Some people build houses.
Some people donate clothes & toiletries.
Some people give their pocket change. Some people run for miles.
We bake cookies & send them to strangers.
Then we blog.
Why do we do it?
To raise money for pediatric research for kids’ cancer! It feels so good to pay it forward. It feels 100x better when it’s for a good cause.
2013 is the third year of The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap & I’m proud to say that I have been participating in it for all 3 years.
That’s sayin’ a lot because I have the attention span of a…. oooh, I should water my Christmas tree.
I love taking part of this event every heart because it makes me feel like I’m part of a big community of people who love to do what I do, want to share it with others & care enough to take the time to reach out to someone they hardly even know & send them a little something that will put a smile on their face. We are a pretty neat bunch!
So I signed up, donated my $4 & waited for my email telling me who my matches were. Now to make a cookie I’ve never made before… I’ve made A LOT of cookies in my day but after dropping off a cookie order to a customer, they asked me if I could make them a cookie with cranberries in it. Boom! And a cookie & a blog was born. I’m all about cranberries. I usually put them in my yogurt or salads or just directly into my mouth but just never in a cookie. Something in my brain must have told me they were too sour for cookies but that’s also probably the same part of my brain that tells me that wine & brownies are a good combo. After a little tweaking, a little rummaging through my cupboards & a little taste testing, I decided to make these Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies for you & three of my new blogger friends at A Picture Journey, Rose and Henry & Dining With Alice!
Saving the best for last, I want to thank Amy from Simple Everyday Food for her delicious gingersnaps, Christine of Cooking With Cakes for the decadent chocolate chunk peppermint pattie cookies & Amy at Cakestar for her amazing hazelnut chocolate chip cookies! You made my day with your yummy cookies!! So go make some cookies, send them to someone to let you know you are thinking of them & bake someone happy!
These cookies are crazy easy to make so I won’t bother you with too many pictures of the steps. This is a basic cookie recipe with a whole lot of kick! First, cream your sugars & butters together until light & fluffy. Then add one egg at a time & mix until eggs are incorporated. I add my vanilla into my eggs just because it was how I was trained at the bakery. It also helps me NOT to forget to add it…not that this has ever happened to me… (I know the recipe says 1 egg & the picture has 2 but that’s because I doubled the recipe!)
Next, put all of the dry ingredients together into a bowl & whisk to combine.
Add the dry to the wet & mix just enough so that everything is incorporated. Don’t over mix!
Measure out the dried cranberries, white chocolate chips & macadamia nuts. Add to the cookie dough & mix just enough to evenly distribute the deliciousness.
Roll the dough into golf ball sized balls & place on a cookie sheet. Chill for about an hour to minimize spreading. This will keep your cookie looking like a cookie & not a pancake!
Place cookies on parchment paper or silicone mat lined cookie sheet & bake for 10-12 minutes. After they cool, they will be chewy, tart, sweet & nutty. These cookies are perfect for shipping & even more perfect for wrapping & gifting!
Happy Holidays!
Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies & The 2013 Great Blogger Cookie Swap!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer combine butter & sugars together until light & fluffy (about 5 minutes on medium-high) using the paddle attachment.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup place eggs & vanilla together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon & baking soda together. Whisk to combine ingredients. Set aside.
- Once butter/sugar mixture is light & fluffy, gradually add dry ingredients & mix on low until just combined, scraping down sides of bowl at least once.
- Add nuts, cranberries & chocolate chips & mix until just
- mixed in. Don't over mix!!
- Shape dough into golf-sized balls & place on cookie sheet. Chill for an hour before baking.
- Place chilled cookies on prepared cookie sheets for about 10-12 minutes or until cookies no longer appear "wet" along the edges. The middles will be a little more doughy but that's ok. They will continue to set once out of the oven & left to cool on the cookie sheet. I found this is the trick to getting a nice, soft chewy cookie center!
- Once cool to touch, transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Package, eat or gift! It's up to you!
© Patricia's PattiCakes
1 Comment on Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies & The 2013 Great Blogger Cookie Swap!
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Hi I loved your cookies they were nice and soft with the meaty white chocolate and the chewy tart cranberries. My mom got the majority of these as she loves White chocolate and macadamian nut cookies and also loves cranberries. I messed up big time and missed the deadline to submit a link to my recipe on the main page but I have been so busy. I will update my website so your followers of they check out my website will find a recipe.