Big Fat Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Prep Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (includes chilling)
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Yield: 16-18 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups (170g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 cup (118g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon (21g) unsulphured or dark molasses
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces (170g) chopped bittersweet or dark chocolate
1 cup (150g) dried cranberries
3/4 cup (90g) chopped walnuts
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamy and combined, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, plus the chopped chocolate, dried cranberries, and walnuts. Beat on low speed until combined. This is a thick, heavy, and sticky dough, so you may need to start and stop your mixer a couple times.
Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour (and up to 4 days). If chilling longer than 1 day, let the dough sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling, as it will be very firm.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Use a 1/3-cup measuring cup to scoop the cookie dough, about 3 ounces (85g) each, and arrange 5–6 cookies on each baking sheet.
Bake for 5 minutes; then, without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10–20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes:
Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute; no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
Can I Skip the Cake Flour? You can skip the cake flour, but the cookies won’t be quite as soft and thick. Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, which keeps these extra-large cookies tender instead of dense. If you don’t have any on hand, you can make a quick substitute: measure 1 cup (125g) of all-purpose flour, remove 2 Tablespoons of it, and replace those 2 Tablespoons with cornstarch. Whisk well before using. It’s not exactly the same as real cake flour, but it works nicely here.
Can I Use Quick Oats? We don’t recommend it. Quick oats absorb liquid differently and will produce thinner, drier cookies. Old-fashioned whole rolled oats are best for thick, chewy texture.
Molasses: 1 Tablespoon of molasses gives these cookies exceptional depth of flavor. Use unsulfured or dark molasses (not blackstrap). If you don’t have any, simply leave it out—do not replace with anything else.
Chocolate: We use and recommend Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet baking chocolate. You can substitute 1 cup (180g) of chocolate chips.
Different Size Cookies: Use 1.5 Tablespoons (30–35g) of dough for regular-size cookies, or 3 Tablespoons (60–70g) for large cookies. Reduce the 400°F (204°C) bake time to 3 minutes and the remaining 350°F (177°C) bake time to around 7 minutes. Keep a close eye on them.
Mix-In Variations: Keep total mix-ins to around 2–3 cups. Try dried cherries or chopped dried apricots instead of cranberries, pecans or macadamias instead of walnuts, or swap in white or semisweet chocolate. You can also simply skip the nuts completely and not replace them with anything.
Success Tip: Spray the measuring cup with some nonstick spray before you scoop the sticky dough, to help it release easily. Give the mound of cookie dough a roll between your hands to shape it into a ball. It’s a big ball of dough, so bake these cookies in batches rather than overcrowding the baking sheet. Just about 6 on one baking sheet at a time.
Bake at an initial high temperature, then lower it: This is typically a trick I reserve for muffins, but it works with these cookies in minimizing how much the cookies spread out, while letting them rise up.
Here’s how: Start baking the cookies at 400°F; then, after 5 minutes, lower the temperature to 350°F for the remaining time. The initial high heat helps set the shape/edges of the cookies, then the remaining time allows the thick centers to bake through at the normal baking temperature.
Slightly underbake, then allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet. The cookies will continue to set from the residual heat of the baking sheet. This keeps the centers soft and chewy, and prevents the cookies from becoming dry around the edges.
Recipes courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction.com
