I accidentally macerated the cranberries in the brandy for, uh, a week rather than the four hours it calls for. Hey, a girl gets busy. They turned out extra boozy and I can say with confidence I didn’t hear a single complaint. The leftover cranberry brandy? Well, let’s just say it didn’t go to waste. Oh, and don’t worry too much if the kids get into these. There’s a little nip of brandy in the berries after cooking, but the sugar will rile them up more than the booze.
Tipsy Cranberry White Chocolate and Almond Cookies
By Meghan
“This is a recipe I have been fooling around with for years, always trying to make it just a little bit better which is hard because it was such a great recipe to begin with. But last year I think I perfected it when my family told me it was the one thing that always had to be at Christmas Eve dessert. Always.”
Ingredients:
1 cup of brandy (to soak the cranberries in, reserving 1 1/4 teaspoons of it for the dough)
1 cup of dried cranberries
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3/4 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of white chocolate chips
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Directions:
Put the cranberries in a wide and shallow bowl. Pour in enough brandy to just cover the cranberries. Cover and place in the fridge for one to four hours. When done soaking, place a colander over a bowl and pour the cranberries and brandy through. Set aside both the cranberries and the reserved brandy.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat again until light, fluffy and well incorporated.
Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and add 1 1/4 teaspoons of the brandy that the cranberries soaked in. Beat well until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add to the mixture a cup at a time, beating until just mixed. Fold in the brandy soaked cranberries, white chocolate chips and almonds. Let chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place rounded spoonfuls down on the sheet. Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.