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