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Nov 14, 2022

Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These rye cranberry chocolate chunk cookies are loaded with melty bittersweet chocolate chunks along with poppyseeds and rye. The flavor is amazing. 

Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies stacked with a bite taken out of the top cookie.



These cookies are not your traditional chocolate chip cookies. They are sweet, but not too sweet, and the hand-chopped bittersweet chocolate bar, with its melty goodness, adds so much to the cookie. 

Plus, these cookies are pretty big, big enough for dessert but not so big that you don't have to worry about saving enough room for one. 

Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies on a cooling rack.


While you don't think of chocolate chip-style cookies (or anything with cranberries) as French, this cookie is actually an adaptation of the chocolate chunk cookies baked at a small restaurant in Paris called Mokonuts

At the restaurant, one of the owners, Moko Hirayama, is famous for her American-style cookies (she makes them in several flavor combinations) that folks line up to buy daily. 

According to Dorie Greenspan, in her amazing book, Baking with Dorie, people come from around the world to eat at this tiny restaurant... and the cookies always sell out. 

Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies with a box of sea salt and cordial glass.


The cookies are only baked for ten minutes and are quite domed and rounded when they come out of the oven, so they all receive a signature indentation in the middle where you gently press them down to deflate them just a little. The resulting cookies are soft and moist, and delicious eaten while still warm. 

To make the indentation, I used a small cordial glass, but a shot glass or a small spatula would work well too. 

Ingredients you will need:

Rye Flour: You can use medium or dark rye flour. Both have been sifted to remove some of the bran, but not all of it. I used a flour labeled "rye flour," so I'm not sure how much it was sifted. It worked out just fine. 

Note: The rye adds a slightly different and earthy flavor to the cookies, but the cookies don't taste at all like what you think of as rye, as in rye bread. It actually adds a wonderful dimension to sweet cookies. Be sure to try it in double chocolate cookies and toasted rye chocolate chip cookies too. 

From Your Pantry and Refrigerator: Unbleached all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, unsalted butter, and an egg. 

Cookie ingredients, including cranberries, chocolate bar, and sea salt.


Bittersweet Chocolate: Rather than using chocolate chips, use a chocolate bar or baking chocolate that you cut up into chunks. The beauty of chopping your own chocolate, as much of a hassle it may be, is that you end up with little bits and fragments of chocolate along with the chunks. Be sure to include these in your cookie dough! Include it all, including the the powdery bits. 

Poppy Seeds: You will need almost a full jar of poppy seeds. They add an amazing texture and crunch to the cookies. 

Dried Cranberries: Be sure to use moist and plump ones, preferably from a new bag. 

Flaked Sea Salt: Right before baking the cookies, sprinkle them with a little bit of sea salt. I used French fleur de sel, but Maldon sea salt will work just as well too. 

Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies in a bowl.



When you take a bite into these cookies, the little bits of salt add such and amazing dimension. It was the first thing my taste testers swooned over. 

How to Make These Cookies:

First, you cream the butter, sugars, and salt together. Next, you add an egg and mix until it's incorporated. 

After that, you add the flours and leaveners and pulse everything so that the flour doesn't fly out of your mixer all over the counter. 

Once the dry ingredients are incorporated, quickly mix in the cranberries, poppy seeds, and chocolate. 

At this point, you shape the dough into 15 balls and refrigerate them overnight. 

Cookie dough balls on a small baking sheet.


The next day, sprinkle the dough balls with a little bit of flaked sea salt and bake them for 10 minutes. 

Finally, gently press them down with a flat spoon, a small spatula, or the bottom of a glass to slightly create an indentation in the middle of the cookie. 

How to Store:

These cookies are amazing warm the day they are made. Store any leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container. 

These cookies are good at room temperature, but to get the chocolate all melty again, give each one a 10 second spin in the microwave right before serving. 

So good!

Two cookies on a black plate.


Welcome to #CranberryWeek where we celebrate all things cranberry! We have 10 bloggers sharing over 25 recipes this week. There are sweets, savories, and even a few beverages this week. Make sure to follow #CranberryWeek on social media to see all the delicious recipes we’re sharing this week.

Monday’s Cranberry Recipes



Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies on two plates, stacked.


More Cranberry Recipes from Karen's Kitchen Stories:

Cranberry Glazed Meatballs

Cranberry Almond Shorbread Tart

Cranberry Apple Crisp

Pork Chops with Cranberry Maple Pan Sauce

Cranberry Crackle Tart

Cranberry Negroni


Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies stacked.



Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Rye Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Yield: 15 cookies
Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories
Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 12 HourTotal time: 12 H & 50 M
These rye cranberry chocolate chunk cookies are loaded with melty bittersweet chocolate chunks along with poppyseeds and rye. The flavor is amazing.

Ingredients

  • 130 grams (1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons) rye flour
  • 85 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 140 grams (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at about 65 degrees F.
  • 100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
  • 100 grams (1/2 cup packed) brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 80 grams (2/3 cup) dried cranberries
  • 50 grams (1/3 cup) poppy seeds
  • 113 grams (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 3/8 inch or so chunks
  • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours and the baking powder and baking soda.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter, sugars, and salt until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until smooth.
  3. Add the flour mixture and pulse a few times to prevent the flour from flying out of the bowl. Mix on low until just incorporated.
  4. Add the cranberries, poppy seeds, and chocolate, and mix until just incorporated.
  5. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Place them on a plate or small baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight and up to 3 days.
  6. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 425 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place eight of the dough balls on one sheet and 7 on the other. Sprinkle the tops with flaked sea salt.
  7. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10 minutes.
  8. When you remove the cookies from the oven, press the center of the mound with a spatula or the bottom of a glass to slightly deflate the dough and leave a slight indentation in the center of the cookie.
  9. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 3 minutes, and then move them to a cooling rack.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

251.26

Fat (grams)

12.44

Sat. Fat (grams)

6.73

Carbs (grams)

33.45

Fiber (grams)

2.7

Net carbs

30.73

Sugar (grams)

20

Protein (grams)

3.11

Sodium (milligrams)

203.81

Cholesterol (grams)

32.92
cookies, chocolate chip
dessert
French
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Recipe slightly adapted from Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty, and Simple


Would you like to comment?

  1. I love chocolate and cranberry together and with the rye it sounds perfect for the holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would never have thought to use rye flour in cookies. They look absolutely scrumptious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really adds quite a bit of depth! Thanks!

      Delete
  3. what can be substituted with egg to make the cookie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't tried it with an egg substitute so I don't want to steer you wrong. Let me know if you try it.

      Delete
  4. I've never baked with Rye flour. I am excited to try these!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are amazing! Rye is very different in how it reacts to kneading.

      Delete
  5. I used to make a gingersnap once with rye flour so count me in!

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  6. Adding the rye adds such interesting flavor and texture to this already delicious looking cookie. Those chocolate chunks are making my mouth water!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This sounds YUM! I love the rye, poppy seed, and the cranberry combination. I have all the ingredients and going to try these right away.

    ReplyDelete

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