Whiskey White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Recipe

I made some cookies for the family during Christmas time.  Sound strange but I got to admit that I don't like to drink any kinds of alcohol beverages.  However, I do like to use alcohols to cook and bake.  I think the alcohols take the food or the baked goodies to a deeper level of flavor.

Whiskey White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Recipe (Make about 24 cookies)

Ingredients

You could ignore the oatmeal in the picture. 
I was thinking of putting some oatmeal inside the batter, but I though it will be too much texture for one little cookie.

• 1/2 cup of Whiskey and 1/2 of Gold Rum (to soak the cranberries in, then saving 2 teaspoons of it for later), if you don't have rum, just use 1 cup of Whiskey.
• 1 cup of dried cranberries
• 1 cup (two sticks) of butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of white chocolate chips

Instruction

1. Put the cranberries in a measuring cup and then pour whiskey and/or rum.  Put the cup in a microwave and heat it for 30 seconds.  And let the cranberries soak in the alcohol for about 15 to 30 minutes. 

2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat again until light, fluffy and well incorporated.

3. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and add 2 teaspoons of the Whiskey that the cranberries soaked in. Beat well until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl midway through to ensure even mixing.

4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add to the mixture a bit at a time, beating until just mixed. Fold in the brandy soaked cranberries (get rid of the liquid by squeezing the cranberries) and white chocolate chips. Let chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.

5.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Flour your hands (to prevent the dough sticking on your hands), and grab about a spoonful of dough and make it about a size of ping-pong ball.

6. Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I made some little vintage inspired tags to dress up the cookies.

German Apple Strudel Recipe

We invited our friends and family to our house for dinner almost every other month the first half of 2011.  And each time, we tried to make the dinner to a themed dinner.  Asian, Italian, Mexican, Germany, BBQ...Unfortunately, we have been so busy lately, and stopped gathering at our house for this themed dinner thingy. 

On our German themed dinner, I made this German apple strudel.  As always, I used few different recipes I found online and made some adjustments to turn to my own (kind of). 

Ingredients

5 Fuji apples (or Granny Smith apples), peeled, cored, halved, and diced

1/2 cup raisins

rums

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed, plus more for sprinkling

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon of nutmeg

1 box phyllo dough, thawed (I didn't use the whole box though)

2 to 4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces or PAM, melted, plus more for brushing

powder sugar (optional)

Instruction

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Dice your apple evenly. 

3.     And soak your rasins in rum in a microwave safe container.  And heat it for 40 seconds and let it sit for about a minute before draining out the alcohol.

4.     Now mix the apples and the raisins together in a big bowl, add brown sugar, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon together. 

5.     Set the dough out on the counter, with box still closed, for 1-2 hours to get the dough to room temperature.Open your ready to bake phyllo dough very carefully.  Prepare a clean wet towel because you need to wrap the remaining ones with the towel while you are working on the sheet.  They dry up very quickly, so work fast!



6.     On a large cutting board or counter top, open the box of the dough, and slowly and carefully unroll the package.  Carefully and GENTLY brush the sheet with melted butter or SPAM (I highly recommend PAM for first timer, it's much easier to work with on the sheets). Please try not to tear the dough.  Repeat the same process, until you get 5-6 layers.  When you get to the last layer, fill in with the mixture of the apples and rasins.  

PS: In between each layer, sprinkle some brown sugar.  The brown sugar would make the dough more flavorful and the texture will be crispier. 

 

7.     Bake in the preheat oven for approximately 45mins or until golden brown outside.

Done and sprinkle with powder sugar while you serve!