ORANGE CRANBERRY MELTAWAY COOKIES

 The weather forecaster got it right Saturday when they said we were going to get some measurable snow. It even started when they forecasted it to start between 2 and 3 o'clock. We went to Cracker Barrel for a later lunch and didn't realize it was snowing outside when we left a little before 3. The interesting thing was Friday on Facebook one of the memories was from 5 years ago and we had had a measurable snowfall of probably 3 inches at least. We didn't get 3 inches this time, but the roads were covered and messy in places. 

Church attendance was down because so many didn't want to risk the roads and streets but the Cafe was a busy place with less than a normal assortment of treats. It is such a fun place to be on Sunday morning.

I made these Orange Cranberry Meltaway Cookies because I love anything orange and cranberry and they sorta looked like Christmas. Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the Cafe Treats Bakers can make some festive Christmas cookies. I can hardly wait.

I decided to chop the dried cranberries because they were such large cranberries and I want to make sure there were ample cranberries in each cookie and I'm so glad I did. I always use dried orange peel so since the recipe called for 1 tablespoon of orange zest, I thought 1/2 tablespoon of the dried would be enough. I also drizzled the glaze over a cookie after mixing in 2 tablespoons of orange juice and took a picture. As you can see below, the glaze is a nice solid glaze on it. Then I added another tablespoon of orange juice and the glaze was thinner. I just did have enough to cover the almost 3-1/2 dozen of cookies. So if you only use 2 tablespoons of orange juice, you will probably have to mix up a little extra.

I was not disappointed in the cookies and they were well received in the Cafe. 

PRINT RECIPE.

ORANGE CRANBERRY MELTAWAY COOKIES

1      cup diced dried cranberries

1      cup butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)

1      cup granulated sugar

1      tablespoon orange zest (I used 1/2 tablespoon dried orange peel)

1      egg

1       teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4    teaspoon baking soda

2-1/2 cups flour

Glaze

1-1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2-3    tablespoons orange juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Dice the dried cranberries and cover with warm water in a medium sized bowl for 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add in the zest, egg, vanilla, and baking soda.

Mix for 1 minute until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Turn the mixer to low (stir) and slowly add the flour. (I did about three or four portions.)

Drain the cranberries and

pat dry on a double thickness of paper towels.

Add to the mixture and stir until the cranberries are

well mixed up.

Using a tablespoon cookies scoop, scoop the dough on the cookies sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden. Cookies will be puffy.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to finish cooling on a wire rack. The cookies will be flattened.

Whisk together the powdered sugar with the orange juice to make a glaze suitable for covering the cookie.

(I sifted my powdered sugar so I just used a teaspoon to mix up.)

Two tablespoons make a thicker glaze (the cookie on the left) and three tablespoons make a thinner glaze (the cookie on the right) .

Drizzle 1 teaspoon of glaze over each cookie.

(Place a sheet of wax paper under the wire rack to catch the glaze as it covers the cookies.)

Store in a closed container when they are completely cool with wax paper between the layers.

The views from my windows yesterday morning...

The weather forecaster said we got 2.2 inches of snow. The sun did come out and the temperatures rose to 37 so the roads were clear by evening.