Cookie Blog Hop - Chocolate Cranberry Nut Cookies

These yummy little cookies taste like chocolaty brownies packed with tart cranberries and crunchy walnuts.  Chocolate Cranberry Nut Cookies are as quick and easy to make as other drop style cookies and are free of processed sugar.

This recipe for a naturally sweetened chocolate cookie is a versatile one; we can add the cranberries and walnuts, or we can forego those ingredients and customize it by adding coconut, grain sweetened chocolate chips, raisins, cherries, or anything else that might taste good inside a chocolate cookie.  If aesthetics are important for your cookie tray,  and you don't like the way drop cookies look, you can always flatten them a bit after they are placed on the baking sheet.  I personally don't care all that much because it all tastes the same to me when they are done, so I just drop, and pop them into the oven.  Based on the outcome of the tender texture, I think the main recipe might also work as a brownie if a few tablespoons of milk is added to the dough/batter - I'll try it out and get back to you.

A tip about using natural sweeteners: when it is not desirable to have one prominent flavor in a cookie that needs to have several flavors working in synergy, it is a good idea to combine two different natural sweeteners rather than just using one or another.  Because I added cocoa to this simple drop cookie, neither honey nor maple syrup (the two sweeteners upon which I most rely) is a flavor I really wanted to be prominent to overshadow the chocolate.  By combining the two sweeteners in about a 2:1 ratio, neither the maple nor the honey flavors stand out in this cookie, but the sweetness all there, turning the cocoa into a chocolaty bunch of goodness that does a fantastic job of enveloping the tart "pop" from cranberries.

As with all naturally sweetened baked goods, allow enough time for them to cool and rest so the natural sweetener can do it's naturally sweet thing (one hour, at the very least).

Now that my holiday cookie tray is amply and beautifully filled with lovely cookies from the recipes posted to the #cookielove blog hop, I'm working on some great appetizers to share with you all in the upcoming weeks!

Chocolate Cranberry Nut Cookies
makes about 3 1/2 dozen

• 2/3 c butter (1 stick plus 3 Tbs)
• 1/2 c raw honey
• 1/3 c pure maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract (such as Simply Organic Vanilla Extract)
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 c high quality natural cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c raw cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1 c raw walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy (about 20-30 seconds).  Add honey, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla. Beat until combined.

Stir in the wheat flour, unbleached all purpose flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt until combined.

Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoons 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until done.  Cool completely on wire racks.

Please join in on the #cookielove fun by linking up any cookie recipe from the month of December 2011.  Don't forget to link back to this post so that your readers know to stop by the #cookielove event!  The twitter hashtag is #cookielove.

CookieLove Blog Hop Co-Hosts
Badger Girl Learns to Cook
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves
Big Fat Baker
Bloc de recetas
Bon a croquer
Cafe TerraBlog
Cake Duchess
Creative Cooking Corner
Easily Good Eats
Georgiecakes
Hobby and More
Knitstamatic
Mike's Baking
Mis Pensmientos
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
Oh Cake
Queen's Notebook
Savoring Every Bite
Simply Reem
Soni's Food For Thought
Teaspoon of Spice
That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
The Art of Cooking Real Food
The Spicy RD
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Vegetarian Tastebuds
Vegan Yack Attack

Cookie Blog Hop - Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread, or little butter cookies, are one of my all time favorite cookies (and not just during the holidays).  They are a snap to make with few ingredients, easy to vary the flavors by using extracts or citrus zests, and generally use very little sugar.

In the spirit of the season, I decided to make orange flavored shortbread and then dip them into some really great dark chocolate (because orange and dark chocolate are soul mates, if you ask me).  It was quite easy to remove the processed sugar from the cookie itself, but for the chocolate, I did decide to go with an already made dark chocolate bar instead of making my own.  I chose a 70% dark chocolate that is fair trade certified, organic, and uses raw sugar.  So, ultimately, I cheated a bit, but at least I did it with integrity.

This recipe calls for the zest (and some of the juice) of an orange.  Since we will be eating the zest, please try to find an organic orange so we don't have to worry about pesticides and other nasty things like that.  Also, grate it lightly so that you only get the orange part, and not the bitter white part.

Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies
makes 36 cookies

• 1/2 c butter, room temperature
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbs raw honey
• 1 Tbs pure maple syrup
• 1 Tbs orange juice (squeezed from the zested orange)
• 1 1/2 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 oz dark 70% chocolate bar (about 2/3 of a 3.5 oz bar)

In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric  mixer about 30 seconds or until soft.

Add the whole wheat flour, honey, maple syrup, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract.

Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides occasionally.

Beat in the all purpose flour just until combined.

Divide the dough in half.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour, or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375F.

On a lightly floured surface, working from the middle outward, roll out each dough half into a 6 inch square (dough should be about 1/4" thick).

Slice dough into 2x1 inch pieces (six across, three down, for a total of 18 cookies per square). Place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 9-11 minutes, or until done.  Cool on the sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

In a small heavy bottom saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate, stirring often.  When the chocolate is melted, transfer to a narrow bowl or cup (I used a custard dish). Dip half of the cookie into the chocolate, and allow the excess to drain back into the bowl.  Place on a sheet of waxed paper to allow the chocolate to set.  Or, you could drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.

The drizzled cookies take about 10 minutes for the chocolate to set, the dipped take about 30 minutes.



Please join in on the #cookielove fun by linking up any cookie recipe from the month of December 2011.  Don't forget to link back to this post so that your readers know to stop by the #cookielove event!  The twitter hashtag is #cookielove.

CookieLove Blog Hop Co-Hosts
Badger Girl Learns to Cook
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves
Big Fat Baker
Bloc de recetas
Bon a croquer
Cafe TerraBlog
Cake Duchess
Creative Cooking Corner
Easily Good Eats
Georgiecakes
Hobby and More
Knitstamatic
Mike's Baking
Mis Pensmientos
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
Oh Cake
Queen's Notebook
Savoring Every Bite
Simply Reem
Soni's Food For Thought
Teaspoon of Spice
That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
The Art of Cooking Real Food
The Spicy RD
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Vegetarian Tastebuds
Vegan Yack Attack

Cookie Blog Hop - Cherry Filled Almond Cookies

When I was invited to help co-host the #CookieLove Blog Hop for December, I was both flattered to be considered, and, quite frankly, terrified to accept because, well, I'm a cook, not a baker.  And cookies are very different from cakes and pies.  I can follow a cookie recipe, but to develop one is not exactly something I felt I could do.  I thought about it and nearly decided to decline, but then I realized that this could be a fun challenge, one where I could step into a different category within the subject I love, and conquer a fear. So, I accepted and immediately began working out several cookie recipes, desperately hoping I could actually do it without just ultimately showcasing already published recipes all month long (which is usually what I end up baking at my house during the holiday season).

Cooking is primarily instinct and experience; we know what our ingredients taste like and can usually match them well enough to work out a fine dish, using a little bit of this a little more of that, and so on until we find a delicious balance.  But baking is more scientific; each of the ingredients serve a specific purpose that not only affects the flavor, but the texture, the size, and the shape. And then there is the issue of sugar, which is a pretty important part of baking sweets.  Since I'm not much of a sugary sort of gal, I knew this would be one of my biggest challenges.

The first batch of cookies I made were supposed to be Cranberry Nut Pinwheels.  The dough was too sticky and hard to work with, but I thought it would be better after it chilled.  It was, but only slightly.  My cookies expanded very little, and never became larger than a half dollar.  And the cranberry nut filling just kind of melted into the dough.  They ended up looking like this:

my failed cranberry nut pinwheels

What an ugly disappointment! But, they tasted really good, so we ate all 2 dozen of them just to get them out of the way and move on before I lost my faith in myself; I had six more recipes to try after this one.

The Cherry Filled Almond Cookies turned out exactly as I had hoped, though.  I was shooting for a naturally sweetened spin on the traditional thumbprint style cookie, and I found it quite easily.  A tender but sturdy cookie, flavored with honey and almonds on the inside and studded with more almonds on the outside - the perfect vessel to hold a delicious dollop of cherry preserves.  And they are not ugly!

A word about the cherry preserves - if you are not using your own super delicious homemade cherry preserves (I didn't either), please look for someone else's super delicious homemade cherry preserves.  Commercial jams and jellies are not what we are looking for with these cookies; a good, solid, real cherry flavor (with actual real cherries), preferably naturally sweetened, jam or preserve can be found in local specialty shops or at farmer's markets everywhere, and I suggest using one of those to fill these tasty little cookies.

Please be sure to check out all the fabulous cookie recipes included in the Cookie Love Blog Hop during the month of December listed just beneath this recipe!

Cherry Filled Almond Cookies
makes about 2 dozen

• 1/4 c raw honey
• 1/2 c butter, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp pure almond extract (such as Simply Organic Almond Extract)
• 1 egg, separated*
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 c almonds, finely chopped
• 1/3-1/2 c cherry preserves

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, combine honey, butter, almond extract, egg yolk*.

*To separate an egg white from the egg yolk, simply crack the egg and pass the yolk between the halves of the shell, allowing the white to fall into a small bowl (we will be using the white later, so be sure it has its own bowl).

With an electric hand held mixer, beat until smooth.

Stir in the flour and salt until well combined and dough holds together.

Beat the egg white slightly with a fork - just until it isn't gloppy.  Place the finely chopped almonds in a separate bowl.

Shape the dough into 1 inch balls by gently rolling the balls between both palms.

sorry for the blur 

Dip the balls into the egg white, shake off excess.  

Roll the balls in the chopped almonds, ensuring they are completely covered.

Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Press your thumb deeply into the center of each ball.  (My own thumbprint isn't very wide, so I opened the indentation somewhat)

Bake about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Fill the indentations with 1/2 - 1 tsp cherry preserves.

Please join in on the #cookielove fun by linking up any cookie recipe from the month of December 2011.  Don't forget to link back to this post so that your readers know to stop by the #cookielove event!  The twitter hashtag is #cookielove.

CookieLove Blog Hop Co-Hosts
Badger Girl Learns to Cook
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves
Big Fat Baker
Bloc de recetas
Bon a croquer
Cafe TerraBlog
Cake Duchess
Creative Cooking Corner
Easily Good Eats
Georgiecakes
Hobby and More
Knitstamatic
Mike's Baking
Mis Pensmientos
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
Oh Cake
Queen's Notebook
Savoring Every Bite
Simply Reem
Soni's Food For Thought
Teaspoon of Spice
That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
The Art of Cooking Real Food
The Spicy RD
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Vegetarian Tastebuds
Vegan Yack Attack