Berry Oatmeal Cookies

Berry Oatmeal Cookies

created by Stefanie Paganini of
The Loretta Paganini School of Cooking

Ahhh ... it's still January and everyone is still trying to keep their New Year's resolutions to eat healthier, so how about a delicious oatmeal cookie with cranberries and dark chocolate to lessen the guilt. I love them fresh ... and they even taste great frozen, so make a double batch and freeze some for a quick snack. - Stef

Yield: about 18 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup AP flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 ½ cups dried cranberries
½ cup semisweet chips or chunks
¼ cup orange juice

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, soak cranberries in orange juice.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in large mixing bowl. Mix in oats.
4. Cream together butter and both sugars until fluffy.
5. Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time until incorporated. Add vanilla.
6. Mix in the flour mixture just until incorporated.
7. Strain juice from berries and discard juice. Mix cranberries and chips into cookie dough.
8. Using an ice cream scoop, drop cookies on parchment lined baking sheet. Leave an inch around each cookie to accommodate any spread.
9. Slightly flatten cookies on baking sheet.
10. Bake cookies until darken slightly in color and are firm, approximately 10-12 minutes.
11. Cool on parchment paper on cooling rack.