Cranberry Crunch Cookies

By Greg Johnson

This recipe features sweetened dried cranberries, orange zest, and old-fashioned oats for a tasty snack.

Ingredients:

¬½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

1 ¼ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 ¬½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ¬½ teaspoons fresh orange zest

1 ¬½ teaspoons orange juice

1 ¼ cups sweetened dried cranberries

1 cup finely ground graham crackers

1 cup toasted slivered almonds

1 cup old-fashioned oats

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

¬½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¬½ cup turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350SDgrâó¶F. Cream together butter and dark brown sugar. Using a separate bowl mix wet ingredients together: egg, vanilla, orange zest, and orange juice. Whisk until combined.

Add wet ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix well and until smooth. Add dry ingredients: cranberries, graham crackers, almonds, oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Using a spatula, fold together until all ingredients are evenly mixed together.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined wet ingredients with creamed butter and dark brown sugar. Mix until evenly combined. Shape dough into balls--using approximately 2 tablespoons each. Pour turbinado sugar in a bowl or large plate. Roll each dough ball in the sugar to coat dough ball. Place 2 inches apart on silpat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Lightly flatten each dough ball prior to cooking.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes, then place on cooling racks.

Servings: Approximately three dozen Cranberry Crunch Cookies