This is a lovely cookie that is good at anytime, but especially good now. Cranberries evoke memories of celebrations, good food and of course – desserts! I picked this as another of the treats. It is probably one you might have made a variation off in the past, but I liked how it came together, how it baked and most importantly, how it tasted. The tartness of the cranberries with the sweetness of the white chocolate and the background taste of orange – delicious!
It’s a variation of a cookie from the good folks at King Arthur Flour. Like all my “first times” with a recipe, I always try them as presented. If I like the end result, then I customize it to suit my mood, or whatever flavors I’m craving – in this case, the white chocolate (which I don’t typically use). You don’t have to add white chocolate as I think it would taste equally delicious with dark or milk chocolate. So would pecans, walnuts or almonds, really any nut you like. What about toffee bits or candied ginger?! There is a theme here, flavorings/add-ins are your choice, so be creative – this goes for almost any cookie you make. Just keep your proportions similar. That said, I’ve never had a problem where 1/2 to 1 cup more add-ins than the recipe calls for has done any damage to the end result. This cookie is baked at a high temperature so it is really important to keep an eye on them. Remember they will firm up more as they cool.
For presentation purposes, if you like, add a drizzle of white or dark chocolate across the top of the cookie. but then, in my humble opinion, these are not the kind of cookie that need embellishment, but it’s Christmas – live it up! You could also roll the dough balls in sugar before baking or better yet orange citrus sugar.
So get cracking and make a batch of these. Keep them small and you will get about 50 of them. I used a teaspoon and kept them all about the same size, flattened them out slightly and baked. It is a softer cookie so when it cools, immediately transfer to an airtight container. Just a tip, when storing cookies, I always put them in a freezer bag first and then into an airtight container. I find they taste fresher and keep longer (however, I have never been able to test the “longer” part of this theory). As always – enjoy!
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (113g, 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
- zest of 1 large orange (the zest of just bought oranges have a stronger flavor than the ones sitting in your fruit bowl)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (228g) dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425f and line two baking sheets with parchment – set aside
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand you ambitious thing!), beat together the butter, sugar, zest, vanilla, baking powder, and salt
- Add the egg and continue to beat until combined – it might look slightly curdled, all good
- Add the flour, dried cranberries and chocolate stirring until well combined.
- Use a teaspoon (to make small snackable ones like I did) to scoop the dough, roll it into a ball and coat in the sugar
- Place on the lined baking sheets leaving about 1″ between them
- When you have a complete tray, using the tines of a fork (it’s my new preferred way to flatten the cookie) or the bottom of a drinking glass or even your fingers and flatten the cookies slightly, to a about 1/2″ thick.
- Bake the cookies for 6 to 7 minutes for smaller cookies 2 – 3 minutes longer for larger ones, until they’re barely set, and a light golden brown around the edges – this will ensure they remain chewy. Baking longer results in a crunchy cookie (still delicious and really, isn’t that what Christmas sweets are all about! 🙂 )
- Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely before storing
