Cranberry Noel Cookies
Every year for the holidays, in addition and in tandem with the 12 Days of Christmas, I always make a habit of putting together treat boxes for family/friends/loved ones that I deliver/mail out as presents.
It’s a way of spreading holiday cheer–and, guaranteeing that all these goodies don’t go to waste (after all, I just can’t eat them by myself, even if I wanted to.)
It’s also not as easy as it may sound.
Because I like to switch things up and do something different for the treat boxes/baking series every year, I have to be decisive about what it is that I choose to make.
Not all baked goods keep or ship the same. You want to make sure to choose recipes for goodies that won’t make break a ‘mess’ while in transit. Sadly this rules out goodies that are fragile or run the risk of melting/spilling/seeping out all over the place.
Iced cookies aren’t completely out, but you do want to make sure that the icing is solid, set and smooth and won’t smudge when they’re stacked against or on top of one another.
The texture of the baked goods themselves are also something worth considering; make sure that whatever you’re packing/shipping will stay ‘fresh’ long enough to hold up over the time it takes to mail/ship it. Soft/chewy cookies tend to have a much shorter shelf-life than the crispy ones, so when/if I do decide to ship soft/chewy cookies, I’ll try to make sure they get to where they’re going as quickly as possible, and I try to package them in such a way that will prolong their texture.
(Here’s a free tip: if you throw the ‘heel’ end of a loaf of bread in a container of soft cookies, they will stay soft and chewy longer ;-))
Slice & Bake Butter cookies are my favorite type of cookie to make for my treat boxes, for a few reasons. First, the dough is a cinch to make and you can make it in bulk, with very minimal amount of ingredients. Second, the actual labor involved is also minimal as all you really have to do is shape the dough into a log, throw it in the fridge overnight, then the next morning, cut the log into slices and bake the cookies off.
Third, because they’re butter cookies that don’t really spread too much, you can fit quite a few on a sheet pan, which shortens the amount of time you actually have to spend baking them.
Fourth, their sturdy crisp texture makes them ideal for gift giving in treat boxes.
Lastly, slice and bake butter cookies are Blank Canvas recipes in that you can experiment with the flavoring and add different mix-ins to the dough and come up with a lot of tasty variations. I’ve done just that multiple times over the years, especially for the 12 Days of Christmas, and today’s recipe s my latest (successful) experiment.
Don’t these look so festive?
The dried cranberries give them pops of color, as well as a tartness that balances perfectly with the sweetness of the cookies themselves. In addition, I added a generous helping of toasted coconut to the dough that gave the butter a warm/nutty golden flavor, and also finely chopped candied ginger that provided a spicy-sweet kick, and a slight chew.
They are DELICIOUS.
Put together, the ingredients and flavors are the holidays packed into one perfect bite: blend/bite of sweet, warm, tart, and spicy.
Add them to your Christmas cookie jar/treat box today.
Day 1: Browned Butter & Sweet Potato Biscuits
Day 2: Biscoff Dipped Butter Cookies
Day 3: Holiday French Toast
Day 4: Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls
Day 5: Cider-Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
Day 6: Butter Pecan Biscotti
Day 7: Glazed Holiday Donut Cakes
Day 8: Cranberry Noel Cookies
Cranberry Noel Cookies
Recipe Adapted from Southern Living
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup candied ginger, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup toasted flaked coconut (it really does make a difference that it’s toasted. If you need instructions for how to toast coconut, look here)
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Stir together a few times with a fork and set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, or using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix just until combined.
Add the flour mixture in about 2 batches, mixing just until combined.
Fold in the cranberries, ginger and toasted coconut, mixing just until combined.
Divide the dough into four equal parts. Roll each part into a smooth log, then wrap each log into a plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat the oven to 3765 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove one of the logs of the dough from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to slice the log into 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices and place each slice on the baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle the tops with white sugar.
Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden brown.
Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
Note: no one oven is the same, & different baking sheets bake cookies differently. Keeping this in mind, I will ALWAYS test bake one cookie before baking entire sheets of the whole batch, just to get a good idea of how long they should be in the oven and if I need to adjust the way I’ve cut, rolled them out, etc. I highly recommend that you do the same.
These are beautiful!
Thank you Dorothy! They taste pretty beautiful too 😉
I made the Eggnog Cranberry Muffins…..very yummy.
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them– Happy New Year 🎊
Thanks. Happy New Year to you, too. I made the cranberry Noel cookies, too. Loved them. My next project from your blog will be the cornmeal trader joes flavored ones.