As far as chocolate goes, people tend to have strong opinions; many are milk chocolate loyalists, while others embrace the antioxidant properties of dark. I will eat any kind of chocolate except white, which I maintain is not really chocolate, given that its cocoa solids are removed during production. And, white chocolate just tastes strange to me. But anyway…

While I tend to prefer milk chocolate chips in classic chocolate chip cookies, there are many recipes in which semisweet, dark, or bittersweet chips are more appropriate in order to balance their accompanying flavors. To complement the tart dried cranberries in this recipe, I sought bittersweet chips, which are 60 percent cacao. Fortunately my local grocery store had Ghirardelli bittersweet chips, but both Hershey and Nestle make dark chocolate chips containing 53 percent cacao that could have worked just as well. A fun aspect of dark and bittersweet chocolate chips is that they’re larger than both milk and semisweet chips, which adds to their visual appeal.

Side note: as I’m not a dried fruit fan, Mike tasted these cookies and proclaimed them excellent, proving my theory about bittersweet chocolate chips balancing tart dried cranberries to be correct.

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine white flour, wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture until well combined.

Stir in oats; at this point, you may need to reach in and use your hands to thoroughly incorporate them.

Stir in dried cranberries and chocolate chips; again, you will likely need to use your hands.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, generously scoop out dough and roll into balls, then flatten slightly. Place at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake 11-12 minutes, until edges are golden but centers appear slightly under-baked. You do not want these cookies to appear totally baked when you pull them from the oven, as they will continue to bake for several minutes on the hot baking sheet once they’re out.

Let stand on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.