Fruity Oat Breakfast Cookies

I hope that you are enjoying the new year! I need to get organized and find recipes for all of the different ingredients that I have picked up recently, but I’ll be honest I am not that quick. I did get two kitchen cupboards swapped so I am very happy about that. I will no longer try and get all my baking pans out of a cupboard with a tiny 10” wide door. Now items that I use infrequently are in that awkward cupboard. 

We still have a lot of treats from the holidays around, so I decided to look in a different direction. I have been getting emails from a few baking sites, including Eating Well, for which I used to have a subscription. These are called breakfast cookies and with oats and dried fruit they are less decadent. I did make some changes, so they aren’t as healthy, but still in the right direction.

These called for cashew butter, but I ended up using peanut butter that I already had on hand. My store didn’t have lemons, so I substituted an orange. Instead of ½ cup flour and ½ cup whole wheat flour, I used 1 cup of all-purpose flour. I find dried blueberries to be a little grainy, so I used dried mixed fruit instead. Choose what you like, the recipe is flexible! So, my cookies aren’t quite as healthy as they could be, but they are lovely and not too sweet. They are a good way to start the new year.

Fruity Oat Breakfast Cookies
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup nut butter (cashew, almond, etc.)
1 egg
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla 
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, etc.)
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter and nut butter and beat on medium until light. Add the egg, orange juice and zest, and vanilla, mixing again on medium to combine. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the oat mixture to the butter/brown sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Folk in the dried fruit and chopped pecans. 

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” mounds on the prepared baking sheets and gently flatten the cookies with the palm of your hand. 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets half-way through the cooking time. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Recipe from Eating Well

Cranberry & White Chocolate Shortbread

I have had this recipe saved for a long time and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t made them previously. This is a Canadian recipe, from Robin Hood Flour, which is a big vendor there. They also sponsor the Canadian Baking Show, so I am also familiar for that reason. I really like the Canadian Baking Show, it’s similar to the British show, but with different hosts and judges. And the challenges are a bit different and reflect the mosaic that is truly Canadian.

I haven’t made anything with dried cranberries recently, but it’s one of those things that I always have on hand. The ones that I have are a bit different, and while they are dried, they look almost like they are freeze-dried. The berries are whole, and not wrinkly like a raisin. Different, but I don’t recall that they tasted different last time I used them.

I followed this recipe as posted, but my bars were super crumbly. I know they are shortbread, which is always a bit crumbly, but these were extreme! I think I baked them for a couple of minutes longer than needed; it’s hard to tell as they don’t brown much. I also didn’t cut them after 30 minutes- it’s busy this time of year and I was doing something else! So these don’t look as polished as I had hoped, but they are still very tasty.

Cranberry & White Chocolate Shortbread
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium until creamy. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. 

Pat evenly into the prepared pan. Prick the top of the bars with a fork.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the bar begin to turn golden along the edge. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting into bars. Lift the bars from the pan and peel away the foil. Cut into squares while still warm. Dust with additional powdered sugar before serving.

Recipe from Robin Hood Flour

Cranberry Apple Butter Oat Cookies

I have a list of recipes that I plan to bake before my big holiday baking starts. I have a lot of Halloween candy in the house, but when it came time to bake, I just didn’t feel like chopping up candy for the cookies. Some days I am just tired! Hopefully I will get to those soon, as I certainly don’t need to eat all of that candy. I looked through the recipes that I have saved and came across this oat cookie.

I thought that I had some cranberry apple butter on hand, that my husband and I had recently picked up at a local festival. I did have that and I thought that would add an interesting twist to this recipe. You can use apple butter, but this is apple butter with a little extra flavor. Anything with apple butter is going to be a bit soft and sticky, and that was true for these cookies.

The original recipe said that it would make 3 dozen cookies, and I questioned that since it used 5 cups of flour/oats. I ended up making a little over 4 dozen cookies, and I don’t think that I would have wanted them to be any larger. They are sticky, so flattening them worked best with a slightly damp palm of my hand. They don’t look remarkably different once you bake them, but they are set. I baked mine closer to 13 minutes, and they remained soft. These have a great oat flavor, and I like the subtle addition of cranberry to these cookies.

Cranberry Apple Butter Oat Cookies
2 cups flour
3 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup cranberry apple butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until the mixture looks like damp sand. Add the eggs, cranberry apple butter, and vanilla and mix again on medium until smooth.

With the mixer running on low, add 1/3 of the flour/oat mixture, mixing until nearly combined. Add another 1/3 of the flour/oats and mix, then add the remaining flour/oat mixture and stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be soft.

Scoop the dough into the baking sheet using a 1 tablespoon scoop, making dough balls about 1-1/4” in diameter. Flatten the cookies slightly. 

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are soft but set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Sweet, Savory & Sassy

Cranberry Pecan Christmas Fudge

There are quite a few Christmas fudge recipes that are out there, and sometimes they have similarities and sometimes they are very different. I actually made a Christmas Swirl Fudge last year, but that was a white fudge with red and green swirls. The recipe that I am making this year, also a variation of Christmas Fudge us a two-toned fudge, with a chocolate pecan layer and a white chocolate cranberry layer. It is very different from last year, but also very festive for Christmas.

I was concerned that it may be difficult to make the fudge layers and keep them completely separate, but that was no concern at all. I ended up using my 9” square pan, so the fudge is thinner than had a used a smaller pan. I worried at first, but when I cut the fudge, the pieces looked great, so I need to learn to worry less.

I made one change to the recipe- the original called for a cinnamon and chocolate chips in the chocolate layer, and I just used traditional chocolate chips. I do love cinnamon chips, and probably are festive, but I kept this one simple. I also used dried cranberries from Nuts.com and they were perfectly round! I had never seen that before, but they taste wonderful. My husband deemed this my best fudge of the year, and it is hard to disagree!

Cranberry Pecan Christmas Fudge
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 can sweetened condensed milk, divided
½ teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
½ cup dried cranberries

Line a 8" or 9” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, vanilla, and half of the sweetened condensed milk. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until the mixture is smooth. Add the pecans and stir to combine. Spread the chocolate layer evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.

In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, and the remaining half can of sweetened condensed milk. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the dried cranberries.

Pour the white chocolate layer on top of the chocolate layer, spreading evenly.

Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Once the fudge is chilled, remove the fudge from the pan and cut into 1-inch squares.

Recipe from Midwestern HomeLife

Gingerbread Thumbprints with Cranberry Jam

While I tend to plan my holiday baking a bit in advance, it seems that I never quite bake according to the list I develop. This can be for many reasons; sometimes I find a recipe that I just have to make, or something ends up taking more time than I have, and sometimes recipes don’t quite turn out and I need to take the time to tweak the recipe before I try it again. I hadn’t planned on making these cookies, but I saw them and was convinced. Oh, and that other recipe needs some tweaking as well.

I saw this recipe and the only thing I needed to see if we had on hand was cranberry jam. We buy different jams all the time, so I was fairly confident! We did have a jar of Christmas jam, which was cranberry with some orange flavor added in, which sounded perfect for these cookies! The only difficult was the original recipe called for “walnut-sized balls” and I honestly don’t have a good reference for that. I just made each cookie weigh 25 grams. 

These cookies were fun to make, but they do take a little time and patience to get them shaped right. I found that shaping the cookies and then flattening slightly on the baking sheet helped maintain their shape when I make the indentation in the cookies. I also don’t list a quantity for the jam. I made about 30 cookies, and each cookie uses about 1/4 teaspoon, so you don’t use a lot. These are the most beautiful ginger cookies with a perfect, and perhaps unexpected, flavor or cranberries. This recipe is not one to miss.

Gingerbread Thumbprints with Cranberry Jam
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
100 grams sugar
1 egg
160 grams molasses
420 grams flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cranberry/Christmas jam

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until well combined. Add the egg and molasses and mix until incorporated. It may look slightly lumpy, but it will work once all of the ingredients have been added. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture and stir until the dough comes together.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4 inch dough balls. Round them in your hands and then flatten them slightly. With your thumb or other tool, make an indentation in each cookie, pressing the edges back together if the cookies split slightly. Fill each indentation with a small amount of jam.

Bake for 12 minutes, until set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Polabaker

Cranberry Crumble Bars

It’s the 12 Days of Holiday Recipes! Over the next few weeks I will be posting 12 cookie and fudge recipes that I have discovered this year.

As I mentioned recently, the area where I live was hit hard with heavy winds, knocking out the power at home for four days. Our cats were so confused as to why we were sitting in the dark and the cold, and I am sure they were thinking that we just needed to turn on the heat!. We are glad that the power has been restored, but we had to throw away nearly everything in the refrigerator and freezer. I had just stocked up for holiday baking, but thankfully only a few things are refrigerated. I do feel like it has put me horribly behind schedule, but what can you do?

I had planned to make these Cranberry Crumble Bars last week, but that didn’t happen! I thought that they are a nice transition between Thanksgiving and the holiday season. With the fresh cranberries, they are nice and tart, but have the balance of the cookie dough to keep them sweet. I did have to restock a few things before I could make these, but that was minimal.

This recipe called for an 8” pan, but it has a lot of ingredients so I used my 9” pan. I still had plenty of dough! Adjusting the pan size, I knew I needed to watch the baking time but I didn’t have any issue. I had reserved two cups of dough for the topping and didn’t need all of it, I used a little over a cup, so you could adjust the ratio of base and topping if you’d like. Your house will smell magical when you bake these, the cranberries are tart but pair so well with the other flavors.

Cranberry Crumble Bars
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” square baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until the ingredients are combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir on low until a dough forms.

Set aside about 2 cups of dough for the topping. Press the remaining dough evenly into the prepared pan. Use a measuring cup to help flatten the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the center is set. Remove the pan from the oven but keep the oven on.

In a large bowl combine the cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and juice, and vanilla. Stir with a spatula, then pour the mixture over the partially baked crust.

Break up the reserved 2 cups of dough with your hands and randomly place on top of the cranberry filling, making a crumble. This should not be a solid layer, you want to be able to see the cranberry filling in different places.

Bake for an additional 45 minutes. You may need to cover the bars after 30 minutes or the bars will brown too much. Cool the bars completely before adding the glaze.

Make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla. Add additional heavy cream if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle over the cooled bars.

Recipe from Browned Butter Blondie

Lemon Cranberry Cookies

So often, cookies this time of year are hearty and full of chocolate. When I choose recipes, I try to mix up the types of cookies I make. Cookies containing cranberries are perfect this time of year, so I try not to forget to include something with either fresh or dried cranberries. This is a lovely recipe, fruity and refreshing with the combination of lemon and cranberry.

I was reading through the recipe, and it calls for one single cranberry per cookie, so that told me that these cookies are petite. The original recipe called for fresh cranberries, but I had cranberries I had frozen on hand, and I figured those would work. Although the cranberry color seeped out in a couple of cookies, the frozen berries worked well.

These cookies are small, but they really pack a punch! The lemon glaze, which is simply powdered sugar and lemon juice, is tart and pairs perfectly with the tart cranberry. The cookie itself is similar to shortbread, rich and slightly crumbly. These cookies are wonderful for the holidays, especially if you are wanting something slightly different!

Lemon Cranberry Cookies
2/3 cup sugar
Zest of one lemon
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/3 cups flour
Sanding sugar
Fresh cranberries

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 teaspoons lemon juice

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, bear the sugar and lemon zest on medium to make lemon sugar. The sugar will be fragrant and pale yellow. Add the butter and beat on medium until light. Stir in the egg yolks and vanilla.
With the mixer running on low, stir in the flour.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sanding sugar. Push a cranberry into the top of each cookie.

Bake for 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and two teaspoons lemon juice to make a glaze. Add additional lemon juice if needed to thin the glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies.

Recipe from Lord Byron’s Kitchen

Browned Butter, Cranberry, and Oat Cookies with Cream Cheese Chips

I recently got a large supply of baking chips and a few other ingredients, so I knew it was time to clean out the chips I had and discard anything that was too old. Many chips needed to go, and some others I couldn’t tell what the date was. Why put some abstract code on the chips that you can’t interpret? It is so annoying! In my treasures, I was reminded that I had cream cheese chips, which came out last year. I vowed to use them in a recipe!

The only recipe I could find easily for cream cheese chips is the recipe on the package. I’m sure they are good but not super interesting. I went looking for cookies with white chocolate chips, and then determined if the flavors would pair with cream cheese. I found two recipes, and I started with this one. I suppose cranberries are edging towards the holidays, but we are getting there anyway!

At first, I wasn’t going to brown the butter, but I did. I browned 3/4 of the butter and then melted the remaining cold butter into the browned butter. This caused the mixture to bubble up and spill all over everything, so next time I will just brown all of the butter. Otherwise, these cookies are easy to make. Of course, you could use white chips if that is what’s available. I think the combination of flavors in this cookie is incredible and I got many compliments when I took them to work. Sadly, all of the cookies I left at home are already gone, so I guess I need to make them again!

Browned Butter, Cranberry, and Oat Cookies with Cream Cheese Chips
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 cup oats
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup cream cheese chips
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a small saucepan, cut the butter into pieces and place them in the pan. Heat on medium low, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter melts and begins to brown. Remove the butter from the heat, transfer to a different bowl, and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the cooled butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium to combine. Add the egg and egg yolk and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. When the mixture is almost cohesive, fold in the cream cheese chips and dried cranberries.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 tablespoon balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the dough balls slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow the cookies to cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Serena Bakes

Cranberry Orange Drop Cookies

Christmas Cookie #5! I had a different cranberry cookie planned, but I came across these and figured they would be quicker to make and portable for a potluck that I was attending. I had everything on hand, including frozen cranberries and an orange, so I was good to go. This recipe originally called for walnuts, but I tend to use pecans instead. I think many different nuts would work in this recipe.

This recipe is not a challenge, but I do question the 2-1/2 cups of chopped cranberries that the original recipe asked for. There was no way that I could incorporate that amount into the dough. While I was shaping the cookies, they seemed to shape better when there were fewer cranberries in that part of the dough. I changed it to 1-1/2 cups, but I think even 1 cup might be sufficient. Cranberries are tart, so less is just fine.

I used frozen cranberries and let them refrigerate for a while as I was working on several different doughs. Having any type of fruit in a cookie tends to lead to a wet dough, and that was true for these cookies as well. I don’t know that using fresh cranberries would make much of a difference. The browned butter frosting is fantastic, and the browned butter shines through. I had not used hot water in frosting before, so I did a combination of hot water and milk. I needed to add more liquid, as the frosting was so thick! While the consistency of the frosting was different, the combination of browned butter, cranberries, and orange is perfect for the holidays.

Cranberry Orange Drop Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons orange juice
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
 1-1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
 1 cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 to 4 tablespoons hot water/milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the milk, egg, orange zest and orange juice and mix on medium to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Fold in the chopped cranberries and nuts.

Drop the dough into the prepared baking sheets, using about a tablespoon of dough for each cookie.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before frosting.

Once the cookies are cool, make the frosting. In a small saucepan, place the butter and heat on medium low, swirling the pan frequently, until golden brown and smells toasted. This burns easily so it is critical to watch carefully. Transfer the browned butter to a mixer bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Add the powdered sugar and vanilla to the mixer and mix to combine. Gradually add the water/milk, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Pipe or spread the frosting on the cookies.

Recipe from Shirley Kidd via Taste of Home

Frosted Cranberry Apple Butter Bars

In my local area, some of the farmer’s markets and craft shows have opened, with appropriate safety precautions! This is great since those are great places to look for unusual ingredients, and that’s what makes baking fun. Most markets and shows have a greater online presence, which is great as it allows me to look and see what sort of things I might discover.

I recently picked up some cranberry apple butter at one of the shows. I have used apple butter for a couple of recipes, and I figured that this would be a nice twist for the holidays. Since it was cranberry apple butter, I wanted to find a recipe that also included cranberries, thus this recipe! I halved the recipe and made it in an 8” square pan, which was the only change that I made.

This bar cookie spans both fall and holiday flavors, with cinnamon, apple, and oats, but then that is paired with cranberries. This makes a thin bar, with a thin layer of frosting, but I like that this time of year when there is so much of everything around! The cranberry apple butter gives the frosting a light pink hue, which is nice. The bars have a hearty oat flavor, paired with the tart cranberries and the sweet frosting. Your first thought might be Valentine’s Day because of the pink frosting, but they are great for the holidays.

Frosted Cranberry Apple Butter Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cranberry apple butter
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons cranberry apple butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Cinnamon sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until creamy. Add the vanilla and the cranberry apple butter and mix on medium again to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, cinnamon, salt, and oats. Stir in the cranberries with a spatula.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 22-24 minutes, until set. Allow the bars to cool before frosting.

Make the frosting: in a mixer bowl beat the butter until smooth. Add the cranberry apple butter and salt and stir on low to combine. With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the heavy cream, and mix on medium-high until light.

Frost the cooled bars and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Recipe from Inside Bru Crew Life

Triple Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Next up in my menagerie of holiday cookies is this recipe for triple chocolate cranberry cookies. It’s hard to go wrong with cranberries this time of year, and I fondly remember the time my husband and I visited a cranberry bog when we were on holiday. Cranberries don’t grow everywhere, but they do grow here in Washington State. They are wonderful in recipes, and it’s a classic to pair them with white chocolate chips.

I planned to take these to work, as we are wrapping up the quarter. Several of my colleagues have dietary needs, so I decided to bake these cookies with no dairy (except eggs) and no gluten. I used vegan butter and used dairy free chocolate and white chocolate chips. I found Kosher and dairy free white chocolate chips under the King David label, which are a great find. As this recipe only called for ½ cup flour, it was very easy to use the gluten-free flour mixture that I have for that small amount.

This recipe makes a lot of cookies! I ended up making 4-1/2 dozen, which is the largest batch I have made in a long time. I melted the chocolate and butter in the microwave, but you could also do this in a double boiler. Letting the cookies stand before baking was fine, as it took that long to heat the oven. Rotating the baking sheet half-way through the time is the biggest challenge, if you can call it that! These cookies a very fudgy, but that is balanced by the white chocolate and pecans. You can’t taste the cranberries all that much, but you do occasionally get that nice chewy bite.

Triple Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup butter or vegan butter
1/2 cup flour or gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium microwaveable bowl, combine the chocolate chips, unsweetened chocolate, and butter. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder on medium for four minutes, until thick and pale. Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir on low to combine. Stop the mixer half-way through this process to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as this will help incorporate the chocolate. With the mixer running on low, add the flour and mix for 30 seconds. Fold in the white chocolate chips, pecans, and cranberries with a spatula. Allow the mixture to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Scoop the dough onto the baking sheets, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half-way through the baking time. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Bobbie Lloyd, The Magnolia Bakery via People Magazine

Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

I like baking with cranberries, and one of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten was an oatmeal, white chocolate, and dried cranberry cookie. Those came from a mix I had picked up at a gift shop, and I’m not really sure what make them so special. I’ve tried making similar recipes, and they just aren’t the same. They are missing something, but I am not sure what exactly.

These cookies are different, as they use fresh/frozen cranberries, but they sounded so good. They are also dairy free, as long as you use dairy free chocolate chips for the topping. I tend to bake with butter fairly exclusively, but there are times when shortening is the right ingredient. Shortening adds softness, and that is something that butter can’t add in the same way.

These cookies are quick, which is good as I was facing a time crunch when I was deciding which cookies to make. I didn’t really have time to refrigerate the dough, so these were simply mix and bake. I didn’t even chop the cranberries, and they baked up fine. I drizzled mine with chocolate, again as that saved some time. I really like the texture of these cookie, soft in the middle with a crisp edge texture, and the cranberries add a pop of tartness. These cookies remind me of something my grandmother used to make, and that’s always a good memory.

Chocolate-Dipped Cranberry Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening
Chopped nuts, if desired

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

 

In a large mixer bowl, beat the shortening and sugar on medium until light. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and stir to combine. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Dry the cranberries (if needed) and fold into the dough. 

 

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire baking rack.

In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate and shortening until melted and smooth. Dip each cookie halfway into the melted chocolate or drizzle on top of the cookies. If desired, sprinkle with chopped nuts. Allow the cookies to set before serving.

Recipe from Barbara Nowakowski, Taste of Home

Cranberry Bars

 

This is another good time-saving recipe. These bar cookies call for two parts: the cranberry sauce and the cookie bars. The cranberry sauce can be made a day or even a couple of days in advance. You can also use store bought whole berry cranberry sauce if you’d prefer. I made the cranberry sauce and then transferred it to a bowl. I stuck it into the refrigerator until I was ready to make the bars. It gets a little solid, but a quick stir before adding it to the bars was all that was needed.

The quantities listed here are for a half recipe, and you’ll notice that it makes a reasonable amount of cranberry sauce (about 1-1/2 cups) and not very much cookie dough. I could have made double the amount of cookie dough and it probably would have been fine. Perhaps it would have needed a longer bake, but that always varies a little anyway.

Since I had so little cookie dough, I didn’t divide the dough into equal halves. I tried to spread half the dough into the pan, but it was simply too thin, and I ended up using probably 60% of the dough for the base. It needed to be solid! I figured that the top layer could be more like a crumble topping, so that is what I did. Since I didn’t have a lot of dough on the top, it was more difficult to tell when the cookies were done, but I took them out of the oven when they were golden. These cookies are a wonderful combination of the tart of the cranberries and the sweet of the cookie. It’s a winning combination!

Cranberry Bars
6 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter; cut into pieces
1 egg

Make the cranberry filling: in a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the cranberries pop and the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool completely.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large food processor, mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder and pulse to combine. At the pieces of butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Add the egg and pulse until the dough comes together.

Place a little more than half the dough in the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Top with the cooled cranberry filling. Sprinkle the top with the remaining dough, pressing down carefully.

Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Dish in the Kitchen

Maple Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

I’ve had these cookies marked for a little while now, and when I was looking through my recipes, I was wondering why I would pin an oatmeal raisin cookie, even one with maple glaze. I was reading through the recipe and I was thinking that I could change it up a little bit. In terms of dried fruits, we have a good variety on hand. We have lots of dried cranberries, so I thought I would try those. I could have used brandy to soak the cranberries, but I looked and noticed we had cranberry liqueur that we purchased last year while on holiday.

Since I am trying to make small batches, I ended up making half of this recipe. The original yield was two dozen cookies, so I figured that half would be perfect. I should have paid closer attention to the amount of flour and oats used, because halving the recipe still made two dozen cookies. I suppose that’s better than 4 dozen, but still a lot. I did make the full amount of glaze.

 The cookie itself is quite traditional, with the exception of soaking the fruit in alcohol. If you don’t drink alcohol, you could skip that step, but it does add an interesting flavor. The maple glaze makes these cookies unusual. It is a bit tricky to know when these are baked, as I made mine smaller than the original. At 8 minutes they weren’t done, at 10 they were perhaps too done, but they were good. I needed the entire amount of glaze to top my two dozen cookies. The glaze sets very quickly, so don’t take your time topping the cookies! I spooned on the glaze and then used a brush to smooth it out. The cookies are soft, and the glaze adds a nice bit of sweetness. They aren’t your typical oatmeal cookie, but that’s what I was looking for!

Maple Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
3/4 cup cranberry liqueur/brandy
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar

Slightly warm the cranberry liqueur and then remove from the heat. Combine the warmed liqueur and dried cranberries in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. When almost combined, drain the dried cranberries and add them to the dough. Mix on low until incorporated.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 2” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the dough balls slightly with the palm of your hand.  

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. The cookies may look under baked but will set as they cool. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the maple syrup and butter. Once melted, remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar. Top each of the cookies with a small amount of glaze.

Recipe from https://iambaker.net/maple-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/

Granola Biscotti

Most of the time, I get my recipes from Pinterest. I find that recipes that other bloggers have made are typically very reliable. I do have to say that sometimes my photos do not look like their photos, but there are many different factors at play. I had planned to bake ahead this week, but that did not happen. Instead of looking online, I decided I would try to find a recipe from the book that is always on my kitchen counter, Dorie’s Cookies.

I love cookbooks, especially those written by Dorie Greenspan, but I rarely use them anymore. In looking for a recipe (ideally one where I had all of the ingredients), I noticed that most of the recipes have you chill the dough for several hours. I know that helps so much, but when I am baking in an evening that is not very practical. I ended up selecting this recipe, originally titled Breakfast Biscotti. I often have granola for breakfast, so I have that on hand, and the remaining ingredients are standard (or substitutable).

Dorie’s recipes have a long introduction, and the main thing to take away from this recipe is if your granola has fruit in it, take that out as those fruits get hard while baking. Mine does, so I did take out the raisins. Some folks are not fans of biscotti, as it is hard, but I find homemade biscotti to be better. You do bake the cookies twice, so they are drier than your typical chocolate chip cookie. The granola adds interesting flavor, and make sure that you use granola that you like, i.e. the granola that you have on hand to eat at breakfast!

Granola Biscotti

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup butter, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup rolled oats

1 cup granola

¼ cup almonds, chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium for 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the oats. Turn off the mixer and add the flour mixture. Turn the mixer on and off, mixing until the flour is almost incorporated. Stir in the granola, almonds, and dried cranberries with a spatula.

Divide the dough into two halves. Shape each half into a rectangle roughly 2-inches by 12-inches. Leave some space between the rectangles, as the dough expands while baking.

Bake for 25 minutes, until cracked and lightly browned. Allow the cookies to rest for 20 minutes before proceeding.

After the cookies have rest, cut the cookies into ½” thick slices using a serrated knife. Place the cookies back on the baking sheet, cut side down, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Turn the biscotti over and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool completely on a baking rack.

Recipe from Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan

Cranberry Port Cookies: 12 Days of Cookies Day 9

It can be a challenge each year to find Christmas cookies that are new and different. I have found, though, that many folks make tried and true classic recipes for their Christmas cookie trays. One of my fondest memories of Christmas was when we got a tin of cookies from Grandma. I know she didn’t make different recipes, in fact I remember that her tins contained peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and surprise cookies. Not fancy, but that’s what I looked forward to each year.

When I was choosing cranberry recipes this year, I came across this recipe in a compilation of Christmas cookies. They are kind of different, as they use pie crust as the basis of the cookie, but that’s ok. The filling is simple, and it cooled very quickly. I made the filling and the cut out the pastry rounds while the filling was in the refrigerator. These turned out well, so I should check out the other cookies in that compilation!

I halved this recipe, which is what is shown here. The original recipe called for double the pastry and using 4 rounds of pastry seemed excessive. You are supposed to cut 21 rounds from each piece of pastry, which I think is impossible. I got 18 rounds from each piece, and that made 18 cookies total. I also used every bit of the filling, so I felt like 18 was the right number. It feels like they didn’t seal, but I had no problem while they were baking. I made the icing and it is very thick, so I added a little vanilla and that helped.  These are really different and are an interesting addition to holiday baking.

Cranberry Port Cookies

2/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup port wine

1/8 cup water

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pie crust (for a double crust pie)

   

1 cup powdered sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, port wine, water, lemon zest and juice, and the cinnamon. Heat on medium high until the mixture boils. Boil for 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and then process until chopped. Allow to cool completely.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Roll the dough about 1/16” thick. Using a 2-1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 36 rounds. Place about 1 teaspoon of filling on half of the rounds and top with a plain round. Press around the edges with a fork to seal.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Allow to cool before icing.

Make the icing: in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, water, corn syrup, and vanilla. The icing will be thick. Drizzle over the cooled cookies.     

Recipe from Taste of Home