I recently received my December issue of Food Network Magazine and this festive recipe was in their holiday sweets section. As I never got around to making my cranberry sauce this year why not make cookies instead! This is one recipe that did not go into the “make” file!!!
In the past I have only used whole fresh cranberries in my cranberry sauce and dried cranberries in salads, baked goods, etc. where the sugar balanced out the tartness of some of the berries. I certainly did not want the cookies to have an acidic taste that might overwhelm the sweetness. I never cut into the fresh ones before and wow what a difference. You can see the result above; half of the bag was bright red inside and the other half was white, tinted with a little red. Which ones would you put in your cookies? Needless to say there was a difference in taste too. Of course I wanted to use the sweeter berries on the left in these cookies.
I did notice if the berry was hard it was going to be white inside and bitter. Also, if the outside color was not a bright red it was going to be bitter.
So, there I am squeezing each berry and only using the “bouncy” and “supple” ones that were a crimson red. I had to cut the recipe in half because there were not enough sweet berries.
MY SUGGESTION: BUY DRIED CRANBERRIES OR TWO BAGS OF FRESH CRANBERRIES TO MAKE THE FULL RECIPE
Cranberry-Lemon Cookies
NOTE: Below is the original recipe from Food Network which I adapted and cut in half
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (12 oz.), roughly chopped (I cut them in half) divided (the recipe suggested saving 1/2 cup to press into the cookies after they were formed – I did not do this)
Glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and 1 tbsp. lemon zest. Next add the flour mixture until completely combined, then fold in 1-1/2 cups cranberries. The batter was thick so I folded them in with my hands.
Scoop the dough into golf ball-size balls and arrange about 2 inches apart. Gently press the remaining 1/2 cup chopped cranberries into the tops of each cookie (I did not do this as I put all the cranberries into the dough). Bake until slightly golden around the edges, 15-17 minutes. Remove the cookies and transfer to a rack set over a parchment covered baking sheet.
Put the sifted confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice and remaining 1 tbsp. lemon zest until smooth. Drizzle on the cookies and let set.
They have a little crunch when you first bite into them and then yummy goodness inside!
Makes 30
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
Lemon AND Cranberries? These cookies are definitely for me! 🙂
It’s a perfect pairing of two favorite flavors and they are pretty besides 🙂
What a great cookie for a Christmas cookie exchange – they sound delicious!
Most definitely and a yummy cookie on your holiday table too! They were very good and I will make them again 🙂
I’m loving this combination of lemon and cranberry. Brilliant. 🍋🍃🍒
Thanks Gail – a really tasty holiday cookie sweetened a little more with a glaze 🙂
so pretty and such great flavours.