Ringing in the New Year with Cranberry Cookies

Continuing with my cranberry kick as cranberries make me a total Happy Boolo. Wonder what foods make you a Happy Boolo?!

Thanks to our Go Pro buddies Elaine, Keith, and Rebecca (story behind that name for another time…) for being our original taste testers on this recipe during our recent holiday hangout. After a hike through Harms Woods, burger takeout dinners sitting by the firepit, s’mores, hot cocoa and these delightful cranberry cookies were the perfect ending to the perfect evening. We all agreed we could have sat there forever chilling and chatting at a safe social distance warmed by the firepit and heat lamp Elaine and Keith were wise to buy during the early days of the pandemic. It was one of those total Happy Boolo moments. They gobbled up these tasty cranberry bites commenting: “love the flavor,” “texture is great,” “a delicious cookie that is not too sweet” and quickly said “yes” when I asked if they wanted to split the rest of the cookies between their two households. So I knew I had a winner cookie recipe to add to my repertoire, to share with friends and neighbors, and to post on our blog during next holiday season.

Thanks guys for confirming the deliciousness of this recipe!

However, when I dropped off holiday cookies to my friend and former neighbor Erin and her family, she mentioned she and Brian still had fresh cranberries in their fridge and they were wondering what to do with them. I mentioned the recipe and let her know that this new cookie was in her bag of holiday treats. So when I received her '“Delish!” text that night, that did it. If you have any extra fresh cranberries in your fridge this holiday season, this may be the perfect fun treat to bake as we say “goodbye” to 2020 and “hello” to 2021.

Hmmm what should we do with these extra cranberries?

I will definitely re-feature this cookie early next holiday season, so you can easily incorporate into any holiday cookie exchanges and other festive gatherings you may be attending (assuming hopefully that 2021 holiday seasons allows all of us humans to gather normally again!)

What I love about this recipe is that is a beautiful combination of tartness, sweetness and lemony zest! It is what I would characterize as the perfect balance of flavors and demonstrates a cookie’s strong commitment to not being too sweet. It also has the dimension of being a decorated cookie making it fun for any young bakers you have at home who enjoy decorating their treats.

So if you are up for a fun New Year’s baking endeavor, I encourage you to try this out. Thanks to Just a Little Bit of Bacon for the foundational recipe.

Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest (depending on how lemony you want it; I like it lemony!)
14 tbsp (7 oz, 1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter cool room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 1 1/4 cup chopped fresh cranberries (I love cranberries so of course I always defer to the upper end of the range.)

Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1 - 2 tsp lemon zest (depending on how lemony you like it - I always use more of anything flavorful!)
1/2 - 3/4 tbsp cream cheese (I like the creaminess of the cream cheese so I use the upper end of the range and sometimes more.)
Red sanding/decorating sugar

Instructions

The toughest part of ingredient prep is chopping the cranberries as they can be quite pesky and roll away from you as you attempt chopping. Thanks to my dear boolo Mike for the recommendation of placing the cutting board into a baking pan. Then those round bursts of red can’t escape. :)
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, table salt, and cornstarch. Set aside.
In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together until the sugar has become lemon scented. When fully infused, this mixture will smell divine!
Add the butter and beat the sugar and butter together on medium high until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until just blended. Pour the cranberries into the bowl and fold them in with a silicone spatula. Put the cookie dough in the refrigerator and chill for 30-45 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, 2 tbsp lemon juice, lemon zest, and cream cheese until smooth, adding more lemon juice if needed so that the glaze drizzles from the end of a spoon.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten the tops of the cookies with the bottom of a measuring cup or glass. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks and cool to room temperature.
(Now for the fun part if you have little ones at home who love to decorate cookies or if you are a child at heart like me, you cookie decorating self can fully indulge. )
Using your spoon, scoop up the glaze and drizzle it over the cookies until all the cookies have some glaze on them.
Let the glaze set for a couple minutes and then sprinkle the sanding sugar on the cookies. (Be sure you avoid the glaze fully setting as then the sugar will not stick to the cookie.)

Please note that when I photographed this instance of making the cookies, I made a double batch, so you are seeing me use more of each ingredient than is listed above.

Infusing the sugar with zest - my favorite part as it smells divine!

Time to make the glaze!

Dough is chilled - time to bake the cookies!

Cooling, sprinkling, glazing station ready to go

Ringing in the New Year with Cranberry Cookies

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