WOW! What a wonderful cookie. I just made these last night for a cookie tray and they were the best of all five varities I tried. I did make a few changes to the recipe: *I added 1 1/2 tsp of zest like some of the other reviews suggested. *I used fresh cranberries and sliced them in half (not chopped). I thought they were the perfect size when the cookies baked. *Some of the other reviews suggested adding vanilla extract, but I think that almond extract and cranberries are made for eachother, so... I added about 1/4-1/2 tsp. almond extract. *Instead of walnuts, I added almond gems to accompany the extract. The gems are small enough so they don't stand out too much -- perfect for nut lovers and perfect for the rest of us! *I decided to try the cookies w/o the frosting first because of some reviews stating that the cookies were too sweet. I thought the cookies were perfect w/o the frosting, so why hassel?!! *Also, if I left them in the oven one second longer than 12 minutes, they were overcooked.
These cookies are a huge favorite of ours! I've made them a few times and always have to make two changes - add 1/2 to 1 cup extra flour and chill the dough a little, and bake them at 350 instead of 375. As no one else has mentioned doing that, I blame it on high altitude; however, the flour thing is a little strange to me - I've never seen a cookie recipe with a cup of butter need less than 3 or 4 cups of flour. The first batch of these cookies I made (with the stated amount of flour) spread all over the pan in one big flat gooey cookie, so I made the above changes and have absolutely loved every batch since.
Oh my goodness these are THE BEST! I usually make cranberry orange bread during the holidays, but from now on I'm making these cookies instead. I added a splash of vanilla extract, pulsed the fresh cranberries in my food processor and used 2 T. orange juice concentrate instead of orange juice and they spread out beautifully and have the perfect texture and balance of sweet and tart. I didn't even make the icing and my 3 year old loves them! Thank you Meg!
omg whoever submitted this, I LOVE YOU. i tried making seven different types of cookies in the last 3 days, because I have a cookie party tomorrow night and nothing would turn out right.. and then i stumbled on this just because I had bought (dried) cranberries for another recipe and I had allthe other ingredients, so i was like, ok lets give it a go. THEY TASTE FABULOUS!. they look adorable, very appropriate to give as gifts, they are sooo easy to make and yeah, just brilliant. but DO NOT overcook them. take them out when they go golden around the edges and it may well be befor e 12 minutes is even up. THANKYOU to whoever posted this on here!!!!
I grated one whole orange and used all the zest as it tends to have a better kick and presentation. Also instead of orange juice, I squeeze all the juice of the grated orange. Use 1/3 of the juice mix into the cookie batter (to give a more citrus-y taste) and the rest for the frosting.
Like everyone else, I thought these cookies were very good. I read the reviews before I started and took the advice of "Brooke Salt" and added 1 1/2 teaspoons of orange zest, cut fresh cranberries in half, addded 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract and I used slivered almonds instead of walnuts. After baking the first tray, I found out "Loves Cheese" was also right! The first tray flatted out too much unless you like really, really, thin cookies. I had the next batch ready to go in the oven and threw them back in the bowl and added about a half cup more of flour. The next thing I saw she was right about, was baking at 350 instead of 375. I am selling mine on cookie trays and don't want dark brown edges! If you like dark brown edges, bake at 375! They were sweet and didn't need frosting, but since they were going on cookie trays, I felt they needed to be dressed up a little and didn't want the added sweetness so I melted some white chocolate and drizzled on top. Now, all that being said, isn't it amazing that over 300 people rated this cookie, most of them with 5 stars and so many of us still find fault with it? :)
VERY good! Chewy. a bit on the sweet side with the glaze I preferred it without it and I REALLY like my sweets! I'd also suggest adding 1/2 cup of flour which would produce a slightly softer less sweet cookie. But over all the taste is great! Definitely made it into the family favorites!
I made these cookies for some friends last night who were surprised to love a cookie didn't have chocolate but rather had fruit in it! The orange topping came out a little runny with 3tbs orange juice so I added a bit more confec. sugar to the mix. The cookies turned out much sweeter than I'd imagined and I'll definately be making these again.
A tasty and nice holiday cookie. As a previous reviewer said these are a "soft" type cookie and they have a nice orange flavor. Make sure you add enough cranberries - mine could've used a few more. I might add a touch of vanilla to the cookie batter next time and a smidge more orange zest. The icing was fine - I added a bit more orange zest to it.
good flavor but they came out extremely "cake-like" and fluffy. Not really the consistency you want or expect from a cookie. You mind as well pour the batter into a loaf pan and make cranberry orange bread.
