We like to celebrate achievements and other high points in addition to just birthdays and holidays. This past Saturday was 78 degrees so Brad enjoyed using his fitness from cross-country season at a pickup soccer game organized by his JV coach. I ran 8 miles with the Big Boys (six dudes with one-syllable names, including me) for the first time in about a year. And Cassie killed it at a concerto competition with the Mozart Bassoon Concerto she's been working so hard on. So we celebrated with a good meal consisting of Black Bean Chili with Cornbread, and the "Boring" Apple Cake we've been enjoying so much for dessert.
We also console ourselves when things aren't going as well. The week leading up to the concerto competition was stressful for Cassie for a few reasons. At her lowest point, I tried to comfort her with Quick Vodka Pasta and these Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are Brad's favorite cookies, but they must have made Cassie feel a little better since I've never seen her eat a half dozen cookies in one sitting before.
The key to these cookies is the white chocolate chips. The most readily available supermarket brand is Nestle Toll House Premier White Morsels, but they're not even chocolate. Here are the ingredients: sugar, fractionated palm kernel oil, milk, nonfat milk, hydrogenated palm oil, soy lecithin, and natural flavor. Doesn't that sound yummy? Not surprisingly, they taste like Fido's rear end—sickly sweet and completely artificial. They're harder to find, but you have to use white chocolate chips with real cocoa butter, like Trader Joe's White Chocolate Baking Chips. Unfortunately, they're only available seasonally, so you have to stock up when you see them. Otherwise, you can find a white chocolate baking bar made with cocoa butter (like Green & Black's Organic) and cut it into chunks yourself.
Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Nigella Lawson in the New York Times
Time: 35 minutes (+10 minutes if you refrigerate the dough)
150 grams (~1¼ cups) all-purpose flour
75 grams (¾ cup) rolled oats
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
125 grams (~9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
75 grams (scant ½ cup) dark brown sugar
1 large egg (~57 grams still in the shell)
1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla extract
150 grams (scant 1 cup) white chocolate chips (good ones, with real cocoa butter, like Trader Joe's)
75 grams (~½ cup) dried cranberries
50 grams (~½ cup) pecans, roughly chopped (I used Trader Joe's Dry Toasted Pecan Pieces)
1. Place the oven racks in the middle two positions. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 18-by-13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, salt, and baking powder.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium-high speed (speed 4 on our KitchenAid) until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl down. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to mix. Add the flour mixture and stir in until just incorporated. Gently fold in the white chocolate chips, cranberries, and pecans.
4. Scoop balls of dough (a #40 scoop works well for this job) onto one of the the baking sheets. Refrigerate the dough for at least 10 minutes and up to a few days.
5. Divide the dough balls evenly between the two baking sheets. Press each ball gently with a fork to flatten it a bit. Bake until the cookies are pale gold, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. The cookies will still be soft hot of the oven. Let them cool, still on the baking sheets, for 5 minutes, then transfer them carefully to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 25 cookies.
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