nadia-thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again:)
Chef Panda-I am glad you liked the cookies and the apple cinnamon squares!
LOVE the combination of the sweet cranberries and intense dark chocolate! my kind of oatmeal cookie!
What pretty looking cookies! They sounds really tasty, too! Love chocolate and cranberry!
yum! i don’t care for white chocolate so the dark makes me want these! you are supposed to call on your friends when you have a down day girl… 🙂 you doin’ ok? xo
YUM! These look great, as always!
your cookies look very yummy! I am doing a cookie sale in Feb… I will try some of your recipes
What a great cookie for Valentine’s Day! Cranberries and dark chocolate go so great together. I will give these a try for sure.
Oooh, I have some dried cranberries I’m trying to use up right now!!
What a delicious variation of the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. There’s nothing like a little dark chocolate to perk you up when you are feeling down 🙂
Haha, when I was reading this I was thinking the exact opposite. Baking stresses me out! I am not one to measure ingredients, or follow recipes, so it is safe to say I have had some frustration baking 🙂 However, the way you feel baking is totally the way I feel cooking! These cookies look wonderful, I think I will make a batch for v-day!
These cookies look great. I love dark chocolate and cranberries. I’m thinking I should get my hubby to make these for ME for Valentines Day! I’ll let you know how that goes… LOL
OOOOO. I Will definitely be making these 😀
Lovely biccies! Cranberries seem so popular and are slowly catching on here in the UK too.
Your baking puts me to shame! My mouth is watering right now!!
Cranberries and dark chocolate are delicious together. I think you did the right thing with these cookies. Your V-day idea is great.
I know how you feel about baking. When I’m home alone all day, baking is like a default activity.
This does sound like a match made in heaven. And they look beautiful as well.
I love the combination of dark chocolate with the cranberries. Yum!
Hooray for oats in there too. I love oats in my cookies! These are perfect for the day of love.
I love both dark chocolate and cranberries so I’m sure these would be amazing and disappear quickly at my house!
Great flavour combo.
It’s my first time to your blog and I love it! Great looking recipes and photos.
Ohh my gosh that looks good, what a great combination!
Looks like a fabulous combo!!! I love chocolate and cranberries together.
Me days are so nice, but like you I end up in the kitchen anyway lol. Your cookies look so good! Cranberries and dark chocolate are a great idea, I think I’ll keep this to make for my husband.
Laura
Sorry you were having a down day! Hope things are looking up now! These cookies look like a great pick-me-up!
Baking makes me happy too! These are definitely a perfect Valentine’s Day cookie idea. I know I would love the dark chocolate and cranberry combo — it’s too bad I can’t get my boyfriend to eat either one. Maybe I’ll just make them for me. 🙂
Ooh, I’m a huge fan of “me” days! You know, they say dark chocolate helps lift your mood so you were right on target.
The Kitchen Aid is my bestie too.
These cookies would be great for Valentines Day or any day! The dark chocolate is a nice energy and emotional booster 🙂
I cranberries almost as much as I love dark chocolate so these look like the perfect cookie recipe for me to try! I always use the Hershey special dark chips too-there’s nothing better!
I understand. I love to cook or bake to lift my spirits. Kitchen time takes me into another world. Cranberries are a favorite of mine in cookies and in savory foods, and chocolate makes the world better.
i really love this combo. so what do you jam to when you’re baking?????
Thanks for all of your comments! I think these are a great sweet treat for Valentine’s Day.
Live Love Eat-I usually turn on Pandora-so a mix of music. I like everything but country:)
Me days are the best! These look amazing!
Wow! I love chocolate chip cookies and looking at the ingredient list, they seem a bit healthier than other recipes I’ve seen and tried. I need to try this recipe.
Thanks! 😀
these were awesome!!! perfect treat for valentine’s day. i used orange-flavored cranberries and they were an excellent accent to the dark chocolate. i can’t wait to try more recipes from your site. thanks so much!
Seriously delicious cookies. Bookmarked Maria. I think dark chocolate and cranberries/sour cherries are a match made in heaven. YUM!!
These look great Maria! Great minds think alike. I posted a Oatmeal Cranberry Dark Chocolate cookie this week too. 🙂 I love the combo of cranberries and dark chocolate.
These look dense and decadent… just how a cookie should be!
These cookies were delicious! Thanks so much for posting!!
I just baked your white choc version, and we LOVED it! I’ve tried several versions and like yours best.
So my husband asked me to also try a dark chocolate version, since he loves DC. I just informed him that you have it covered, and he’s pleased about that, too!! 🙂
Love the striped background. Such a happy, poppy color. It makes me think of old fashioned bakeries and candy shops. Lovely imagery!
And I definitely think baking is therapeutic and cheaper than getting a massage. 🙂
I made two batches for my grandson to take on his school ‘camp’ to Stewart Island. Â Apparently they were a great it. Â I didn’t put the oats in them and so they spread a little more than usual – the kids loved them (and so did I).
Glad they were a hit!
Made these today, with vegan butter and a flax egg. Also added about a 1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts. worked very well. Great recipe. Thanks!
I made these today with vegan butter (Earth Balance) and a flax egg and added some macadamia nuts. They were great. Easy recipe, thanks!