Cranberry Pecan Hot Cocoa Cookies (Dairy & Egg Free)

These delicious cookies are a family favorite that are simple, fun, and easy to make! They are perfect on a chilly winter night with a steaming cup of hot cocoa and a warm fire.

In this instructable, I'll walk you through how to bake these yummy cookies and give you a few helpful tips along the way.

Tools needed:

1. Medium sized mixing bowl
2. Stand mixer (electric hand mixer works too)
3. 2 Half-sheet baking pans
4. Parchment paper
5. Wisk
6. Spatula
7. Large spoon
8. Cooling rack
9. Measuring utensils (dry and liquid)
10. Cutting board
11. Sharp knife
12. Oven preheated to 350°F (375°F for non-convection oven)

Note: You might also want a scoop or spoon to form the cookies, but I just use my hands.

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups White Flour
2. 1/3 cup Equal Exchange Chocolate Organic Dark Hot Chocolate
3. 1/4 tsp Salt
4. 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
5. 1 cup Granulated Sugar
6. 3/4 cup Plant Based Butter, Softened
7. 6 Tbsp applesauce
8. 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
9. 1 cup Quick Oats
10. 1/2 cup Toasted Chopped Pecans
11. 3/4 cup Dried Cranberries

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the pecans on the baking sheet and bake them for 5-7 minutes until they are slightly browned and you can smell them. Once you take them out, chop them into relatively small pieces (you can decide how small you like them), and set them to the side for later.

Now turn the oven temperature up to 375°F to preheat it for baking your cookies.

Measure out 1 1/2 cups of white flour, 1/3 cup of hot cocoa mix, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp baking soda into a medium mixing bowl. Whisk the ingredients until they're combined, and set them aside for later.

Note: You can use a mixing spoon instead, but I find that a whisk works better to make sure there are no clumps and everything is well combined.

Measure out your 3/4 cup of softened plant based butter and 1 cup of sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer. (An electric hand mixer works fine too.) Mix it on medium speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute until they're combined. Then add 6 Tbsp applesauce and 1 tsp vanilla extract and cream on medium speed for another minute until everything is well combined and fluffy. Scrap down the sides with a spatula as necessary.

Take your bowl off the stand mixer and add in your dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon until fully incorporated and a rough dough forms. Next, add in your 1 cup of quick oats, and mix until they're slightly combined, but you don't have to mix it fully. (I just find that doing this makes it a little easier to mix once you add in your other ingredients.) Finally add your 3/4 cup dried cranberries and your toasted pecans and mix until everything is fully incorporated. Now you're ready to start forming your cookies!

Line 2 half-sheet baking pans with parchment paper. Next, use either a scoop, spoon, or your hands (I like to just use my hands), and form 1-1 1/2 inch balls with your dough. Space them out on your baking sheet (I like to put them about 2 inches apart) and continue till all your cookies are formed. Once all the cookies are on your baking pans use the palm of your hand (a flat lid works too) and press down on the cookies till they're flat and about 1/2 inch thick.

Note: You can make the cookies whatever size you like, but I find that making them this size works almost perfectly to fill 2 baking sheets. If I have extra dough I just add it to the cookies to not have any leftover.

Also make sure you don't place the cookies too close together because they will spread while baking.

Once all your cookies are formed place them in the preheated oven (375°F) and bake for 18-20 minutes. They will be very soft when you take them out, but don't worry! They will firm up as they cool. Leave them on the pans for a few minutes to get firm and transfer them to cooling racks to cool completely. Once they are cooled, enjoy! They will be fine on the counter for 5-7 days or if you won't eat all of them immediately, you can store them in the freezer until you're ready to enjoy them.

1. You can use whatever hot cocoa mix you want, I just use this one because I know it's dairy free.
2. I use the Country Crock plant based butter, and I'm not sure what these cookies will be like with a different brand, but feel free to try something else and let me know how it goes!
3. For the oven temperature, if you have a convection oven, you could probably keep it at 350°F, but I don't have a convection oven and I've found that it tends to be a lower temperature than it actually says it is, which is why I have it at 375°F.
4. With mix-ins, feel free to add whatever sounds good! These cookies were a family experiment, and I'm happy to see what you can come up with from this. If there's something you think would be yummy in these cookies, put it in and let me know how it goes!