Cranberry-Mac Morsels
Macadamia nut butter plus cranberries plus nutmeg = delicious

Once in a while, a recipe shows such promise you make it again and again, until getting it exactly right.

That’s what happened with these crisp-on-the-outside, chewy-in-the-middle bright-colored cookies, voted the family favorite ‘new recipe’ their first year and a cheerful addition to holiday cookie platters ever since.

That first year, I mixed batch after batch, each an improvement but never quite right.

Finally I found the trick: the macadamia nut butter must reach a consistency someplace beyond creamy commercial peanut butter, smooth and almost runny.

Instead, in my large food processor, 2/3 of a cup of nuts, the quantity for a single batch, turns out a grainy, crumbly mess of nuts, hardly a nut butter. The cookies still taste great but don’t flatten properly.

Luckily, the fix is easy: make a double batch! You won't be sorry, the cookies are that good! And the dough freezes well so you can bake some now, the rest later. (Or you might also process a double quantity of nuts but use only half the resulting butter.)

ALANNA's TIPS Nuts usually taste better when roasted or toasted first but that’s not needed here. Grate fresh nutmeg if it’s available. Watch the first tray carefully, removing it from the oven when the cookies have begun to flatten but are still a bit puffy and still look a bit unbaked. The cookies will flatten and the golden color will continue to develop.
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Share a favorite holiday recipe via e-mail.

CRANBERRY-MAC MORSELS

Mixing: 20 minutes
Chilling and baking: 30 minutes
Makes 30 cookies
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 2/3 cup macadamia nuts
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1-1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (for dipping)

In a food processor, chop the cranberries into small pieces and put aside. In the same bowl (washing isn’t necessary), make a nut butter by processing nuts until very smooth (like runny peanut butter), about two minutes, scraping bowl once or twice. In a mixing bowl, combine nut butter and sugars. Add vanilla and egg and beat well. Add flour, soda, salt and nutmeg and beat at low speed until just combined. The dough will be quite thick. Stir in cranberries by hand with a wooden spoon.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Cover dough and chill for 10 minutes. Roll dough into one-inch balls and press top of each ball in sugar. Place balls on baking sheet covered with parchment paper, leaving two inches between the balls for the cookies to spread. Press balls gently with a fork, twice in criss-cross-fashion. Bake for 9 minutes or until just golden. Let cool briefly, then transfer to a paper towel or rack to cool completely.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per cookie: 78 Cal; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 14g Carb; 1g Fiber; 51mg Sodium; 0mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

More Recipes for Cookie Swaps

(hits at my own cookie swap, click a photo for a recipe)
Cut-Out Cookies, here, Frosty Christmas Trees Gourmet Mocha Cookies Graham Cracker Toffee
Need more ideas? Explore all the cookie recipes. Thinking about hosting a cookie swap? Here's how to host a cookie exchange. As for a menu, these have been hits at my own annual cookie swap, usually a Saturday morning brunch. I often start with a cranberry champagne cocktail and some black pepper almonds. For the main course, it's an easy make-ahead tomato basil quiche. On occasion, I've also served a light apple yogurt salad and a classic brunch cake, a raspberry morning cake.
LATER NOTES

• 2007 | I often stock up on nuts when they're on sale, then store in the freezer to keep fresh. This year I learned that the nuts must be thawed before starting this cookie. This is also the first year that I'm experimenting with a Kitchen Aid standing mixer. A triple batch of cookies mixed up just fine in it; there was also no need to separately incorporate the cranberries.

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© Copyright 2005 Kitchen Parade

December 09, 2005 printme Page Permalink |email E-Mail this Recipe
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Your Comments:

I have made these cookies for several years and they are a family favorite. I have to make at least a triple batch and they disappear as fast as I make them!

12/30/2006
Anonymous Anonymous on 7/22/2007
 
I love cranberyy anything so was quite happy to find the recipe, but what holds these cookies together? The one egg? I am looking at some very dry batter right now.
Blogger Karen on 12/16/2007
 
Karen ~ Cookie tip line, here! Did you let the macadamia nuts process until they were a runny peanut butter? That's completely the trick with these cookies. And at least in my large food processor, I had to do double the nuts to get that consistency. The good news is that even if the nuts weren't done to the runny peanut butter stage, the cookies will still TASTE good. That's what happened with my first couple of batches, what kept me continuing to test until I got it right.
Blogger Alanna on 12/16/2007
 
I am very tempted by this recipe, but do not have macadameia nuts on hand. As they are very expensive, can I substitute pecans (We traveled through Gergia over Xmas, and I have a ton in my pantry as a result), or walnuts or almonds? I have never made a nut butter besides peanut butter. If you don't have an opinion, I will go ahead and give the pecans a whirl.
Anonymous Susan on 1/15/2009
 
Hi Susan - Good questions! Here's my instinct: almonds would be closer to macadamia nuts in flavor than pecans. That said, pecans might just work beautifully too. If you have fresh cranberries on hand, this recipe for Fresh Cranberry Drop Cookies might appeal. Let me know, yes?
Blogger Alanna on 1/15/2009
 
What kind of flour do you use? we have plain flour or self raising here and its always stated in our recipes which one to use. The same goes for the sugar. You just state it as sugar when we have ordinary granulated or slightly finer caster sugar which we would normally use to bake. does it matter which one to use?
Bev
Anonymous Anonymous on 1/16/2009
 
Hi Anonymous - Oh dear, the vagaries of crossing countries with recipes! In U.S. recipes, 'flour' will always mean all-purpose flour, a wheat flour that is enriched, either bleached or unbleached. That's because self-rising flour is available but not used so much. In addition, 'sugar' or 'white sugar' will always mean granulated sugar. I occasionally use super-fine granulated sugar for baking fine-textured cakes but this recipe was tested with regular granulated sugar. Thanks for asking, I've been meaning to put in an ingredient glossary to help, you've been my inspiration, again!
Blogger Alanna on 1/16/2009
 
Cutting back on eating after the holidays and sticking with the WW rules, I was looking for a sweet treat that was 1 point and tasted good. I don't like macadamia nuts and substitued walnuts. To get the right consistency for the nut paste, I added a few scant teaspoons of water. Truly an excellent cookie -- thanks.

Susan
Anonymous Anonymous on 1/31/2009