Labbit Eats! Macadamia Nut, White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies

Christmas cookie season is over which is a shame, because these pretty cookies with their cranberries and white chocolate chips look festive, at least to Clover. But winter is a great time to bake since the oven helps to heat the house. The smell of fresh baked cookies is so inviting, especially when you're coming in from an afternoon of snowshoeing, cross country skiing, or snow fort building.

You can make these cookies like small cookie bites, or you can make larger cookies. Either way, they're tasty, and this recipe cooks up a big batch. Get out your mixing bowls and preheat the oven. It's time to make cookies! Print out the recipe here.

Macadamia Nut, White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar*
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup roasted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
1 cup white chocolate chips*
1 cup dried cranberries*

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just blended.

Add the nuts, white chocolate chips and cranberries and mix gently with a spatula, being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to mix everything evenly.

For large cookies, drop a heaping tablespoon onto the cookie sheet, spacing cookies 2" apart. For small cookie bites, gently roll a level tablespoon amount and place on cookie sheet, spaced 1.5" apart.  Bake at 350°F until just golden, 15 minutes for large cookies, 12 minutes for small cookies. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Ready for the oven

Yields: 3 dozen large cookies or 6 dozen cookie bites
Recipe: Adapted from Bon Appetit

*The original recipe called for 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 cups each of white chocolate chips and cranberries. This is both a bit too sweet (considering there's cranberries and white chocolate chips, which are both sweet) and too much stuff:cookie that it doesn't hold together well. Feel free to adapt as you like!