Chocolate-Dipped Cranberry Cookies

I wanted some Christmas cookie variety this year, so I found this fruity cookie to add to the mix. I thought that the tartness of the cranberries would be a great pairing with the smooth chocolate coating.

I didn’t mind the cookies (I ate most of them as they were not very popular). They were not the flavor profile for which I was looking. The cherry-flavored craisins were more sweet than tart, and these cookies needed more tartness to go with the orange zest.

I might make these cookies again with regular, dried cranberries and using a smaller sized cookie scoop, but given the lack of interest, it would have to be for a different crowd.

 

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED CRANBERRY COOKIES
Based on this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/3 cups (330 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened but still slightly firm
1 tsp. orange zest
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
Red food coloring (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups cherry-flavored cranberries, chopped into small bits
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking sheets.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, and orange zest until well blended.
  4. Mix in egg and yolk, 12-15 drops of food coloring, and vanilla extract.
  5. Add flour mixture until just combined, then add cranberries until well-mixed.
  6. Scoop dough into 2 tablespoon balls, then space 2″ apart on baking sheets and flatten slightly.
  7. Bake one sheet at a time for 9-11 minutes (cookies should appear slightly under-baked).
  8. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
  9. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate in microwave on 50% power in 20 second increments until melted and smooth, stirring as needed in between intervals.
  10. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  11. Dip half of each cookie in chocolate, shake off excess, then transfer to parchment paper and sprinkle with walnuts if desired.
  12. Refrigerate baking sheets ~15 minutes until the chocolate is set.

NOTE: The recipe yielded 32 cookies with a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop. I baked my cookies for 13 minutes.