Almost anyone who’s ever tried white chocolate and
cranberries together will tell you it’s a winning combination. The mild,
creamy-sweet white chocolate and zingy-tasting fresh berries balance one
another nicely, plus they provide a pretty eye-catching color contrast. Toss ‘em
on the T-giving table for a nice alternative to Turkey Day dessert staples, or
bake ‘em up for anyone ya love to say thanks for being, well, seriously sweet.
Ingredients:
Makes about 35 2 1⁄2-inch cookies
3⁄4 cup (1 1⁄2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 large egg
Grated zest (orange part of the peel) of 1 small orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
Scant 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 2⁄3 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour
1 1⁄2 to 2 cups (up to one 10- to
11-ounce bag) white chocolate morsels
2⁄3 cup chopped fresh or frozen (partially thawed)
cranberries
Directions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350°F.
Line several baking sheets with baking parchment.
In a large microwave-safe bowl with the microwave on 50
percent power, melt the butter just until mostly melted and fluid; stop and
stir every 20 to 30 seconds. Vigorously stir in the sugar until the butter
completely melts; mash out any lumps as necessary. Stir in the dried
cranberries. Let cool till warm. Stir in the egg, orange zest, vanilla, baking
powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until the mixture is well blended and
smooth. Stir in the flour and morsels just until evenly incorporated.
Gently fold in the fresh cranberries until evenly
incorporated. If the dough is crumbly, gradually stir in a few teaspoons of
water until it holds together; if too soft, stir in a few teaspoons of flour.
Using a medium (1 1⁄2-inch) spring-loaded ice cream scoop or
heaping soupspoon, drop the dough into mounds about 2 1⁄2 inches apart on the
sheets. Bake (middle rack) one sheet at a time for 11 to 13 minutes or until
the cookies are tinged with brown and feel almost firm when pressed in the
middle.
Remove from the oven; let stand until the cookies firm up
just slightly, about 2 minutes. Using a wide spatula, transfer the cookies to
wire racks. Cool completely. Cool the baking sheets between batches or the
cookies may spread too much.
Store these, airtight, for up to 1 week. They can be frozen,
airtight, for 3 to 4 weeks.
Excerpted with permission from the
publisher, Wiley, from Simply Sensational
Cookies by Nancy Baggett. Photography by Diane Cu and Todd Porter
Copyright © 2012. Grab a copy of the
sensational cookbook here.
BY NANCY BAGGETT ON 11/18/2012 12:00:00 AM
POSTED IN sweet treats, cookie, cookie swap recipes, fall recipes, winter holiday recipes, chocolate, happy holidays, christmas recipes