I’ve had this post half started for a couple of weeks now (what up, slacker), but somehow keep losing my train of thought, or get distracted by some sort of shiny object, whoops! I don’t have anything particularly earth shattering to say about how these cookies came about other than I had a pregnancy fueled cookie craving (or at least that’s what I’m blaming it on!), a giant bag of dried cranberries and some white chocolate chips on hand. Interestingly enough, I couldn’t find any recipes for cranberry-white chocolate cookies, so I went to the old standby- The Joy of Cooking- and scanned the cookie recipes for something that would fit what I was looking for. The recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies had all the right things I was looking for and with a little modification for what I had on hand, I got the perfectly satisfying cookie I was looking for without having to leave the house to hit up the grocery store or bakery, and all was right in the world.
I’m a huge fan of the dried fruit/chocolate combination, and the tart, chewiness of the cranberries balanced very well with the smoothness of the white chocolate. I was happy that they also go the seal of approval from my husband (a true connoisseur of baked goods), as well as the boys at my all male office. I can usually tell when a baked good goes over well if the tin is empty before 1PM, and one of my bosses was sniffing around for extra cookies well before that time.
White Chocolate & Dried Cranberry Cookies
(recipe modified from The Joy of Cooking’s White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies)
-- 2 ½ Cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tsp. baking soda
-- 1 Cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
-- 1 1/3 Cups organic white sugar
-- 2/3 Cup packed light brown sugar
-- 2 Large eggs
-- 1 Tsp. vanilla
-- 1 Cup dried cranberries
-- 1 Cup white chocolate morsels or coarsely chopped white chocolate
Pre-heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add in cranberries and white chocolate. Spoon generous teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheets (about 1 ½ inches apart) and bake for 15-18 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
