Chocolate almond meal cookies with dried cranberries are big, rustic cookies that taste like a bakery splurge. Toasted pecans, cranberries, and chopped cacao nibs stud a double-almond dough that bakes up crackled and soft in the middle. Sixteen generous cookies that keep their chew for days.
MAKES 16 LARGE COOKIES
Ingredients
1¼ cups almond flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups almond meal
1 cup (240 ml) pecans, toasted and chopped
1 cup (240 ml) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
4 ounces non-dairy bittersweet cacao nibs, finely chopped
12 tablespoons (180 ml) coconut oil, softened
1½ cups palm sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Preparation
1.В В Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, stir almond meal, pecans, cranberries, and cacao nibs together.
2.В В In a separate large bowl, beat the coconut oil and palm sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds or until well combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated (about 30 seconds), scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.
3.В В Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until combined (about 30 seconds). Gradually add in the almond meal-cacao nibs mixture until incorporated.
4.В В Working with ¼ cup at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay them on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about two and a half inches apart. Flatten cookies to a one-inch thickness with your palm.
5.В В Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown, but the centers are still soft and puffy (20 to 25 minutes), switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. (The cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone.)
6.В В Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Making Dough Ahead
The bowl of cookie dough can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to two days. When ready to use, allow the dough to come to room temperature, then portion and bake as directed. The dough can also be shaped into balls and frozen on a cookie sheet. When they are frozen solid, transfer them to a large freezer bag. To bake, arrange the frozen cookies (do not thaw) on two large parchment-lined baking sheets and bake as directed, increasing the baking time to 25 to 30 minutes.
Pro Tips
- Toast the pecans before chopping — raw pecans taste flat in a cookie this rich, and the extra eight minutes of oven time earns its keep.
- Roll the quarter-cup portions tall and flatten to an inch thick; the cookies puff, then settle into thick, chewy slabs as they cool.
- They look raw between the cracks when done — trust the twenty to twenty-five minutes and let the sheet finish the job outside the oven.
- Chop the cranberries coarsely so they spread through the dough instead of landing as whole sweet blobs in every other bite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes — shape and freeze the balls, then bake from frozen at 350°F for twenty-five to thirty minutes. No thawing needed.
What can I use instead of dried cranberries?
Chopped dried cherries are the closest match, and raisins or chopped apricots both work with the chocolate and pecan dough.
Why are there both almond flour and almond meal?
The meal adds rustic texture and the flour keeps the crumb tender — using only one gives a noticeably coarser or denser cookie.
How long do they keep?
Five days in an airtight tin. These are sturdy cookies that travel and ship well, which makes them excellent edible gifts.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- 1. В В Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350°F.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl, stir almond meal, pecans, cranberries, and cacao nibs together. 2. В В In a separate large bowl, beat the coconut oil and palm sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds or until well combined.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated (about 30 seconds), scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. 3. В В Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until combined (about 30 seconds). Gradually add in the almond meal-cacao nibs mixture until incorporated. 4. В В Working with ¼ cup at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay them on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about two and a half inches apart. Flatten cookies to a one-inch thickness with your palm. 5. В В Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown, but the centers are still soft and puffy (20 to 25 minutes), switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. (The cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone.) 6. В В Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Making Dough Ahead The bowl of cookie dough can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to two days.
- When ready to use, allow the dough to come to room temperature, then portion and bake as directed. The dough can also be shaped into balls and frozen on a cookie sheet.
- When they are frozen solid, transfer them to a large freezer bag. To bake, arrange the frozen cookies (do not thaw) on two large parchment-lined baking sheets and bake as directed, increasing the baking time to 25 to 30 minutes.
