Cranberry Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies

Around here, Thanksgiving is all about the old favorites and not deviating from them one iota. It’s the one time of year we have stuffing and sweet potatoes simmered in butter and spices, so there’s almost no need to add anything new. Almost. I might sneak in Lisa Fain’s Ancho Creamed Corn in place of our usual corn pudding. :) But that being the case, I’ve been on a cookie baking kick…so here’s this week’s cookie — cranberry chocolate chip butter cookies.

My auntie has been making these, well, the chocolate chip-only version, since I was a kid and they really only ever showed up around Christmas. The optimist in me says that’s because the butter cookie is winter white and brings to mind winter’s chill, but really, I think it was a Christmas cookie because the full recipe calls for a full pound of butter…yep, 4 sticks. It’s a butter cookie, but still…something about a pound of butter in a recipe makes my arteries feel clogged just thinking about it. So I’ve halved the recipe here…just, you know, for sanity’s [read: denial’s] sake.

If you love either dried cranberries or chocolate chips, one more than the other, go with only one mix-in for maximum effect. I split the difference here for a little holiday color. I’m sure Santa won’t mind either way.