I am never one to turn away a new recipe, and I find them everywhere. On manufacturer’s websites, the labels of cans, coupons, you name it. I found this one a couple weeks ago on the back of a Domino dark brown sugar bag. The combination of molasses-like flavor, along with festive spices and dried fruit seemed custom-made for Christmas. And I was RIGHT! The smell of these cookies baking is enchanting, and when I pulled the first batch from the oven, I was charmed by their plump round appearance. They reminded me of little cinnamon rolls! And so I decided to give them a little decoration. Rather than icing, I melted some white chocolate and piped it right on. It gives a rather nice effect, I think. But the more important thing is the TASTE, and these cookies are fantastic. Soft and sweet, with a subtle note of spice. The recipe calls for dried cranberries and golden raisins, but they’re equally delicious with other small dried fruit, such as dried cherries, dark seedless raisins and/or currants.
Yields 5 dozen.
SODIUM CONTENT: 8 mg per cookie
INGREDIENTS
1 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 c. sour cream
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. Ener-G sodium free baking soda (sold online at healthyheartmarket.com)
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1 c. dried cranberries
1 c. golden raisins
3 oz. white chocolate, melted (for decoration, if desired)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 large baking sheets and set aside.
Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and sour cream; beat until creamy. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in small bowl; gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until well mixed. Stir in cranberries and raisins.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet. Place sheet on middle rack in oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove baking sheet from oven. Remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, decorate with melted chocolate, if desired. Store in an airtight container.
