Who needs chocolate? These Cranberry Cookies may become your favorite!

This is a typical cookie recipe, the most labor-intensive part being preparing the cranberries. I bought a bag of fresh cranberries and, five at a time, I cut them up with a fork and knife. (I was a tad worried about stains.) I used most of the bag to make the required 2-1/2 cups of chopped cranberries.

I chose not to grease my cookie sheets and instead lined them with parchment paper. Also, I am not one to use several bowls to mix and then add parts separately, but for this recipe, I did follow those directions. The butter and sugars are creamed together, and then the milk, orange juice, and egg are added into the bowl. In another bowl, I combined the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. I sprinkled the flour mixture into the butter mixture in three parts and then mixed in the walnuts and cranberries.

Now, here is where I did not follow the directions. I was supposed to drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. I didn’t do that. I always roll cookie dough into balls. Always. (If you know of any support groups for this affliction, let me know.) I realized that this would mean increasing the baking time, so instead of baking the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes, I baked mine for 20 minutes. No harm done! The cookies were delightful.

What are your favorite fruit or vegetables to use in cookies?

Cranberry Cookies (found on page 285 of The Garden-Fresh Cookbook)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
2-1/2 cups coarsely chopped cranberries

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease one or two cookie sheets. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars and beat to cream them together. Add the milk, orange juice, and egg, beating after each to blend. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and sift them into the butter-sugar mixture. Stir to blend. Add the walnuts and cranberries and stir to blend. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

Makes 10 dozen cookies.