SPARKLING CRANBERRY GEMS

sparkling cranberry gems image

Provided by @MakeItYours

Number Of Ingredients 12

Cookies
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, organic preferred; or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) dried cranberries, packed
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into pats
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) milk
Coating
scant 1/2 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) coarse white sparkling sugar
Place the flour and dried cranberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the cranberries are coarsely shredded. Imagine a single dried cranberry cut into about 4 pieces: that's your goal.

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
Whisk together the flour/cranberry mixture, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the vanilla and butter, mixing until the butter is thoroughly distributed, but some pea-sized chunks still remain. Dribble in the milk while mixing; the dough will become cohesive.
Place the coarse sugar in a plastic bag; about 1-quart size should do.
Using a teaspoon cookie scoop (or a spoon), scoop the dough by 1 3/4-teaspoonfuls (about 1 ¼" balls) into the bag, 6 or 8 at a time. Close the top of the bag, and gently shake to coat the balls with sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, and use the bottom of a glass to flatten them to about ¼" thick (about 1 ½" in diameter). Repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake the cookies for 16 to 17 minutes, until they're set and barely, BARELY beginning to brown around the very edge; the tops shouldn't be brown at all. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan.
Yield: about 3 dozen cookies.
Coarse white sugar gives these cookies their sparkle; their relatively healthy content makes them gems! With less than half a teaspoon of fat per cookie, lower sugar content, plus loads of antioxidants from the cranberries, these tangy-sweet, mildly chewy treats are much less guilt-inducing than most cookies.
Read our blog about these cookies, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.