Sonal Singh On Sonal's Table
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Cranberries are tart and tangy berries that grow on bushes.
In India, their cousin, the karonda (which grows on shrubs) is more readily available and is used for making chutney’s, pickles etc. rarely is it used, in its fresh avatar, for baking cookies.
However, I believe that chocolate and cranberries (dried and not fresh) make for super delicious cookies, cupcakes or even cakes. The cranberry lends a tangy, zesty flavour to the dish that perfectly complements the sweetness of the chocolate. Biting into a cranberry cookie is like a delicious dip into the world of sweet and tangy. Utter sensory bliss!
My recipe is adapted from various blogs and my own experiments in the kitchen. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention that Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction has had a major influence on me. The trick to incorporate cornflour in the cookies is one that I picked up from her blog.
So, here it is, my recipe for decadent cranberry cookies infused with choco chips and the citrusy flavours of orange zest. They are crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Give it a go!
CRANBERRY AND CHOCOLATE COOKIES
This recipe makes about 1 ½ dozen medium sized cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups all purpose flour/ maida
- ¾ cup of unsalted butter (softened and at room temperature)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup regular, granulated white sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips (you can use brown as well. White just look lovelier in the cookie)
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- Zest of one orange, green on the outside
- ½ tsp lime juice
Note – to spice things up you can add 1 tsp of cocoa powder or ½ tsp of cinnamon to the recipe.
METHOD
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter till it turns soft and creamy. I use a hand held electric mixer for this purpose and I do recommend that because cookie dough has a thick consistency. Add the sugar (both brown sugar and granulated sugar) to it and beat till the mixture turns light and fluffy. Then add the egg, lime juice, orange zest and the vanilla essence and beat again.
- In another bowl sieve together the all purpose flour, baking soda, cornflour and salt. Whisk the ingredients till well combined and then tip this into the wet ingredients (little by little), whisking all the time till all ingredients are well combined. Now this is your basic cookie dough done. It will be quite thick.
- Into the above tip in the cranberries and the chocolate chips.
- You can do this mixing part by hand as well. It hardly takes 30 seconds. Just mix till both ingredients are combined into the dough. Do not over mix the dough. It is not required.
- Grease a bowl and keep the dough in it. Cover it tightly with aluminium foil or cling film. I prefer to use cling film for this. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can refrigerate overnight too. Note – if you refrigerate the dough for 2 hours then you need to take it out of the fridge and keep it aside for about 10-15 minutes to allow its temperature to rise a bit. If you refrigerate the dough overnight then it takes between 30-40 minutes for it to come to the right tendency. Whatever you do choose, please remember that chilling the dough is mandatory. Do now skip this part. If the dough is not chilled properly then it will literally melt in the oven. Temperature plays a vital part in baking the cookie.
- Preheat your oven to 180 deg C
- Line at least two baking trays with parchment/baking paper. If you have only one tray then line that, bake the cookies and then allow the tray to come to room temperature before you line it again for the second lot. Remember, the temperature part I mentioned earlier? That’s why!
- Scoop out fist sized balls of the dough (either by hand or using a spoon/ice cream scoop. I prefer an ice cream scoop) and place them on the baking tray, about 1 inch apart (they increase in size as they bake). Gently press down on the top of the scooped dough to flatten it slightly to get a more evenly baked cookie.
- You can bake these in batches of 6-8 or 8-10. It depends on how many fit onto your tray. Bake them at 180 deg C for about 20 minutes. I use a microwave oven so it takes that long. If you use a regular oven then the process would take around 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on the cookies. They will puff up and swell in size as they bake. Once the tops are done and crisp, perform the toothpick test. It the pick comes out clean when inserted into the center, then switch off the oven and let the cookies sit in the oven for 2-3 minutes. After that period, take them out and let them cook on a wire rack for as long as it takes. Once they are completely cooled they will be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
- The cookies will stay fresh for about a week or so at room temperature.
- That’s all there is to it folks. Enjoy!
- Note – If you live in high humidity areas like you do then the cookies will become really moist if you keep them at room temperature. They may lose their crispy texture. If that happens then I recommend zapping them in the microwave for about 45 seconds to a minute, letting them cool completely and then enjoying them.
