White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

It's May....a month that according to the Norwegian song "Kom mai, du skjønne milde..." is supposed to be both beautiful and mild. On sunny days - like those we had on the last couple of randonee ski tours - Norway is definitely showing itself at it's best - clear blue sky, peaks all around still covered by crisp white snow, a belt of luscious dark green pine forests right below the peaks, only to be divided by fields of light green farm land running down to the dark blue fjord down below.

The song doesn't tell you anything though about those other days in May that aren't even close to being beautiful or mild...those days where the temperature drops below zero again and small snow crystals come sailing down from up above. Today is one of those days... Depressed by the weather? Well, I guess some people are...but not me! I thank God for every bit of snow that we still get, as that means that we still will be able to ascend on ski's some of the peaks on this season's to-do-list. Plus, such days are great to spend in the kitchen trying to find new great snacks to bring along on our adventures out in nature...like these soft though chewy White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies.

The recipe comes from The Hummingbird Bakery and can be found in the fabulous cookbook Cake Days - Recipes to make every day special.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies
(makes about 12)

Ingredients:
135 gr unsalted butter
80 gr caster sugar
80 gr soft light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
190 gr plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100 gr dried cranberries
60 gr white chocolate chips

Preparation:
1.) Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
2.) Cream together the butter and both types of sugar, using a hand-held mixer. Break in the egg and add the vanilla essence and mix until both are completed absorbed into the butter sugar mixture.
3.) Soft together the flour, salt, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda, then add to the creamed mixture in two batches, mixing by hand until a dough forms.
4.) Stir in the cranberries and chocolate chips.
5.) Break off pieces of the dough - about two tablespoons in size - roll them into balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Allow six cookies per tray, making sure to space them apart from each other as they will spread during cooking.
6.) Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cookies are a light golden on top.
7.) Leave on the sheets for about 10 minutes to cool and set before transferring to a wire rack.
8.) Store in an air tight container and bring along on your next hike!

Enjoy!

Sætre's Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

In 2009 the Norwegian cookie company called "Sætre" came with a new series of cookies - all marketed under the name "Café Bakeriet" (Café Bakery). They have been my favourites ever since, because these cookies just taste so good!!

I guess the one called "Sjokoladeterapi" (Chocolade Therapy) is a pretty good runner up, but my favourite one is the one called "Havre & Bare Bær" (Oatmeal and Berries). They are soft oatmeal cookies with raisins and cranberries.

Best of all, the recipe for the cookies is printed right on the package, so that everyone can have their own go at baking these crumptious cookies. So guess what I did today....I made my own batch of Oatmeal and Berries cookies!

Here's the recipe. Enjoy baking!

Sætre's Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
(makes approx. 20 cookies)

Ingredients:
210 gr all-purpose flour
210 gr rolled oats
145 gr butter
55 gr dark muscovado sugar
90 gr sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp syrup (golden or dark)
110 gr raisins, chopped
75 gr dried cranberries, chopped
0,5 dl water


1.) Mix flour, baking powder, butter, sugar, rolled oats and salt in a bowl into a crumbly dough. Add syrup, cranberries, raisins and water and mix until it becomes a ball of dough.

2.) Shape the dough into a saucage, wrap with aluminium foil and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3.) Cut the dough into disks of 1 cm wide and place them unto a baking sheet, greased or lined with parchment or wax paper.

4.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Then lower the temperature to 175 degrees Celsius and bake the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. Cool on a rack. Store in air tight container.