Macadamia Butter Cookies with Dried Cranberries

We love these thick, satisfying cookies as humble as peanut butter cookies but not as crumbly. Dried cranberries provide a slightly tart counterpoint to the macadamia nuts' richness. The dough is somewhat sticky; chilling it briefly makes handling easier.

Yield: 30 servings (serving size: 1 cookie)

Ingredients

• 2/3  cup  macadamia nuts
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/2  cup  packed light brown sugar
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  large egg
• 1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• 1/2  cup  sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
• 1  tablespoon  granulated sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Place nuts in a food processor; process until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping sides of bowl once. Combine macadamia butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add vanilla and egg; beat well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and ground nutmeg, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until combined (mixture will be very thick). Stir in chopped cranberries. Chill 10 minutes.

Divide chilled dough into 30 equal portions; roll each portion into a ball. Place 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in a small bowl. Lightly press each ball into sugar; place each ball, sugar side up, on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Gently press the top of each cookie with a fork. Dip the fork in water; gently press the top of each cookie again to form a crisscross pattern. Place 15 cookies on each of 2 baking sheets.

Bake cookies, 1 baking sheet at a time, at 375° for 9 minutes or until golden. Remove cookies from pan; cool on a wire rack. Repeat procedure with remaining cookies.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

76 (30% from fat)

Fat:

2.5g (sat 0.4g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.1g)

Protein:

1g

Carbohydrate:

13.2g

Fiber:

0.6g

Cholesterol:

7mg

Iron:

0.5mg

Sodium:

44mg

Calcium:

7mg

Find more delicious, all-time favorite cookie recipes in our 25-Days to Christmas Cookie Countdown., Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2002