Cranberry Bliss Cookies

Hohoho! Merry Christmas to all! Christmas is here and we definitely did not forget to do our Christmas baking! We specially chose a recipe for this festive season and this was what we picked!

Ingredients for Cookies

• 3 cups flour (375g)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar (250g)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar (200g)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chips (175g)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (125g)

Ingredients for Frosting

• 1 (8 oz.) bar cream cheese, room temperature (225g) 
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave or double-boiler (87.5g)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar (250g)

Ingredients for Topping

• 1 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped (125g)
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave or double-boiler
  (we used much more than that cause Big Sis was really generous with her chocolate topping :P)

Method for Cookies

1. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt until well-blended. Set aside.
2. Using an an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add in vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
4. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating in between to incorporate.
5. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in dry ingredients.
6. Increase the speed to medium, and continue beating until well-combined.
7. Fold in the white chocolate chips and cranberries, and mix until just-combined. (Do not overmix.)
8. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour. 
9. Place dough by rounded tablespoon-fulls onto a baking sheet that has been prepared with parchment paper, at least 2.5-inches apart.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges.
11. Remove pan, and transfer the cookies to a cooling rack until cool.
12. Repeat with remaining dough until all cookies are baked.

Method for Frosting

*Wait until cookies reach room temperature before adding frosting and toppings.

1. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the cream cheese and melted white chocolate until combined. (**Be sure that your cream cheese REALLY is at room temperature before adding the white chocolate. Otherwise the chocolate could seize up.) 
2. Add in the vanilla and mix until combined. 
3. Reduce speed to low and add the powdered sugar. Mix until incorporated. 
4. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat once more for 1 minute on medium speed until the frosting is smooth. (You can add more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting.)
5. Spread the frosting on the cooled cookies. Then immediately sprinkle the frosted cookies with the chopped dried cranberries. 
6. Use a fork to drizzle on the frosting, swishing it back and forth over the cookies.
   
   Recipe adapted from: gimme some oven

The cookies are a success! Our cookies were not really the same as the pictures from the adapted recipe though, most probably cause of the brown sugar. Despite that, the cookies are really tasty! The recipe actually makes a lot of cookies and it took us hours to finish the whole baking process cause we could only bake three at a time (the cookies can really expand!), but we are very happy with them! (: