Dad's Cranberry Chocolate Cookie Mix

This is a cookie that we developed years ago, and then it got lost in the file.  Big mistake. It's a wonderful cookie.         

Cranberries and chocolate are a perfect match. Combine them in a soft, chewy oat cookie, and you have a splendid cookie. These are fully loaded cookies--lots of fruit and lots of chocolate.

What to know about these cookies

• Why do you love this cookie so? I love cranberries and chocolate together, and there's chocolate and cranberry in every bite. And I love soft, chewy oat cookies.
• What else can you tell me? We were generous with the oats, so that's what makes it chewy. Then we added caramel. That was a nice touch  
• Is it a big mix?  Over a pound.  It makes two dozen nice-sized cookies.
• Is it easy to make? Yes. It's a drop cookie. You add only butter and eggs.
  
• Can I freeze the dough? Yes. It's not our largest mix, 17 ounces, but you could make two 12-cookie batches, bake one batch and freeze the rest of the dough balls for another day.

 Dennis Weaver

We developed these in our test kitchen.  Then we served them in our store and folks went crazy over them. I suspect they got lost in the covid chaos.

Try these cookies and see how good they really are.

How to bake these cookies perfectly

If the tendency is to under-bake breads, the tendency is to over-bake cookies. Take them out just before you think they are done; you won’t be wrong often.

My father was a consummate cookie baker. If you asked him what his secret is, he would tell you: “I don’t overbake cookies.” The difference between a just-right cookie and an over-baked one is dramatic.

Make cookies uniform in size. Not only are they more attractive, but different sizes of cookies take different times to bake.

Most recipe writers tell you to leave the cookies on the sheet for a minute or two. Cookies continue to bake on a hot baking sheet. Sometimes that’s necessary for an easy release but for most recipes, we remove them as quickly as we can.

If the cookies look a little soggy in the middle, then leave them on the sheet for a few minutes and they will firm up.

Most cookies should be gold in color, not brown. Both the amount of sugar and soda in the recipe will affect how fast a cookie browns.