Cranberry Crunch Cookies

This recipe was my entry in this year's cranberry recipe contest. I don't know how I did yet, but these guys are pretty darn good! I won. This is an award-winning recipe!

I used dried cranberries (craisins), of course, and orange, which is a cranberry's best friend. Toasted almonds and a roll in turbinado sugar add the crunch. (If you've got almond extract on hand, feel free to add a 1/4–1/2 teaspoon to the wet ingredients.)

Jon and I are heading up to Massachusetts next weekend for the cranberry harvest festival. I'm sure Mumma will have me baking something while we're there, so stay tuned for more cranberry recipes and pictures of the harvest and other local specialties.

(Check out this video of an olde tyme dry harvest in my hometown of Carver. Wow! Dick Ward, my high school gym teacher, is the town's agricultural commissioner.)

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Cranberry Crunch Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons milk 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest 1 1/2 teaspoons orange juice
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups dried cranberries (craisins) 1 cup finely ground graham crackers 1 cup toasted slivered almonds 1 cup oatmeal 3/4 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Roll each dough ball in turbinado or raw sugar.
7. Place sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
8. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Comments

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Hey, DPLK. Yay! I'm so glad you liked these. :-) Ugh...I hate it when my brown sugar gets hard. It's such a pain! I've used the microwave trick a couple times. It works OK in a pinch. I'd love to hear how the cookies come out. :-)

[Anna]

I could probably write an entire page about this recipe, but I'll refrain and just say this:

This is the best cookie I have ever baked. Ever.

Also, I was born in Carver, so here's a hometown shout-out.

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Hi, Anna. Wow...a fellow Carverite and citizen of Cranberryland. :-) Thanks so much for writing in. And thanks so much for your glowing praise of this recipe. You have totally brightened up this rainy Tuesday morning. Thanks again!

[sweetie]

hi there, i'm going to give these a try next week. in your product placement post on graham crackers, you showed the cinnamon honey maid crackers. if i use plain honey maid crackers in the recipe, should i increase the cinnamon added later on in the recipe? do you ever use the plain graham crackers for your other recipes?

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Thanks, DPLK! :-)

[Sweetie]

OCG: I finally made these and they're excellent. Even though I've had these in mind to bake for quite some time, I decided to do them tonight on a whim and had to make a lot of substitutions.

I've linked my name to the specifics on my blog and I'll post taste reviews there as well.

Thanks for posting about these. Looking forward to trying more!

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Thanks, Sweetie! :-)

[Gail]

This is almost exactly what I'm looking for my holiday cookies. However, I need them to be nut-free. Do you have an idea for a replacement for the ground almonds?

Thanks!

[lissa]

These cookies are awesome. I couldn't make them fast enough for my family to eat past Christmas. I made 4 batches within 3 days. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Katherine]

Wow! These cookies rock they are really amazing!! Thanks for sharing your recipe.

[Valerie]

I think this is the best cookie recipe I've ever made! Thanks so much for your great blog! I used white whole wheat flour, but other than that followed the directions exactly and they are SOOOOO good!

[Cindy]

Hi Oatmeal Cookie Guy! I love your recipes and have decided on making the cranberry crunch cookies for a cookie exchange. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of "oatmeal" you use for your recipes. (ie. instant, quick cook, steel cut, old fashioned, etc). Thanks for all your terrific recipes!
Cindy