Cranberry Orange Chews

No baby news yet! What's the next best thing? Food. Dessert is the next best thing.


Cranberry Orange Chews are a family favorite of Elle Bee's and that kind of endorsement is good enough for me.



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. The recipe starts with 1 1/2 cups (3 whole sticks!) or room temperature butter. Really, with this kind of a start you just can't go wrong.





Mix the butter with 2 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon orange zest and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. 2 whole teaspoons of vanilla- I'm telling you this recipe gets better and better.



What do you mean some of my zest looks green? I was just slightly short on the orange zest and threw in a bit of lime zest because we have a surplus of limes around here right now.



In a separate bowl mix together 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt.



Here you see my nephew and niece doing the tedious cookie work. I'm not overly fond of cutting cookies into shapes and/or deocrating them.



They are finishing up the Amaretto Orange Bites for me. I think family cookie making is one fantastic reason to procreate.



That and the ability to make goggles out of cookie cutters. The fun never ends!



Add the dry to the butter mixture, stir to mix and then beat until the dough starts to come together, about 5 minutes or so. I kept going past the point you see above but before you got one big clump of dough.



Mix in 1 1/2 cups of dried cranberries and 1 1/2 cups of coconut. It may seem crumbly but you can press it together in the next step.



Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on a buttered cookie sheet.



Bake in the oven until the edges just begin to brown, about 8 to 11 minutes. The less cooking time, the chewier the cookie. Let them cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.



What do you do if you and your family are really loud and noone hears the alarm go off, thus over-baking into hard completely browned cookies?



Well, if that sort of thing were to happen and you don't feel like breaking a tooth trying to chew them, I have heard you can dip them. Dip them in coffee or tea like a biscotti. They will still taste amazing. Don't you dare waste one of these cookies.





These were immediately declared a winner. You get this great orange kick and the cranberries give off so much flavor. They are buttery but still chewy and an absolute must try.



Thanks Elle! I have a feeling these will be a yearly cookie from now on.