So during the last few weeks I have had one main aim in life you might say, i.e. to use up all the food in my fridge and pantry. It’s the classic situation really, I’m always tempted to purchase one or two ingredients for a particular recipe. Then I end up with a gazillion packets of dried fruit and nuts. Now one thing which I absolutely hate is to throw away food. When it’s bad there’s no other option of course, but when it’s good then the possibilities are endless…well, that’s what I keep telling myself…and it’s true.
There’s no doubt that these cookies are delicious, if you like cranberries and white chocolate that is. I know that not everyone likes white chocolate, but I guess it would be easy to use milk or dark chocolate instead. This recipe comes from Nigella’s Christmas. I have thought about waiting until the holidays to include these lovely little bites here, but I couldn’t wait that long and really you can make them any time you want. (White chocolate and cranberries remind me of Christmas though.) I made these three times and when it comes to any kind of cookie it’s always a party especially for J (and if you know him then that goes without saying)!
Some notes before you start: the mixture yields around 30 small cookies or 15 large ones, depending what you prefer. I made the latter. No news there I’m sure! Also you could use less chocolate if you like, as I did the first time I made them. However it’s tricky to mess about with an already good recipe. You could leave out the salt though, which I did the third time round.
You’ll need:
- 150g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
- 75g rolled oats (not instant)
- 125g butter, softened
- 75g dark brown sugar
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 75g dried cranberries
- 50g pecans, roughly chopped (works also with walnuts)
- 150g white chocolate chips or chunks
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Place the flour, baking powder, salt and oats in a large mixing bowl.
- In a medium-sized bowl place the soft butter and sugar and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well.
- To the above mixture add all the ingredients in the large bowl, then fold in the dried cranberries, nuts and chocolate chunks.
- Using your hands roll the dough into roughly golf ball size and place them on the baking sheet. (You will need more than one tray to make the cookies in two or more batches). Push them down with a fork if you prefer.
- Bake the cookie dough for 15 minutes, and when done they will be too soft to lift from the tray so let them cool for around 5-10 minutes after taking them out of the oven. Then leave them to cool on a wire rack.
As in the previous cookie recipe, you can freeze the dough for up to three months so if you’re serving these at a party you can prepare them way ahead of time and bake them two days before. They are super easy to make so why don’t you give them a go?
Enjoy!
Rob x
Chorizo & Thyme 
I totally understand the concept of not wanting to throw away good food but needing to clear out the pantry. Baking in the summer however, is not something I am partial to due to turning on the oven in the heat. I do not use air conditioning. Home baking is somewhat of a lost art, however I do bake cookies at Christmas time and I give them away to friends and family as a gesture of true friendship..in other words…take the time to do something nice and special for the ones you care about. I find people really appreciate it. Keep baking…and who doesn’t love white chocolate and cranberries? This one is so going on my to do list. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I don’t mind baking in the summer. I’m Maltese so I’m used to warm climates. British weather is cool enough and it doesn’t bother me at all 🙂