½ cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
Combine dried cranberries and orange juice in small bowl. Let stand until cranberries soften slightly, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 3 heavy large rimmed baking sheets. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl until just blended.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until smooth. Add egg, minced ginger, vanilla, and orange peel; beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in walnuts, pistachios, fresh or frozen cranberries, and dried cranberries with juices.
Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1½ inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 baking sheet at a time, until golden and almost firm to touch in center, about 18 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.Technique Tip: Chopping CranberriesIt’s easier to cut whole fresh cranberries when they are firm. If using frozen cranberries, chop them while they are still frozen and don’t allow them to thaw before adding them to the dough or they will be too mushy to chop.
Cookie Basics: The Big FreezeThere is a way to enjoy fresh-baked cookies any time: Make the dough or cookies ahead of time and freeze them.FREEZING DOUGH: This works well for low-moisture batters or doughs, such as for drop cookies, slice-and-bake cookies, and cutout cookies. (Any cookie batter that spreads prior to baking won’t work.) To freeze cookies that are shaped into mounds or balls before baking, shape the dough and freeze the mounds or balls on waxed paper-lined baking sheets until firm. Transfer the mounds to a resealable bag and return to the freezer. When you’re ready to bake, let them thaw briefly on a baking sheet while the oven preheats. Then bake according to the recipe instructions. To freeze slice-and-bake cookie dough, simply wrap the log of dough in foil or plastic wrap and store it in a freezer bag. To bake the cookies, thaw the dough slightly and then slice into rounds. Bake according to the recipe directions.FREEZING BAKED COOKIES: Cookies such as chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies fare best when wrapped individually and tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then frozen in a cookie tin, food storage container, or resealable plastic bag. Bring them to room temperature, or warm them in a 300°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Bar cookies, such as brownies, are best frozen uncut in the pan they were baked in; shortbread and other crisp cookies can be frozen in resealable bags or food storage containers. These are best when just brought to room temperature.
These delicious treats can be transformed into thumbprint cookies that mimic the popular PB&J combo. Instead of flattening the dough balls, use your fingertip to make a deep indentation in the center of each, then fill each indentation with 1 level teaspoon of your favorite jam. Bring the kids into the kitchen for this baking project—they’ll love the job of making the indentations in the dough. Makes about 2½ dozen
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
½ cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup old-fashioned (natural) salted crunchy peanut butter (preferably organic)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Add peanut butter and mix just until combined (do not overmix). Stir in flour mixture.
Form dough into golf-ball-size balls and arrange on baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Using fork, flatten and make crosshatch pattern in each dough ball. Bake cookies until golden brown on bottom, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
DO AHEAD: Cookies can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
This delicious cookie offers deep lime flavor, thanks to lime juice, lime peel, and lime oil, an intense essence derived from lime peels. Lime oil can be found at specialty foods stores and online at chefshop.com. Makes about 2½ dozen
1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lime peel
½ teaspoon lime oilAdditional powdered sugar
Whisk flour and cornstarch in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in lime juice, lime peel, and lime oil. Beat in flour mixture until smooth. Chill dough until just firm, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using scant 1 tablespoon for each, form dough into balls and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until pale golden on top and browned on bottom, about 23 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to racks; immediately sift generous amount of additional powdered sugar over cookies. Cool cookies completely on baking sheets.
DO AHEAD: Can be made ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days, or freeze up to 2 weeks. Dust with more powdered sugar before serving.
Use your favorite fruit preserves in these delicious, crumbly almond cookies. For a pretty presentation, choose a variety of different-colored preserves, such as blueberry, raspberry, and peach. Makes about 3 dozen
1 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted
½ cup sugar
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup (about) fruit preserves
Combine almonds and sugar in processor and blend until almonds are finely chopped.
Mix flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, egg yolk, and almond mixture in large bowl until blended. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Mix flour mixture into butter mixture in 3 additions. Cover dough and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using hands, roll 1 generous tablespoonful of dough for each cookie into 1¼ -inch-diameter ball. Place cookies on 2 heavy large ungreased baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Make depression in center of each cookie with fingertip or handle of wooden spoon. Bake cookies 10 minutes.
Press back of teaspoon into cookies to re-form depressions. Fill each depression with ½ teaspoon preserves. Continue baking cookies until light golden brown around edges and on bottom, about 8 minutes longer. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Using metal spatula, transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.