Imagine oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies had a baby together. Now that baby has a steady income with a modest amount of savings, occasionally goes to bed at a reasonable time, and has a tailor (or at least knows someone who has a tailor). Enter these double chocolate oatmeal cookies with cranberries—a slightly more "grown-up" version of a chocolate chip oatmeal one.
My thought process for this recipe began with the classic oatmeal cookie, but then I wanted to add chocolate (because duh). And in the classic case of me being extra, I opted for two forms of chocolate: cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate. Dutch-process cocoa powder adds a smoother, slightly earthier flavor than its natural counterpart (though natural cocoa powder does work in this recipe), and it gives the dough a much deeper color. When it comes to the pieces of chocolate, I suggest baking wafers in the recipe, which are essentially large, flat chocolate chips, but you can use whatever shape you're able to find.
I originally wanted to use dried cherries to replace the raisins, but it turns out that they are not quite as easy to find as I thought. So instead this recipe calls for dried cranberries, which give a much needed tartness to balance the sweetness of this cookie. And in lieu of cinnamon as the warming spice ever present in oatmeal raisin cookies, I opt for ground cardamom, which lends an herbal, citrusy note.
The end result gives you the ultimate chocolate fix: This cookie is chewy, decadent, and my new standard against which all other chocolate oatmeal cookies will be judged.
You're welcome.