Cranberry Honey Drop Cookies UPGRADED!

I found this recipe via Apartment Therapy and I've made it a few times.  The cookies were actually kinda bland.  I didn't dribble the chocolate across the top, so I thought that was the problem, but my issue wasn't really that of flavor but of texture.  The cookies are a bit muffiny and taste like "health cookies."  The cranberries are nice, but the experience of eating these cookies went a bit like this:  "boring boring boring CRANBERRY! YEAH!  boring boring boring CRANBERRY! YEAH!" I really wanted to like these cookies. 

I found that using a stronger local honey as opposed to what you will find in bulk at a Costco is a bit helpful, but still... this cookie is dull.  Even Hope and Sam didn't like the cookies and they eat anything and everything.

I thought I could improve this cookie by kicking it up a bit in the texture and flavor department.  My upgraded Cranberry Honey Drop Cookie is pretty boss.  In fact, it is now a Dark Chocolate Pecan Cranberry Cookie. 

Behold:

Dark Chocolate Pecan Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from The Household Searchlight Cookbook, 1931-1946
And then Adapted from Apartment Therapy

Makes about 24 cookies

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup toasted pecans
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 + 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Put the cranberries in a small bowl and cover them with very hot or boiling water. Let them sit and plump while you prepare the rest of the dough.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the honey and the softened butter. Mix in the egg and the spices.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cup of the flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until no more flour is visible.

Drain the cranberries. In the bowl used for the dry ingredients, toss the cranberries with 1/4 cup of flour. Fold the cranberries, nuts and chocolate chips into the cookie dough.

Drop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto a cookie sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. The cookies will spread a little during baking. Bake 9-13 minutes, until the edges are turning golden. let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Delicious! Still muffiny and not too rich, but much more interesting.  Mischief Managed!