Crunchy Dried Cranberry-Chocolate Chip Cookies

By acampman

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 3 cups rolled oats (not quick-cook or instant)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips; or 3 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Details

Servings 24

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugars together in a big bowl, using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer on high speed (or a sturdy wire whisk), until they are fluffy and light lemon-yellow in color, about 5 minutes.

With the mixer speed low, beat in the eggs one at time, then the vanilla.

In a separate, medium-size bowl, whisk the flour, wheat germ, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, using the paddle attachment of your mixer on low speed (or stirring with a wooden spoon until no flour is visible). Then stir in the chocolate chips, cranberries, and nuts.

To make big cookies, use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop out the dough. Roll the dough for each cookie between your hands into a ball. Have some flour handy to dust your hands in case the dough is too sticky to deal with. Place the balls on your baking sheet, leaving 3 inches between them, and flatten them all with the heel of your hand until they are all about 4 inches in diameter.

To make smaller cookies, use a teaspoon to scoop up the dough and your finger to scrape it onto the baking sheet. Drop the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart, no flattening necessary.

Place the baking sheet on the center rack in the oven, and bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown all over (10-12 minutes for small cookies).

You don't want to undercook these; they are best crispy.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven,
and place it on a wire rack to let the cookies cool slightly. Lift the baking sheet off the rack, and use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. If you're using parchment paper, there's no need to let the cookies cool on a rack. Slide the paper with the hot cookies off the baking sheet and onto a flat surface to cool. You can also make these with dried cherries.