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Home » Unusual

Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies (with Olive Oil)

Modified: Apr 30, 2025 · Published: Nov 12, 2008 by Anna · This post may contain affiliate links · 15 Comments

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Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Olive Oil is a recipe I originally found on the H.E.B. grocery store website. It's an interesting one and a little ahead of its time. H.E.B. posted it back in 2008 before everyone was putting extra virgin olive oil in everything.

Cranberry Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies recipe

The cookies are very good, but different. That weird glossiness you see in the photo is actually how the cookies looked. They were kind of shiny. I thought they would be cakey, but they’re dense, stiff in the center and have extremely crispy (almost hard) edges. They don’t brown much, given the lack of baking soda, but they are chock full of chocolate chunks, cranberry and nuts so they still look pretty and taste great. Make sure you use really good chocolate and be sure to add the nuts (if you can). I left out the coconut, but it probably would have been good too. Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies are definitely not overly sweet.

Vegans -- let me know if you figure out a good substitute for the eggs. I think it's doable, but it might be tricky since the eggs capture a lot of air.

Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour or all purpose (190 grams)
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ scant teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup EACH dried cranberries, chocolate chips or chunks
½ cup toasted pecan pieces
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside. Stir in the salt (it doesn’t always go through the sifter).

Beat olive oil and brown sugar using an electric mixer on high speed for 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on medium speed (about 1 minute). Add the sifted flour ½ cup at a time and stir by hand until mixed. Stir in chocolate chips, cranberries and nuts.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until golden brown (at least around edges).

Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies

Recipe

Cranberry Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies recipe

Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Dense, chewy cookies with cranberries, chocolate & nuts.
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour or all purpose (190 grams)
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ scant teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup EACH dried cranberries chocolate chips or chunks
  • ½ cup toasted pecan pieces
  • ½ cup shredded coconut optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.
  • Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
  • Beat olive oil and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on medium speed (about 1 minute). Add the flour mixture ½ cup at a time and stir by hand or on lowest speed of mixer. Stir in chocolate chips, cranberries and nuts.
  • Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until golden brown (at least around edges).
  • Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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  1. Lisa Ernst says

    November 13, 2008 at 9:44 am

    I've tried the ener-g egg replacer and it works pretty well, but the ground flax dissolved in hot water works the best for me -- it has that same gummy quality that egg whites do, acting as a binder.

  2. Anna says

    November 13, 2008 at 8:01 am

    Well, the recipe calls for extra light virgin (the lightest tasting you can find) but I used Greek Kalamata Olive Oil -- pretty much the opposti of light! Since the olive oil I use is so robust, I used half olive, half regular.

    http://www.amazon.com/Kalamata-Extra-Virgin-Organic-Iliada/dp/B000LRIJR8

    If you want to try some good olive oil, I recommend Iliada. It's great for dipping!

  3. T. Martin says

    November 13, 2008 at 6:17 am

    Anna,

    What kind of olive oil did you use? Light, extra virgin?

  4. Laura says

    November 12, 2008 at 11:08 pm

    I'm vegan and I use ener-g Egg Replacer in all my backed goods and everything has turned out fine so far. http://www.ener-g.com/store/detail.aspx?section=8&cat=8&id=97

  5. Anna says

    November 12, 2008 at 8:16 pm

    Jess, the one near me was a Gucci-B for a while, but they built one in Westlake so I guess we're just a regular-B.

    Jennifer, I don't think H.E.B. will ever make it to Central IL. Then again, who knows???

    Hi Carole! I think butter would work, but you should try the olive oil. It's interesting.

    Rita, I think the flax might work. Not sure if it would hold enough air, but I might give it a try next time I have some flax.

    LS, you don't have to be a great baker to make these cookies. They're simple. Don't skip the sifting or beating for 3 minutes, though. Enjoy San Diego! You are lucky to live in such a beautiful city. Say hi to Dog Beach for us.

  6. LilSis says

    November 12, 2008 at 7:45 pm

    Hi Anna,
    Those cookies look amazing. I happen to like a cookie that is not overly sweet. The combination of the cranberries, nuts, and coconut sounds really good! I'm not known for being a very good baker, but I'd like to try these.

    By the way, I live in San Diego and I can promise you if you lived here, you would grow very attached to Trader Joes. I shop there at least once a week and it makes shopping so much more enjoyable for me. I like that it's a small store, I know where everything is and I can be in and out in a matter of minutes with groceries for the week! An added bonus is that the employees are very friendly and the prices are very reasonable!

    I'm glad you and your family had a good trip to San Diego. I'm a Texan, "born and raised", and I absolutely love it here.

    LilSis
    http://www.bigsislilsis.com

  7. clumbsycookie says

    November 12, 2008 at 7:15 pm

    You can substitute 1 egg for 1 Tbsp ground flax seed + 3 Tbsp water. Mix and keep in the fridge for 1 hours. I don't know how it would work in cookies, but I tried it in muffins and they turned out pretty well. Or use a banana instead. I love using olive oil in baking!

  8. Carole R. says

    November 12, 2008 at 4:04 pm

    Anna, do you think I could substitute melted butter for the olive oil?

    Glad you had a fun weekend. Although it was only a few days I missed your posts. Welcome home.

  9. Jennifer says

    November 12, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    I'm not familiar with HEB. We also don't have trader joe's in our immediate vacinity (middle of IL) but make a few trips a year when in Chicago or St. Louis.
    Oh, I hope you had a great time on your trip.

    Those cookies do look good. The cranberry-chocolate-coconut combo sounds interesting and delicious.

  10. runjess says

    November 12, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    I'm a huge HEB fan, but have you noticed how much they differ by location. In my area there's a "Ghetto-B" and a "Gucci-B" as we refer to them.

  11. Anna says

    November 12, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    Katrina, flax might work. I'll have to give it a try.

    S and V, thanks!

    Vegyogini, if you lived in Austin you could see him more often. He likes to play local, but has a pretty wide following....at least based on what I've found in my travels. Lots of people like him.

  12. Vegyogini says

    November 12, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    Swoon...Bob Schneider is my favorite musician. 🙂 I'm a loyal lurker and thoroughly appreciate your addition of vegan baked goods on your site.

  13. VeggieGirl says

    November 12, 2008 at 2:17 pm

    Lovely!

  14. snookydoodle says

    November 12, 2008 at 1:58 pm

    yummy these cookies look fab 🙂

  15. Katrina says

    November 12, 2008 at 1:48 pm

    Doesn't ground flax sub for eggs in recipes?
    Those look good. Can't believe they are made with oil and olive oil at that.
    Glad you're back. Missed your cookies!

Peanut Butter Fudge Jumbles recipe baked in a 9-inch square Pampered Chef stoneware pan.

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