Friday, May 20, 2011

Sweet sweet Friday: Chewy Cranberry Cookies

Yesterday afternoon, when every other journalist in New Zealand was hunched over their grimy keyboard, churning out column inches or uploading pixels about the Budget, I was standing in my kitchen making these chewy, slightly spicy, cranberry-studded cookies. I felt a bit guilty (for about two minutes), but then I remembered I had lots of other things to feel guilty about and baking was not going to be one of them.


Chewy Cranberry Oaties
This recipe - mildly tweaked - comes from Comfort: Food for Sharing, published last year to raise funds for Starship Children's Hospital. It's worlds away from the paper-copied and stapled collections of family recipes that used to make up the charity cookbook world, with recipes from lots of 'names' in the local food scene. You can thank Claire Aldous, who now edits Dish magazine for these cookies, which are wholesome, comforting and difficult to resist. Don't eat all the raw mixture...

100g soft butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1Tbsp milk
grated zest of two oranges
1 cup plain flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
1/2tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, zest and milk. Sift the flour and spices into another bowl, then add the rolled oats and cranberries. Toss together, then add to the butter mixture and stir until combined. Turn out onto a large piece of clingfilm and flatten into a disc. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm.
Preheat the oven to 180 and grease or line two baking trays. Divide the mixture into 20 and roll into balls. Place on the trays, allowing a little room for spreading. Press down on each one (I use my hands) to flatten. Bake for 8 minutes, then swop the trays around and bake for another 8-10 minutes. The cookies should be lightly golden but still soft in the middle. Cool on a rack (or bite into immediately).

Have a sweet, sweet weekend everyone! Pin It

13 comments:

  1. hello! so glad you found me and yes indeed we seem to be kindred cooking spirits :) I am just about to drag myself off to bed, but I will eagerly return tomorrow for a huge read of your blog! The cranberry bickies sound delicious - just my style, and I just spied the tomato soup below which is making my mouth water too! :)

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  2. Holy crap, they sound delicious and what's this about food for sharing, I'd eat them all myself, I just know I would.
    I love that recipe book in your header. It looks like a treasure.

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  3. Do you think I could do those with sultanas instead of cranberries? they look so delicious! x

    PS - 'Hi!' x

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  4. Hello Rhi, Katie and Maxabella - Rhi, you should definitely try the soup (though perhaps not with these biscuits!)
    Katie, I have to confess I ate so much of the mixture that rather less than 20 made it onto the baking tray
    Maxabella - yes, defo use sultanas! Or raisins or dates or just about anything in the dried fruit line. Chopped apricots would be good too!

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  5. Having never visited your blog before, and being completely absolutely starving right now (cupboard is bare, and I can't be bothered shopping or cooking), I have decided your blog is extremely dangerous. It's making my stomach growl!!

    I wish I could crawl through my computer to your house to eat some of those yummy things you have there!!

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  6. They sound delicious, just my sort of thing.

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  7. Ha! I'm not the only one with a weakness for raw cookie dough, then! These cookies sound utterly scrummy. Definitely going to make these in the near future!

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  8. These cookies look fab and I couldn't think of a single thing to feel guilty about making these fat chewy chunks of deliciousness.

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  9. These sound just delicious, and I love anything with cranberries, that's a good thing since I live in the cranberry capital of the world!

    I'm your newest Follower, please stop by when you have a moment. I love company and new followers are always welcome! I just cooked a good meal too!

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  10. You wouldn't know this, but I live minutes from a gorgeous cranberry bog. I also purchase the best honey lovingly produced from the bees who visit the cranberries there. I am always on the look out for more recipes that include cranberries. This one looks like a keeper. Thank you!!

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  11. It's nice to meet you! This looks like something I would like to make. Love cranberries. Love your blog!

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  12. Those cookies look yummy!

    Maria
    x

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  13. Yummy, scrummy, oaty cookies.

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Hello - thanks for stopping by. If this was real life I'd make you a cup of tea and open the biscuit tin, but in lieu of those things, let's have a chat anyway...