12 Days of Cookie – Cranberry Orange Cookies
This is a new recipe for me this year. But when I saw it in Katie’s blog I knew I wanted to try it. I was intrigued by a cookie that isn’t loaded with sugar or chocolate (not that I don’t LOVE sugar and chocolate!). It’s a nicely refreshing cookie to add to any holiday cookie tray or cookie exchange. The batter comes together easily aside from chopping the cranberries. I definitely recommend using a food processor like Katie did. Ours is packed away, so I had to chop by had. First I chopped the crans in half so they wouldn’t roll away. Then I chopped them smaller from there. Aren’t they just so pretty?
Fresh Cranberry Orange Cookies – from Katie – I got 30 cookies using my cookie scoop
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1 c. granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp grated orange zest
juice of 1/2 orange
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. chopped fresh cranberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.
In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and whisk; set aside.
In bowl of stand mixer, combine butter and sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add yolk and beat until fully incorporated.
Add orange juice, then zest and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
Turn mixer to low speed, add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.
Remove bowl from mixer, stir in cranberries, and place 1 Tbsp rounds of dough onto cookie sheets.
Place cookies in the oven and bake, switching baking sheet positions half way through baking time, for 12-14 minutes (they should not brown).
Remove from oven and let cool on pans completely, about 10-15 minutes.
I’m submitting this for Joelen’s Tasty Tools event. The theme this month is Baking Sheets! I’ve been using these a LOT this month with all the cookies I’ve been making! This one is an old one I stole from my mom. It’s my fav and my Silpat fits perfectly. The other two that I have are the Wilton ones with bigger “handles” on the ends. The Silpat doesn’t fit perfectly in it and they’re dark, so sometimes cookies brown more than expected.
My 12 Days of Cookies:Day 1: Lumberjacks
Day 2: Peppermint Sandies
Day 3: The great Sugar Cookie Debate
Day 4: Fudge
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love the idea of perfect party minicakes!! They look delish! Great job! That flour picture is so funny. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that – flour on the counter, on my KA, in my hair, on my face!
Clara @ I♥food4thought
Yum! Love the raspberry/lemon combo, and the mini cakes are adorable 🙂
Well done – what an innovative variation. They look so cute!
I can totally relate to the slippery effect.
Your cake looks beautiful!
You did a lovely job on all your mini cakes.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
Adorable! Your KA and mine would be best friends. ‘Chuck’ is always filthy. Poor guy. He gets cleaned up, just to be coated again. 😉
How cute! Making mini-cakes is a great idea. Next time I make this cake I will try that, I still have a HUGE cake in the fridge I need to eat :-/
Cheers!
Great idea on the mini cakes. They are really cute. Great job. To the next challenge we go.
beautifully done!!! love it!!!
I love the little cakes! Plus the raspberries! Yummy!
The mini cakes look really amazing!
The minicakes are wonderful! Now, you’ll need my address to send one…Libby 😉
Love the idea of the mini cakes, that’s so adorable!
Mini-cakes are definitely more work than one large cake! They’re so cute though.
What a cute idea! They look adorable!
I love desserts in miniature and your mini cakes look beautiful. I think I will most definitely be making mini cakes sometime in the near future – thank you for the wonderful idea!
~gail
I’m loving the mini versions! The cake looks fantastic. Mmmmm!
I made mini ones too. I hate to tell you but it is way easier to frost a whole cake than mini ones. 🙂
Looks great.
Beautiful!! You did a gorgeous job :O)
These individual cakes look pretty…well done!
Really cute idea to make individual cakes, I love that. Great job!
I adore your minicakes. V lovely.
j
Oh! the minicakes are just the best idea ever. I probably should have done that with my oh-so flat cakes. How great.
Mini cakes -what a great idea! I think I’m going to have to try that here pretty soon. Looks like a delicious lot of fun. Especially the part where you get to eat the scraps. I think this cake was some of the best I’ve had.
What cute little mini cakes! Aren’t things just better when they’re mini?
Great work!
I love the little cakes and the picture with the raspberry and lemon zest is so enticing!
Perfect!
xoxo
Gabi
Another messy baker here! And I love the mini cakes – I’m nice to see its as low-tech as cutting circles out of larger pieces rather than trying to bake a bunch of cakes in miniature pans.
Jen,
Your little cakes are gorgeous! I too love swiss buttercream … congratulations on a job well done!
wow, that takes some patience, putting all those cakes together! They are just the cutest though. ~ JMom
so petite and cute!