Moist, Soft Cranberry Orange Cookies

I always equate bright red cranberries as being something on a festive holiday table. Of course, part of the reason is that that I love the color red because it is so exciting. Big surprise, huh?

Anyway, after sharing my last cranberry recipe, I knew that I had to share this cookie recipe also.

Moist, Soft Cranberry Orange Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter , softened
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
3 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 1/2 cups whole, fresh cranberries, measure then chop
1/2 cup oats

Glaze or Icing:
1/2 to 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 to 4 tablespoons orange juice
1 to 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Finely chop fresh, uncooked cranberries. This can be done by hand, but a food processor makes the task a breeze.

Combine the brown sugar, butter and white granulated sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat the mixture for about 3 minutes. It will become lighter and fluffier.

Add orange zest and an egg to the mixture. Beat on high for 3 more minutes.

Squeeze the juice from an orange and add it to the mixture and beat for a minute.

Add flour and spices to the bowl. Mix the spices a little into the flour with a spoon or combine them together in a separate bowl before adding to the batter. Beat for 2 more minutes.

Add vanilla and beat until combined.

Chop the walnuts into small pieces. You can do this in a food processor, but you can also pour them into a bag and hit them with the edge of a glass or bowl.

Add the nuts and cranberries to the mixture. Combine well for at least 2 minutes.

Add oats. Combine quickly for at least 2 minutes.

Drop by tablespoon fulls onto a baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes.

After baking the cookies, you have three options:

Number One – Leave the cookies plain.

Number Two – Sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle a thin glaze over the top of each hot cookie. The glaze is made with powdered sugar, orange zest and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Number Three – Ice with a thicker version of number 2 by mixing powdered sugar and orange zest with a tiny bit of fresh orange juice. By making the icing thick, it will dry medium hard so that the cookies can be loosely stacked.