Cranberry Orange and Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Yesterday, I played the game of what's in my pantry that I can turn into a cookie? I use this 'technique' to take stock of my baking supplies, use up any niggling leftovers, and justify not leaving the house for groceries when it's 20 degrees outside.

The ingredients I turned up were: cranberries, dried coconut flakes, and clementines. I figured that those made sense as a cookie, so I did some research and found this recipe, which I think is actually from a butter company (mildly hilarious). I loosely based my cookies off of this and the result was a delightfully light cookie with hints of orange, vanilla, and a tart cranberry bite to offset the sea of rich desserts popular right now.

To start: pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, orange (or clementine) peel, and vanilla until smooth. Add in the egg, repeat, and set aside.

In a smaller bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking soda. Add this into the larger bowl in stages, mixing it in a little bit at a time. Lastly, add in the dried coconut and cranberries (*I always coat these in a light dusting of flour first to make sure they don't sink in the batter). If you're using an electric mixer, it will cut up the cranberries for you, otherwise chop roughly before adding. Once thoroughly combined, set aside.

Pour some sugar into a large bowl to roll the cookies in. I used a jar of vanilla flavored sugar that I made earlier, in this recipe to give them a lovely, floral finish.

Going back to the dough, roll out 1 inch cookies, coating them in the sugar, and place 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, let cool, and enjoy!

Ingredients:

- 3/4th c butter, unsalted
- 1 1/4th c granulated sugar
- 1/2 tbsp grated orange (or clementine) peel
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 c flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8th tsp salt
- 1 c cranberries
- 1 c dried coconut flakes (if sweetened, use only 1 c sugar and 1 tsp vanilla)
- 3/4th c granulated sugar for coating

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes
Makes 24 cookies