Speaking of Thanksgiving, I made us some cornmeal cranberry cookies.
I hacked these cornmeal cookies that I wrote about in … check it … 2009. Back then, the recipe had no leavener, so the cookies were all crispy crunchy. They’re were really nice. This time, I mixed it up by adding some baking powder. For lift. You know. God knows I can use some lift.
And I added cranberries. ‘Cause it’s Thanksgiving next week, that’s why. So the cookies are thick & soft, buttery, sweet and tart.
But first, I got all jiggy wit’ the cranberries. They were fresh. And I wrinkled ‘em.
It goes like this. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Pierce fresh cranberries gently with a sharp knife, then toss with some sugar on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven, and turn the oven off. Leave them in the oven overnight. The berries will swell, and then shrivel.
But you can totally start with dried cranberries. Keep your sanity while you’re at it.
Then mix up the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar, and whisk ‘em together. Be sure to whisk, or baking powder tends to clump. Then …
Take your cranberries and toss them in a couple tablespoons of the dry mix.
Next …
Add the melted butter, and the egg.
Then the vanilla.
Add the cranberries to the dough.
Fold ‘em in.
Roll ‘em up. Chill ‘em out.
Bake ‘em until they’re just starting to brown from the bottom.
Can you dig it?
| Cornmeal Cranberry Cookies |
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (I use Better Batter)
- 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter)
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk the dry ingredients to combine them well. Place the cranberries in a small bowl, add a couple tablespoons of the dry ingredients and toss to coat. Set the cranberries aside.
- Add the butter and egg to the dry ingredients, and then the vanilla. Mix to combine well and form the cookie dough.
- Add the cranberries to the dough, and fold them in until they’re evenly distributed throughout.
- Divide the dough into 24 pieces, roll them into balls, and space them evenly 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the dough is firm, about 10 minutes.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven, and bake until beginning to brown around the edges, about 12 minutes.
If you prefer thinner cookies, don’t chill them before baking.
Love,
Me
P.S. See you tomorrow. New cookbook recipes-in-development sneak preview tomorrow. Tune in.
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Oh Yum!
After a big move, sorting through his and mine and choosing what to keep as ours, I’m so ready to be back in the kitchen again!
I’d prefer to bake with butter, but I’d like these to be dairy free for his awesome father who has helped us so much as we’ve worked on getting settled. Do you think I’ll lose a lot of the yum flavor with Earth Balance? Does it matter if I use the tub or sticks? I haven’t baked with it before.
I’m making a batch for me with butter… just sayin! I’m glad to be back online regularly and reading your posts. Just in time for all the holiday cooking and baking!
Lisa
Welcome back, then, Lisa!
Funny you should ask about making these dairy free… As I was making them, I was wondering the same thing myself. The first go round, I always like to eliminate on gluten – no other allergens – so I haven’t tried it, but I would suggest half Earth Balance sticks (the sticks are better for baking, since measurements can be more precise), half palm shortening or Spectrum Naturals nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening. I really prefer to bake with shortening as a nondairy butter substitute, since Earth Balance has a much higher water content than butter, so it spreads quite a bit. But here, you could really use the butter-type flavor that you won’t get from all shortening. So I would go half and half.
Let the holiday baking begin!
xoxo Nicole
mmmmmmmm….besides pumpkin (BTW…Crack cake = the BOMB!)
cranberries and orange are my favorites! Do you think I can incorporate maybe orange peel in the recipe without being too bitter?
So gonna make these….soon!
Hey, Pam!
So glad you liked the Pumpkin Crack Cake!
I would go with some orange zest, rather than the whole peel, unless you want to chop up some candied orange peel and incorporate it along with the cranberries. Oooh that sounds good. Let me know how it turns out?
See you tomorrow. :)
xoxo Nicole
Your recipe would be clearer if in step 2, you changed your wording to:
Add the butter and egg to the remaining dry ingredients…
Otherwise, it reads that you add the butter and egg to the cranberries.
Your recipe looks very compelling. I am eager to try them.
Hi, Christine,
Thank you so much! As I’m sure you know, you were very gentle with me in your correction. The instructions were all kinds of jumbled! I edited in your suggestion – plus a few others for even more clarity. Thank you again!
You really deserve a cookie. I think I need a cup o’ joe. ;)
xoxo Nicole
I deserve a cookie?! Thanks! I’ll take one!
Can’t wait to try these!! I love your recipes…they are the best!
Hi, Peggy,
Aw, shucks. Thanks! I’m eating one of these right now. Don’t tell my children. God I’m not looking forward to the day in the not-so-distant-future when they read this blog without my knowing… ;)
xoxo Nicole
I’m definitely going to try these for Thanksgiving this year. Only one person at the table wants cranberry sauce, with real cranberries, so maybe this will satisfy their cranberry lust, and also please a few more people, since it’s a cookie. It will also sneak in a bit of fruit to the meat-and-potatoes only guys, and help me not miss having a buttery roll.
Hi, Tammy,
I hope you don’t feel like you have to make do without a buttery roll! Especially not if others have them. No reason to simply make do with less this Thanksgiving!
xoxo Nicole
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