These Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies would be a great addition to your holiday cookie tray.
Why?
Because…
They are easy to make.
They are actually not too bad for you (as far as cookies go).
They are DELICIOUS.
I don’t see any reason to continue this list.
Last year I mentioned that my mom and I enter the Star Tribune Cookie Contest each year. Since I live in Denver now, we weren’t able to have our little baking day this year to create a new cookie recipe. (Maybe next year we’ll have to do it via Skype. Mom – thoughts??)
Two years ago we submitted the recipe for these Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies. Although it didn’t make it as a finalist, the recipe did receive an Honorable Mention, which was a huge win in our book. HUGE.
These Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies even made it into The Duesterhoeft Café cookbook. So you know they’re good.
So yeah.
They are easy to make – All you need is a bowl, some measuring equipment, and a wooden spoon. The wet ingredients are added into the dry ingredients to form some thick dough, which is then rolled into balls and baked into cookies.
They are healthy-ish – These cookies are vegan and filled with great things like coconut oil, applesauce, and white whole wheat flour. Not to mention the added health benefits from chocolate, cranberry, and ginger. Feel free to grab more than one.
They are delicious – Chocolate cookies are always amazing, but the ginger and cranberry give them an extra dose of delicious and a nice holiday flavor.
Gobble up two and then savor one. You don’t even need to feel guilty about it.
Don’t forget to add these cookies to your tray too: Molasses Cremes with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting and Christmas Treasure Drop Cookies.
Happy baking!!
- 1 ½ cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup crystallized ginger
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour -> ground ginger).
- In a medium bowl, stir together the coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Stir in the crystallized ginger and dried cranberries. The dough will be thick.
- Roll dough into small balls and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, being careful not to over-bake. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
The corn starch can be omitted, but it gives the cookies a softer and chewier texture.
Drizzling (vegan) chocolate on top of these cookies is also a good idea and dresses them up a bit.
You can make the dough ahead of time, shape them into balls, and place in a Ziploc bag in the freezer until you’re ready to bake them. Just let them thaw a little bit before placing them in the oven.
Baked cookies last up to 5 days in an airtight container.