Meet the most holiday-inspired chocolate chip cookie yet: this brown sugar egg yolk chocolate chip cookie dough is super chewy and packed with chunks of dark chocolate, ginger spiced pecans and dried cranberries for a burst of tart.
Ingredients for Cranberry Candied Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Pecans: Pecan halves, raw or toasted should be fine.
Ginger: Ground ginger. Not a must but it gives the pecans and cookies a little kick. If you absolutely hate ginger try something more mild like cinnamon. If you like a really spicy candied nut, use more ginger or add a few more spices.
Dried Cranberries: If you must you can leave these out. I think they bring a good chew and brightness in flavor and round the whole cookie out.
Chocolate: Dark chocolate of about 70% cocoa solids checks the sweetness of the overall cookie but you do you!
Brown sugar: Light or dark will work for these cookies, or even a mix. Don’t sub with granulated unless you are adding molasses to make your own brown sugar.
All purpose flour: Avoid a high protein flour like bread as the cookies will come out a bit tough and not spread as well.
Egg yolks: From large eggs, room temp or cold is fine.
How to Candy Pecans
The only time I’d candied pecans before was for this Chevre Deviled Dates recipe and I adore them there. For that recipe you’d use warmed agave nectar and chinese five spice but I wanted this recipe to be much more straight-forward and with ingredients most households would already have on hand: maple syrup and ground ginger. A simple stir of the nuts with these two (and a pinch of salt), spread them on a cookie sheet and bake until ‘candied’. They make a fantastic snack! Try to save some for the cookies though 😉
FAQ on Cranberry Candied Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Can I pre-make and freeze this dough?
Yes – make the dough and then scoop into dough balls. Set in the freezer on an open plate or cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. Once solid, transfer to a ziplock bag and freeze.
How long are the cookies good for?
Like most homemade brown sugar cookies these are good for about 3-4 days and afterwards they’ll start to dry out a bit. Keep them in an airtight container.
Can I candy a different nut?
Yup, walnuts, hazelnuts or even cashews would work. For smaller nuts (smaller than pecan halves) you might need a few less minutes in the oven.
Can I use a different chocolate (other than dark chocolate)?
Anything you like, white and milk would both go well here. If you are not a fan of very sweet cookies, stick with dark.
Cranberry Candied Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- cookie sheets & parchment paper
Ingredients
Candied Pecans
- 1 cup pecans 110g
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Cookies
- 130 g European-style butter unsalted and softened
- 220 g brown sugar can use light and dark or just one
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 200 g all purpose flour
- 100 g chocolate chopped
- 70 g dried cranberries about ½ cup
- Candied pecans from above
Instructions
- To make the candied pecans: preheat the oven to 375 F and toss the pecans, syrup salt and ginger together in a bowl. Spread the nuts over a greased and lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 14 minutes, turning them halfway. Let cool completely before adding to cookie dough.
- To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (grease the pans first, so the parchment sticks).
- Beat together the butter and brown sugar for a solid 5-7 minutes, until very light and fluffy. Add the yolks, one at a time, with the beater on. Beat for another few minutes, until well-blended. Add the flour, salt and baking soda and beat until combined. Fold in the pecans, cranberries and chocolate.
- Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough and space the cookies so they have room to spread. Bake for 10 minutes.