Cranberry-Orange White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Hi everyone, it's Jacqueline -- the really huge daughter Debbie posted a picture of awhile back. I've been asked to post a recipe on Mom's blog, Pioneer Woman style. I'm not doing a lot of real cooking these days, with the huz out of town, but my baking hasn't slowed down much. Typically I bake whatever I'm craving, and then go in search of neighbors/church office workers/unsuspecting friends to pawn off the calorie-laden baked goods on. I'm told my unborn child weighs about 5 pounds at this point, so I'm either carrying 6 or 7 babies, or I need to lay off of the cookies.

Speaking of cookies, may I introduce my new best friends:
Cranberry-Orange White Chocolate Chunk Cookies!

My friend Lauren emailed me this recipe + I just happened to have all the ingredients right in my kitchen, so I tried them out. They're delicious!

You will need:
1/4 cup butter (half a stick), 1/2 cup each of brown + white sugar, one orange, an egg, a teaspoon of vanilla, 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon each of baking powder + soda, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of cranberries (fresh or frozen), and 1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks

Do you have all that? Then we can get started! Or, you can start without all the ingredients and then run out to the store halfway through ... I like to do that sometimes, too.

First, put that butter in a mixing bowl. If it's not soft, nuke it.


It looks lonely, so let's add some sugar. Half a cup of white:


and half a cup of brown:


(My butter enjoyed its time in the microwave a little TOO much.)


Beat the butter + sugars together.


Throw the orange in there and beat until smooth.


Just kidding! First, zest the orange. You should end up with a nice little bowlful of orange peel shavings, and an orange that looks like it's been attacked.


I use this for zesting.


NOW you can beat in the orange zest until smooth.


Next, add in the egg + 3 tablespoons of orange juice. You should be able to get this much out of your orange, but I cheated and used a bottle of orange juice because I plan to eat that mutilated orange later.


Also throw 1 teaspoon of vanilla in there.


Mix it all up!


Into a separate bowl, measure 1 1/2 cups of flour. For the purposes of this post, I even spooned + leveled it into the measuring cups like a good girl.


Add 1/2 tsp. baking soda:


+ 1/2 tsp. baking powder:


and 1/4 tsp. salt.


Mix it up with a good old wooden spoon,


And then add it to the orangey-sugary goodness you mixed up earlier.


Just so you know, you're not supposed to beat cookies with a mixer after you add in the flour. It makes them tough. Use a wooden spoon -- it's how your grandma did it!


Stir it up just until it's combined.


You might have to taste it to make sure it's combined. Salmonella don't scare me.


Next you need the cranberries...mine are fresh ones that I threw in the freezer because I wasn't sure when I'd use them. If yours are frozen, don't thaw them first. I don't know why, that's just what the recipe says.


I used this cutting board with a rim because cranberries always try to escape.


You might try to escape too, if this was your fate!


Once they're coarsely chopped, measure out 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips or chunks.


Throw it all in on top of your cookie dough.


Now fold it in. You'll see I didn't use all the cranberries I cut up ... it started to look like an awful lot + I got scared because they're kind of sour.


Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Make a mental note not to wear horizontal stripes on your belly anymore.


Put those cookies into a preheated 350 degree oven!


Bake them for 8-14 minutes.


Take off your apron + drink some coffee out of your favorite mug.


My cookies looked like this after 8 minutes ... I didn't think they were golden enough, so I banished them to the oven for 3-4 more minutes.


And then they were perfect! Don't the cranberries look like little jewels?


Perfect for the holidays! Bon appetit!