White Chocolate Lingonberry Orange Cookies

White Chocolate LingonberryOrange cookies ready for gifting
The busiest time of year is upon us, though I don't know how it can possibly be busier than the last month has been for me.  Typically by now I have jars and containers in the freezer and on the countertops full of candies, cookies, crackers that I bake up for Christmas every year.  I love relaxing in the kitchen while baking up an old recipe, or tweaking an old one to make a new version of something well-loved.  I love sampling all of them, and then giving them away for other people to enjoy as well. 
The red & white colors look like Christmas, and the orange scent is mouth-watering
But not this year.  This year I've let myself off the hook.  I've taken the pressure off to make big piles of great-tasting bakery (maybe my waistline will thank me in January!).  And though more inspiration may come before Christmas day arrives, this year, I've had one go-to cookie that can be whipped up really quickly, piled into festive containers and brought along to parties, and which everyone seems to like.  Here it is!  Enjoy.

 One note:  in the recipe below, I've given the weight for many of the ingredients in grams.  You'll get the best (read: consistent) results if you actually weigh the ingredients, as 4 different people scooping up e.g. a cup of flour will find that a cup weighs in a range from 115 g - 140 g depending on how they scoop it.  You can also see that while the volume of both white and brown sugars is 1/2 cup, the weights are quite different.  But it's not essential if you aren't too particular - the taste will still be good; but the cookies may be more or less crispy/chewy than mine.  
White Chocolate Lingonberry Orange Cookies

Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C

In medium bowl, combine
1 1/3 cup / 2.75 dl / 160 g all-purpose flour (add an extra 1/4 cup if you like a thicker, crunchier cookie)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat until well combined:
1 stick/ 4 oz / 8 tablespoons / 115g soft butter
1/2 cup / 1 dl/ 115 g white sugar
1/2 cup / 1 dl / 100 g brown sugar (not packed)
zest of one organic orange (zested over the bowl to catch all the orange oils)

Beat well until the mixture is thoroughly combined so that the sugar and butter are completely incorporated (I suggest scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during this step).  Then add:
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Beat again to combine.  With a spatula, fold the flour mixture into the sugar-butter mixture and stir until the mixture is smooth.  Stir in:
1 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips/ 6oz / 150g
1/2 cup dried lingonberries (or dried cranberries, preferably unsweetened)

Drop teaspoonfuls of the cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, spaced 1.5"/3 cm apart to allow the cookies to spread.  Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are a dark golden brown and the centers still look soft.  Remove from oven.  Cool on the pan for 5 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely, 

If you don't plan to enjoy these all at once, they store best frozen in an airtight container or thick plastic freezer bag.

Makes 60 - 70 small cookies.

Happy Holidays!

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