|
Sorry this took me so long. Please do try these; they get rave reviews every time I make them. (Unnecessary personal note: They were one of my father's favorite holiday cookies, and I started making them last year for the first time since he passed away in 1998, so if you care to, eat one for my dad.)
These are from Rose Levy Beranbaum's book, Rose's Christmas Cookies. Everything I have made from this book has been a winner.
Marion Bush's Cranberry-Chocolate Chippers
makes 2 1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies
Ingredients
(given in volume, ounces, and grams):
walnut halves 1/2 cup 1.75 oz 50 g
bleached all-purpose flour 1 cup plus 2 Tbps dip & sweep 5.5 oz 160g
baking soda 1/2 tsp
zest from 1 large orange 2 scant Tbsp, finely chopped 10g
granulated white sugar 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp 2.5 oz 75g
light brown sugar 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (firmly packed) 3oz 82g
unsalted butter 8 Tbsp 4 oz 113g
1 large egg
pure vanilla extract 1/4 tsp
fresh cranberries 1 1/2 cups 5.25 oz 150g
semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup 6oz 170g
Ungreased cookie sheets.
Place 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat oven to 375.
Place the walnuts on a cooke sheet and bake them, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.
Food Processor Method
In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda, then whisk together to mix evenly. Set aside.
In a food processor with the metal blade, process the orange zest and sugars until they are well mixed. Cut the butter into a few pieces and add it with the motor running. Process until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and process until just incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the cranberries and pulse to chop them coarsely, scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure uniformity. Pulse in the flour mixture and the walnuts, just until the flour is incorporated. The nuts will be coarsely chopped.
Scrape the batter into a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
Electric Mixer Method (or adapt this to do by hand)
Soften the butter. Coarsely chop the cranberries and walnuts. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda, then whisk together to mix evenly. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, orange zest, and vanilla extract until blended, scraping the sides of the bowl. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Add the walnuts, cranberries, and chocolate chips and beat just until blended.
For Both Methods
Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto the cookie sheets.
Bake for 20 minutes. The cookies should still be soft. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.
Allow the cookies to cool on the sheets for a few minutes. When they are firm enought to lift, use a small, angled metal spatula or pancake turner to transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Store:
In an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.
Keeps:
One month at room temperature, several months frozen.
Smart Cookie:
-When removing the zest from the orange, remove only the orange portion and not the bitter white pith beneath.
-Use only fresh cranberries. Frozen cranberries bleed their juices into the dough, and the cookies have a tendency to burn on the outside before cooking thoroughly.
-The food processor method for making this cookie dough is especially effective because the batter does not turn pink.
-These cookies are also delicous without the chocolate.
-Allow the cookie sheets to cool completely before using for the next batch.
-Distribute the cookies evenly around the cookie sheet. Avoid crowding the cookies into one section of the sheet, leaving a large area bare.
My notes:
I drop by teaspoons and bake for 13-15 minutes. I have always used the nuts and chocolate chips. I have used all three methods (food processor, KA stand mixer, and by hand) to make these, and the food processor is absolutely the fastest and easiest way. Chopping cranberries by hand is a pain because they roll all over your cutting board. I use my Microplane to take the zest off the orange, and buy an unwaxed, organic orange if I can find one. I've never frozen these but I'm sure if she says you can, that it would be fine, as I've never been led astray by her directions. I repeat, these cookies are a real winner.
Please enjoy!
|