Cranberry-Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cranberry-Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Cranberry-Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last Sunday, I baked Cranberry-Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies for the Christmas party at work the next day. I came across a recipe from Mother Thyme, but reduced the light brown and granulated sugar and replaced orange extract with orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice. I did not have Orange Extract, but I had a huge bag of oranges I bought at my local Stop & Shop the day before. The recipe below is easy and feature the flavor and color of the holidays. When the cookies came right out of the oven, I could not help myself and ate two of them. It took a lot of will power not to eat more. The combination of the dried cranberries with the orange juice, zest and white chocolate chips is sublime. The cookies are soft and chewy and all the flavors shine through. You need to add this cookie to your holiday baking.

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies or more depending on size.

Close-up of Cranberry-Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I use King Arthur Flour)

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Kosher/Coarse Salt

1 cup, 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened and each stick cut into 8 cubes

2/3 cup Granulated Sugar

2/3 cup Light Brown Sugar, slightly packed

2 Extra Large Eggs

Zest of 2 Oranges

2 tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

1 1/2 cups Dried Cranberries

1 1/2 cups White Chocolate Chips (I use Ghirardelli)

I've got my eye on you cookie

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium size bowl, combine with spatula dried cranberries and white chocolate chips; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine with spatula granulated and brown sugar; set aside.

In a medium size bowl, combine with spatula flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Cookies cooling. They smell so amazing!

Using a hand held or stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed, cream butter and sugars for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, then the orange juice and orange zest.

Turn the mixer on low speed, and add the flour mixture slowly just until incorporated.

Take spatula and scrape sides of bowl to ensure everything is incorporated.

With a spatula, fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Yummy and beautiful Cranberry-Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Using a standard size ice cream scoop, drop balls of dough on baking sheets spacing each 2 inches apart.

Bake for 11 to13 minutes or until the edges start to brown. My cookies baked in 12 minutes.

Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack to complete cooling; about 1 hour.

Recipe adapted from Mother Thyme:
http://www.motherthyme.com/2012/11/cranberry-orange-white-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys