The cookie was calling me

I am a person who speaks to kitchen appliances. I talk to my dog like she’s my second human child, and the voices I bestow upon inanimate objects are louder than I should probably admit. But last week, a cookie called to me. And when a cookie calls, you answer.

Through a rumbling tummy and bevy of ingredients, my talking cookie told me exactly what to do. Sift, mix, bake, eat. That’s all he had to say. A cookie of few words after my own tummy, er, heart.

That straightforward simplicity is the true beauty of a cookie though, isn’t it? These cranberry Christmas cookies (aptly dubbed with a jolly title for their festive cranberry/cloves/chocolate flavor combination) are just what we needed to remind us of colder days ahead amidst this sweltering Southern heat. The cookie knew that before I did. I should let him do the talking more often.

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Cranberry Christmas Cookies

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 ½ cups dried cranberries
1 ½ cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, place the butter and both sugars, and blend it all together until the mixture is super light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix until it is well blended and the batter fluffs back up again.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture, and blend until just combined. Add the oats, and mix that until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips.

Drop cookies in rounded tablespoons onto a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until cookies are golden brown.

Makes 70 cookies

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What’s your favorite kind of cookie? Are there any fun add-ins that you’ve discovered during your cookie-making adventures? Do you like adding certain flavors depending on the season? Let’s hear it!

XO,
Katrina