Raspberry Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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What’s better than a chocolate chunk cookies? How about adding tangy raspberries and crunchy almonds to those chocolate chunks?!  These soft, moist cookies have a delicious almond flavor, tons of tart and tangy dried raspberries, and huge pockets of semi-sweet chocolate chunks. You may never make regular chocolate chip cookies again!

Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Almonds and Raspberries

As regular readers might know, I’m more than a little obsessed with freeze-dried fruit, especially raspberries. (Not sure how to use freeze-dried fruit in desserts? Check out these cookies, these bars, or this buttercream!)

Freeze-dried raspberries do such an amazing job of imparting bold raspberry flavor to any recipe, without adding excess liquid, which can be a problem in dessert recipes. This flavor hack is so genius, I now want to stick them in everything. Yes, even meatloaf. Deal with it.

So it had been my plan to add my favorite  to a chocolate chip cookie recipe for awhile, but when the time came, I thought they might need something more. Something to give them a little extra dimension…so I added almond paste and chopped toasted almonds as well.

The almond paste is a fantastic addition: it adds a pronounced but not overwhelming almond flavor, as well as a moistness and softness that is ideal in chocolate chip cookies. The almonds bring crunch, while the scattered bits of raspberries give the perfect tart bite. And I don’t think I need to tell you how great the big pockets of melted chocolate are. (Hint: really great.)

Special Ingredients You’ll Need

→ Almond paste is a soft paste, usually found in a bar shape, made from ground almonds, sugar, and a bit of oil. It has a delicious almond flavor so if you’re an almond lover like me, you’ll LOVE desserts made with almond paste! It can usually be found in the baking aisle of the grocery store. 

In this recipe, the almond paste adds not only flavor, but also a wonderful texture. It keeps the cookies soft and moist for DAYS. If you’re tired of your chocolate chip cookies going a bit stale after a day or two, give this recipe a try and see if you don’t fall in love with adding almond paste to your cookies!

→ Freeze-dried raspberries are very different from regular dried raspberries. Rather than being super-sweet and chewy, they’re crunchy and taste JUST like a tart, tangy raspberry! I love using freeze-dried fruit because it can be added whole to some desserts, like cookies, or it can be ground into a powder in the food processor and used to flavor frostings and other soft desserts. 

Freeze-dried fruit can be found near the dried fruit/nuts at Trader Joe’s and in many large grocery stores, and can also be easily purchased online. It should be kept in an airtight container or bag, because it will start to get soft and chewy once it is exposed to air. 

How to Make Raspberry Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

1. Combine the almond paste and 2 types of sugars in a mixer, and mix until it looks like coarse crumbs.
2. Add the butter, then mix until it looks light and fluffy.
3. The egg, yolk, and vanilla are then mixed in until well-incorporated.
4. Whisk the flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl, then add the dry ingredients to the mixer.
5. Mix on low speed until just a few streaks of flour are left, then finish mixing by hand. 
6. Now for the good stuff! Add the chocolate chunks, freeze-dried raspberries, and chocolate chunks. 
7. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours–overnight is good too!
8. Scoop the cookies into large balls, and bake them at 350 F for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool a bit, then devour!

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Tips and Tricks:

• If you can’t find almond paste, you can substitute marzipan. Marzipan is made with almond paste, and has a similar flavor and texture. It does have added sugar, however, so your cookies will be sweeter than if you had used paste. 
• No chocolate chunks? No problem! Swap in semi-sweet chips instead, or mix it up and use milk, white, or dark!
• This recipe is made to be used with freeze-dried raspberries, so swapping in fresh is not advised in this recipe. 
• You CAN use other freeze-dried fruit, though! Try it with strawberries or blackberries instead!

More Fun Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:

• Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Clemen-Thyme Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Fudge-Striped Shortbread Cookies
• Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Raspberry Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies

4.2 from 5 votes

By Elizabeth LaBau

Calling all almond lovers! These soft, moist cookies have a delicate almond flavor from almond paste and toasted almonds. The almond flavor pairs perfectly with tart and tangy dried raspberries and rich semi-sweet chocolate.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 12 mins

Total Time 22 mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Servings 24

Calories 256 kcal

Ingredients

 

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• ▢ 4 oz almond paste, soft, cubed
• ▢ 5 2/3 oz brown sugar, (3/4 cup), lightly packed
• ▢ 1 3/4 oz granulated sugar, (1/4 cup)
• ▢ 6 oz butter, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 egg, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• ▢ 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 9 oz all-purpose flour, (2 cups)
• ▢ 2 tsp corn starch
• ▢ 1 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks, (1 cup)
• ▢ 3/4 cup almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped
• ▢ 1 cup freeze-dried raspberries

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Instructions

 

• Combine the almond paste, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer to low and mix the almond paste and sugars together, until the paste is worked into the sugar and the mixture is coarse crumbs.
• Add the butter, and cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and turn the mixer to low, mixing until just a few flour streaks remain. Turn the mixer off and mix the dough the rest of the way by hand, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the chocolate chunks, chopped almonds, and freeze-dried raspberries, and stir them in until everything is well-mixed.
• Wrap the dough tightly in cling wrap, and refrigerate it until firm, about 2 hours. (Dough can be made several days ahead and kept in the refrigerator until ready to bake.) Once the dough is firm, preheat the oven to 350 F. Scoop the dough into large (1 1/2”) balls, and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are puffed and starting to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature on the baking sheet.

Recipe Notes

This recipe requires almond paste, which is often found in the baking aisle near the marzipan. It can also be purchased online. If you would like to try making your own, here is a recipe for homemade almond paste you can make from scratch. Whichever type of almond paste you choose, make sure that it is soft, like play-doh, not hard, dried up, or crusty.

As written, the cookies will have a subtle but noticeable almond flavor. If you prefer a stronger almond taste, add 1/2 tsp almond extract to the recipe when you add the vanilla extract.

MEASURING TIPS

Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.

Click here to learn more about baking measurements and conversion.

Nutrition

Serving: 24 g | Calories: 256 kcal | Carbohydrates: 32 g | Protein: 3 g | Fat: 12 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Cholesterol: 30 mg | Sodium: 157 mg | Potassium: 242 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 19 g | Vitamin A: 200 IU | Vitamin C: 120.5 mg | Calcium: 37 mg | Iron: 3.5 mg

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