Cranberry Pumpkin Cookies

I can’t even begin to describe how much I love warm, just out of the oven cookies. Chocolate chip, peanut butter and even the odd cinnamon raisin number are all favorites – depending on the time of year. Second only to a delightfully perfect cupcake…cookies are the perfect treat.

Considering how much I adore cookies, it should come as no surprise that I am especially picky when it comes down to deciding if a recipe makes the grade. In this case, I’m happy to say that the Cranberry Pumpkin Cookies fully delivered on the promise of “soft” and “cakelike“. They almost have the consistency of a scone, but lighter – like how the pumpkin scones at Starbucks should be.

The recipe is simple enough – though I went ahead and combined all the dry ingredients separately while mixing everything else together first. I also didn’t chop up the cranberries – they were mushed around and deflated in the oven…my impatience wasn’t up for tediously shopping each cranberry one by one. (have I also mentioned how much I love real cranberries?).

For my first batch, I held off on any sort of glaze – and the more I think about it, this cookie doesn’t really need anything else to make it sweeter. If anything, it’s nice to have something that tastes so delicious and complete without going overboard on the sugar.

The timing was about right (30 minutes) and the only thing I think I’d change for next time is a little bit more ground cinnamon and maybe a bit of pumpkin pie spice. All in all, a reliable and fast homemade holiday treat.

Images: Rachel Segal