Folks, I’ll let you in on a little something: I’m not a huge Thanksgiving fan. While most people are salivating over the biggest food event of the year, I shrug and go meh.
The turkey is fine, the stuffing is OK and I like apple pie well enough, but in conjunction with mashed potatoes, yams, vegetable casseroles and pumpkin everything? Not into it. It’s all just too much rich, brown food, you know? And to deviate from those classics would be almost blasphemy.
So I try to make Thanksgiving enjoyable for myself in other ways. For the past few years, I’ve mixed up pie crusts in advance for all the pies my family makes (which is a lot: apple, lemon meringue, pecan and two pumpkin–one with coconut, one without). This year, I decided to up my Thanksgiving baking game with more pie crusts and a new cookie recipe.
Admittedly, I’m not a pecan person (or really a cranberry person), but these cookies really seem to fit the Thanksgiving bill (and they’d work well into the Christmas season, too). Bonus: they’re so easy to make and great for a last-minute treat.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2¼ cups flour
- 1 cup butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Zest of one orange
Making the cookies is super simple. Just cream together your butter, sugar and egg yolk, then mix in your vanilla, salt and flour until combined. Once that’s all mixed, stir in your nuts, cranberries and zest.
Then divide your dough into two. Roll each bit of dough into a log, roughly six inches long. Wrap this up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours (though you can keep it in the fridge for a day or two if you’re the plan ahead type).
Once chilled, slice your logs into ¼” slices and pop on a lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350ºF for 12 to 15 minutes.
If you don’t have pecans on hand, I think pistachios would work well, too (but feel free to sub in macadamia nuts, walnuts or whatever you prefer). If you’re into white chocolate (I’m not) a drizzle over the top could be super pretty. It’s up to you!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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