Another holiday, another holiday cookie exchange, another new cookie. This year we created these orange cookies with cranberries & chocolate. The orange flavor is created from zest, juice, and just a bit of Grand Marnier for the extra kick. We really wanted the orange flavor to shine so the cranberries and chocolate are chopped small to add a nice complement to the citrus flavor.
Orange Cookies with Cranberries & Chocolate
Servings: 60 – 70
Ingredients
- 1 c Dried Cranberries
- ½ c Grand Marnier
- 5 ½ c Flour
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
- 1 c Unsalted Butter
- 2 c Sugar
- 2 c Brown Sugar
- 2 Oranges
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 3 ½ oz Dark Chocolate 85%
Orange Sugar
- 1 Orange
- 1 c Sugar
Instructions
- Roughly chop the cranberries and place in a bowl with the Grand Marnier. Set aside.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves in a bowl. Set aside.
- Zest the oranges and add to a mixing bowl and cream with the butter and sugars.
- Juice the oranges and add to the butter/sugar (no more than ¾ cup) and mix with the eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly add the flour to the mixer about a ¼ at a time until incorporated.
- Add the cranberries and liquor and continue mixing until combined.
- If the dough is too wet add a little flour, a tbsp at a time.
- Finely chop the chocolate and mix into the dough until just combined.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Zest an orange and add to a bowl with a cup of sugar. Stir to combine.
- Take about a tablespoons of the dough, roll into a ball, then roll in the orange sugar to coat. Continue to create the sugar coated dough balls and place on a cookie sheet about 2 in apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Let cookies cool for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Notes
- You can use other orange flavored liqueurs, however, we have found that Grand Marnier gives the flavor and richness we are looking for
- The longer your soak the cranberries the better, however, they will not soak up all of the Grand Marnier
- The dough will be dense until you add the cherries and whiskey, it will then look very wet until mixed completely
- Depending on your oranges and the amount of juice, the dough could still be slightly wet, adding a little additional flour will help bring the dough back together
- You can use larger chunks of chocolate, but it will start to take over the other flavors and become the main part of the cookie
- The formed sugar-coated balls can be frozen, when ready to eat they can be baked from frozen, just increase the cooking time to 13-15 minutes.