What’s better than a chocolate chunk cookies? How about Raspberry Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies?! 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
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
The almond paste
Table of Contents
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:
- Combine the almond paste and 2 types of sugars in a mixer, and mix until it looks like coarse crumbs.
- Add the butter, then mix until it looks light and fluffy.
- The egg, yolk, and vanilla are then mixed in until well-incorporated.
- Whisk the flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl, then add the dry ingredients to the mixer.
- Mix on low speed until just a few streaks of flour are left, then finish mixing by hand.
- Now for the good stuff! Add the chocolate chunks, freeze-dried raspberries, and chocolate chunks.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours–overnight is good too!
- 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:
Raspberry Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 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 unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 9 oz all-purpose flour, (2 cups)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 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
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
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.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
I’m glad you’re feeling better.
1. Because feeling ill sucks AND
2. Because your back to baking and these cookies I just want to add to my already long list of things to bake!
Thanks Rochelle! Feeling ill DOES suck–I’d forgotten how bad it is! It’s definitely not all peacefully lying down reading magazines and watching bad tv! I’m glad to be recovered and back to cookie baking. 🙂
Wow, sorry to hear you’ve been so sick. I’m so terrified of the flu-flu. I’ve never had it, but it’s probably in my future eventually. Glad that you’re feeling better now, and this recipe looks so, so good!
Thanks Lori! I even got a flu shot this year, but I guess the flu-flu can’t be contained by puny shots. 🙂 Fingers crossed you stay immune. Thanks for stopping by!
Raspberry, almonds and chocolate is my love language.
So does that mean I’m seducing you with these cookies, or what?
Ooof, my friend, so sorry to hear about the sickness. It sounds like a real b-word-b-word, nawmean? I just want to pet your head, and that’s probably weird.
THESE, however, are everything I want. And you are seriously inspiring me with the freeze-dried fruit evangelism… I have ideas… So, thank you.
I laughed out loud! Never have I wanted a head pat so much. You are the best.
Ewww, the flu-flu sounds poopy. I’m glad your feeling better. These cookies look bomb by the way.
Thanks Nicole! It’s been hanging around all week but at least I can eat cookies again. 🙂
Glad to hear you are on the mend.
These look delicious, I’ve never worked with almond paste before though. Where would I find it at the store?
Hi Krystle! Almond paste is usually found in the baking aisle–often near the chocolate chips, bags of nuts, things like that. The brand I usually see is Odense and it comes in a 7-oz tube that’s packaged in a small rectangular box. Odense also sells marzipan that looks similar, so be sure the one you’re buying is almond paste. Hope this helps!
Oh wow!! Words can not describe what I thought when I saw these cookies.. they look really YUMMY!!
I agree freeze dried raspberries are the answer 🙂 I just need to find them here..
ps. Hope you are feeling much better after the flu-flu!!
Xx
Thanks Johlene! I feel bad using them so often in my recipes, because I imagine they’re not always easy to find in some places…but as an addict, I kind of can’t help myself. I hope you’re able to track some down! Cheers!
About to make these cookies but as a European I am somewhat confused. 4 oz almond paste, what’s that in grams?
Hi Ruben,
You can switch to metric measurements in the recipe card–under the ingredients just hit the button that says “Metric” (next to “US Customary”) and the values will be automatically calculated. 4 oz is 113 g, but you can round down to 100g or up to 125 g (whichever is easiest for you to get) and it should be fine. Hope this helps!
Ah thanks! Didn’t notice that, probably because i was checking recipe on my phone 🙂
That melted chocolate…oh my. Gets me everytime! These look soo delicious. So smart of you to use freeze dried raspberries. Totally need to try these!
I know, I’m a sucker for the big puddles of melted chocolate! Thanks Rachel!
i love raspberry and chocolate. yum!
Me too–definitely a match made in heaven! Thanks Dina!
I am glad you are feeling better – the flu flu sounds horrible!!! These cookies on the other hand…not horrible at all. They look AMAZING! I love all the flavors you used in here. YUM!
Thanks Cate! I wouldn’t wish the flu-flu on anyone…and I would wish these cookies on everyone! Thanks so much for stopping by.