Skip to main content

Rye, Cranberry, and Dark Chocolate Cookies

4.0

(2)

Rye Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Cookies
Photo by Mickaël Bandassak

This cookie is an unintended “celebrity.” Thanks to my friend and great author Dorie Greenspan, it has earned acclaim, and it is one of very few cookies that customers ask for specifically upon arrival. Some customers do not even notice the other cookies on display! As I said to Dorie when she was featuring this cookie in her New York Times Magazine article (thanks, Dorie!), the origin of this cookie is quite random.

I wanted to make cookies with rye flour. Then I needed a contrast, a sour component and texture, or a “crunch”—thus, cranberries and poppy seeds. Dark chocolate rounds things out with its bitterness. This cookie is not a flashy celebrity. I rather find her a classy, discreet type, but it’s up to you to judge.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    30 minutes (plus 3 hours for chilling)

  • Yield

    Makes 15

Ingredients

1 cup plus 1½ Tbsp. (4¾ oz./130 g) rye flour
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. (3 oz./85 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
¾ tsp. sea salt
5 oz. (140 g) unsalted butter
½ cup (3½ oz./100 g) cane sugar
½ cup (3 oz./90 g) light brown sugar
1 large egg
⅓ cup (1¾ oz./50 g) poppy seeds
⅔ cup (2¾ oz./80 g) chopped dried cranberries
¾ cup (4½ oz./125 g) chopped bittersweet (dark) chocolate (ideally at least 70% cocoa solids)
Flaky salt, for finishing

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Whisk together 1 cup plus 1½ Tbsp. (4¾ oz./130 g) rye flour, ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. (3 oz./85 g) all-purpose (plain) flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), and ¾ tsp. sea salt in a bowl. Set aside.

    Step 2

    Working with a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment, if you have one), beat 5 oz. (140 g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (3½ oz./100 g) cane sugar, and ½ cup (3 oz./90 g) light brown sugar together on medium speed for 3 minutes, until blended. Add 1 large egg and beat for 2 minutes more. Turn off the mixer, add the flour mixture all at once, then pulse the mixer a few times to begin blending the ingredients. Beat on a low speed until the flour almost disappears, then add ⅓ cup (1¾ oz./50 g) poppy seeds, ⅔ cup (2¾ oz./80 g) chopped dried cranberries, and ¾ cup (4½ oz./125 g) chopped bittersweet (dark) chocolate (ideally at least 70% cocoa solids). Mix only until incorporated. Scrape the bowl to bring the dough together, then cover and rest the dough in the fridge for a few hours, or ideally overnight.

    Step 3

    Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

    Step 4

    Divide the dough into 15 pieces, roll each piece into a ball, and place on a cold baking sheet, leaving 2" (5 cm) between each ball. Sprinkle with a little flaky salt, then bake for about 10 minutes until the edges are golden and the middle looks dry. Lightly tap each cookie in the middle, then, using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cover of Mokonuts with illustrations of an apple and fish
Extracted from MOKONUTS © 2025 by Moko Hirayama and Omar Koreitem. Photography © 2025 by Mickaël Bandassak. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.
Read More
These decadent brownies feature a sweet, minty topping complemented by a rich dark chocolate ganache and mini chocolate chips for added texture.
Reminiscent of a classic diner dessert, this chocolate cream pie offers pure comfort in a cookie crust.
This cake was created from thrift and was supposedly named after its appearance, which reminded people of the muddy Mississippi River bottom.
This half-brownie, half-bar-cookie hybrid is a fun dessert that gets the ultimate birthday party treatment with colorful sprinkles.
Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter.
Yes, it's a shortcut in a microwave. It's also a gooey, fudgy, wildly good chocolate cake.
Put these out at a gathering, and we guarantee you’ll be hearing rave reviews for a long time.
We don’t bake with grapes as often as we should. But even the most average supermarket varieties come alive when roasted with a bit of sugar and seasoning.