A couple of months back I was looking in my fridge for a way to “kick up” my peanut butter recipe a notch and grabbed the dried cranberries, threw them in the dough, and never looked back! They have been a hit with everyone that has tried them! They are soft, chewy, and delicious! The dots of red that the cranberries give the cookies are the perfect touch for the holidays too! This recipe makes approx. 4 doz. cookies and can easily be doubled.
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. white sugar
- 1 c. packed brown sugar
- 1 c. creamy peanut butter (I prefer Jiff)
- 1/2 c. shortening
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 c. flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 c dried cranberries
Instructions
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Combine the sugars, peanut butter, and shortening. Beat on medium speed until well mixed. Add the eggs and beat well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beating on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut mixture. Mix until just blended. Stir in the dried cranberries.
Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Make crisscross marks on the top of the balls with fork tines. Bake for 10-11 min. in a preheated 350 degree oven. The cookies will be very soft to the touch at the end of the 10-11 min. They are done, trust me.
Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 min. before removing to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
When you say "shortening" is that margarine or vegetable shortening? Can it be hi-ratio sortening? What is the reason for not using butter? I just want to cover all bases before I give these a try. Thanks.
Hi Cathy. I use crisco for the shortening. The cookies hold up better this way rather than using butter. I haven't tried them yet with hi-ratio so I can't help you there. I don't have any here to try it with so if you do give it a go, let me know how they turn out. They are delicious! You will enjoy them.
shortening makes the cookies not as hard as butter(softer), but you don't have the butter flavor. I will be trying your cookies. I will post and let you know how they turned out