cranberry and white chocolate cookies

May 17, 2013 - Kids, Snacks - Tagged: , , , , - 15 comments

I guess one of the banes of not having a sweet tooth is that I am not mad about cookies. Once in a blue moon, I would eat some, but I seriously cannot recall EVER having a craving for cookies.

Not having a penchant to munch on cookies, however, does not mean that I do not like to make them. In fact, it is one of my favourite things to do! I remember years ago, before kids and all, I would make batches of cookies every Christmas and box them as gifts for friends. 

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Today, I am sharing my recipe for Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies.

I think cranberries and white chocolate make a fantastic combination. Not only do they make a really pretty picture, they also taste great together.

Start by creaming the butter and the sugar until the batter turns light and fluffy.. The butter needs to be soft – at room temperature.

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Here, I have used two types of sugar – caster sugar and brown sugar. Both will impart sweetness, but the caster sugar has the added role of giving the cookie the crunch, while the brown sugar imparts flavour. You can reduce the quantities of the sugar added but do not be tempted to leave out any one of the sugars.

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Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat to incorporate.

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Add the sifted flour and baking soda, in 3 batches, mixing until just incorporated.

Once all the flour has been incorporated, the batter is essentially ready. Do not over mix. You can add anything you like at this stage – dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate.

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Scrape the bottom of the mixing bow with a spatula and add the cranberries and white chocolate, and distribute evenly using the pulse function. 

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Transfer the batter into a smaller bowl and place it in the fridge to chill for an hour. Chilling permits the gluten strands in the flour to relax, avoiding a “rubbery” consistency in the final product. The elapsed time may also permit the flour to absorb more of the moisture in the dough, so the cookies do not spread out so much when baking.

Use an ice cream scoop to dish out portions of the cookie dough. You can use a spoon to drop the batter onto the baking sheets as well, but I like using an ice cream scoop as it allows my cookies to be more or less uniform in shape and size.  (Yes, I am quite anal about things like that.)

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Place the cookie dough was placed on baking sheets. You can also use a lightly greased baking sheet on a baking tray. I left about 4 cm between the cookies so they have room to expand while baking.

Bake at 180°C for 10-12 minutes. Once they have turned golden-brown, they are ready.

Once baked, allow the cookies to rest and cool on the baking tray for about 10 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.

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Cookies can be kept in an air-tight container for a week.

You may want to hide them. 🙂

 

Cranberry And White Chocolate Cookies
Yields 30
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Ingredients
  1. 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  2. 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
  3. 3/4 cup (150g) caster sugar - I used 50g
  4. 2 1/4 cup (280g) plain flour, sifted
  5. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  6. 1 large egg
  7. 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
  8. 150g dried cranberry
  9. 150g white chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Start by creaming the butter and the sugar until the batter turns light and fluffy.
  2. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat to incorporate.
  3. Add the sifted flour and baking soda, in 3 batches, mixing until just incorporated.
  4. Once all the flour has been incorporated, the batter is essentially ready. Do not over mix. You can add anything you like at this stage – dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate.
  5. Scrape the bottom of the mixing bow with a spatula and add the cranberries and white chocolate, and distribute evenly using the pulse function.
  6. Transfer the batter into a smaller bowl and place it in the fridge to chill for an hour.
  7. Use an ice cream scoop to dish out portions of the cookie dough.
  8. Place the cookie dough was placed on baking sheets. You can also use a lightly greased baking sheet on a baking tray. I left about 4 cm between the cookies so they have room to expand while baking.
  9. Bake at 180°C for 10-12 minutes. Once they have turned golden-brown, they are ready.
  10. Once baked, allow the cookies to rest and cool on the baking tray for about 10 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.
Notes
  1. Cookies can be kept in an air-tight container for a week.
Adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly
Adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly
The Domestic Goddess Wannabe http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/





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