Hearing the words Christmas and cookies I’m sure we each have a memory because those two words just go together. I however love cookies at any time of the year. I’m also a little burned out on the traditional sugar cookie with colored sprinkles. The thing about cookies is, with a simple dough recipe you can always add your own ingredients. Today I looked into the pantry to see what I had laying around and I came across a cup of dried cranberries and some chopped pecans. Sounds like a good cookie combo to me! I decided to give the pecans an extra layer of flavor so I did a quick pecan glazing in a pan using a brown sugar, cinnamon and butter coating. I’m sure you could add ginger or nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice to the butter sugar mixture and come up with an equally tasty pecan. What came out was a cookie that isn’t very sweet but goes really well with a hot cup of coffee or tea. After this recipe I’ll post some links to old holiday favorites like Ginger Bread cookies , so be sure to check those links out!
- Candied Pecan and Cranberry Cookies
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
- 1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans ( sugar/spice glazed)
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- To make the pecan glaze, melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon or other holiday spices (nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin pie spice)Stir in pecans to coat evenly and cook for about two minutes. Be careful with the heat so as not to burn the sugar. Set aside to cool before adding to the batter.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl, beat until fluffy
- Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter ,sugar mixture and combine.
- In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients, the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated
- Fold in the pecans and cranberries.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, or use a teaspoon, and place 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned at the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- You could also add in chocolate chips or the zest of an orange or even do a little frosting of your choice on top. Remember it’s ok to make any recipe your own!
I just had a warm cookie with a cup of tea, I’m thinking I could have added a little more cranberries, but you know me, I love the cranberry! These are still a nice addition to your Holiday cookie repertoire and I hope you give them a try. As promised here’s some links to other cookie recipes over the years. I have a fondness for this apple cookie recipe, find it here. Here’s a yummy apple and oatmeal cookie recipe. I would be remiss if I didn’t include this traditional Gingerbread recipe, and minced meat recipe here. Now I just have one more recipe to give you today and I’ll make it quick. During the Colonial days England wouldn’t let the colonist mint their own coins, so the Massachusetts Bay Colony , took matters into their own hands and began to illegally mint coins. A Pine or Oak tree was embossed into the coin and somewhere along the way, Pine tree shilling cookies were made. These cookies looked like a shilling (coin) but tasted much better! Here’s the recipe, it’s very old and uses lard but you can substitute butter.
- Pine Tree Shillings
- 1/2 cup light molasses
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 lard or butter
- 1 1/2 cups all- purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Cream together the molasses, sugar and lard (butter)
- Stir together the flour, spices, salt and baking soda
- Blend dry ingredients into the molasses mixture
- On a lightly flour surface shape the dough into 6 , 10 inch long rolls wrap in plastic wrap and chill for several hours
- Slice chilled dough into 1/4 thick pieces to resemble a coin
- Place on a greased cookie sheet and press each one with a coin, your thumb or a fork to imprint them and smash them down to about 1/8 inch thick
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 5-8 minutes
- Enjoy
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you try any one of these different cookie recipes. If you do please let us know the outcome in the comments box. If you have a Christmas/ Holiday cookie recipe you’d like to share please send that in as well. The world can never have enough cookie recipes in my opinion! Until next time Boone Appétit!
