Nick of Time Cranberry-White Chocolate Drops

When time’s an issue, whip up these easy one-bowl cookies.  Cranberries and white chocolate sing in perfect harmony, while nuts lend a crunchy, toasty undertone.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon orange oil
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2¾ cups K.A Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1½ cups white chocolate chunks
• 1½ cups dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Place the very soft (soft unto melting) butter in a medium-large mixing bowl.  Add the sugars, salt, vanilla and orange oil and stir well.  Add the egg and stir until well blended.  Add the baking soda and flour, mixing until blended.  Stir in the chips, cranberries and nuts.

Scoop rounded tablespoon of dough( a tablespoon cookie scoop works well) onto light colored baking sheets.  Flatten into disks, using gentle pressure from your fingers.

Bake the cookies in a preheated 375F oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned; the tops shouldn’t be brown.  Remove the cookies from the oven, let them rest on the pan 5 minutes, then slide them onto a rack to cool completely.

Yield: about 4½ dozen cookies.