December is the most notorious month on the calendar. It's both cheerful and stressful: full of parties, shopping, tree-lighting ceremonies . The television blah-blahs about kisses beginning with K and finding meaning inside (wherever that is), and if you read magazines, well, then you feel like you should be baking Christmas cookies, no matter what you celebrate.
And really, that's great. Because sure, I like to bake and I like to look at tinsel and enjoy Christmas markets in the city. Any city! And one would think that I would use any excuse in the book to churn out batch after batch of the holiday cookies splashed all over the front page of Martha Stewart Living.
But for some reason, not this year. I've opened Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day about eight times in the past week and none of the recipes that used to leave my drooling have inspired me. And while I suppose they're still drool-worthy, the idea of actually preparing them sounds utterly too time consuming and impossible.
So I've been sticking to simple things. Turkey meatballs, the occasional sandwich and salads. I did muster up the motivation to give these big chewy cookies a try because with tart cranberries and smooth white chocolate chips - I figured they'd be worth it in the end. Even if I had to do extra dishes.
Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Combine, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl.
3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 1 - 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
I am going to steal this yum yum yummy recipe, weather has started getting cool here so I can bake these cookies.
Posted by: Avelina Dailytrader | August 27, 2010 at 05:53 AM
Mmmm...I made these this weekend. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Posted by: Stacie | February 01, 2010 at 02:21 PM
I just made these from your recipe and they turned out incredible!
Posted by: katiek | December 16, 2009 at 09:13 PM
Just baked these...WONDERFUL!!!
Posted by: Kate | December 12, 2009 at 02:36 PM
I made something incredibly similar a few months ago and really enjoyed them.
Posted by: mandy | December 10, 2009 at 04:42 PM
Those look terrific! I love the balance of super sweet and sour. My husband would go crazy for these.
Posted by: Dana | December 10, 2009 at 11:18 AM
i really would love to try one of these :)
any left?
Posted by: ANG* | December 10, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Yummm. I love the taste of cranberries with white chocolate, and the texture from oats.
Posted by: Cecile | December 10, 2009 at 08:55 AM
I hope they were worth it, because they surely look delicious. And there is something about the combination of white chocolate and cranberries that just screams holiday -- and that's not a bad thing.
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | December 10, 2009 at 07:25 AM
the cranberries make them a healthy cookie--right?!
Posted by: Daryl | December 10, 2009 at 04:42 AM