Cranberry Noel


    This recipe for Cranberry Noëls  comes  from Kara Kuster in Chicago. It’s named after her sister, Kim Noël, who created the recipe.

RECIPES Cranberry Noëls
Makes about 5 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or rum
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add milk, vanilla, and salt. Beat until just combined. Gradually add flour, cranberries, and pecans. Mix on low speed until fully combined.

2. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 8-inch logs, about 2 inches in diameter. Roll logs in coconut, pressing lightly to coat the outside of logs. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 375°. Using a sharp knife, cut logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

  The following is from Angela in Odessa Florida:
Good morning, Carl.   I wanted to let you know what I did differently with the Cranberry Noel cookies,when I made them yesterday.   I have made them before and when I did, I found myself adding just a bit more milk to the batter because, as I was adding the flour, it seemed a bit dry, so I added more milk than what it called for.  I also added a quarter of a cup more of sugar as it only calls for 1/2 cup of sugar and I found the last time when I made them I would like the cookies a bit sweeter. ALSO it calls for chopped pecan nuts.  I did NOT have pecans on hand so I used a cup of honey roasted cashews which I put in the food processor to chop them up a bit.   Deeeeliciouus with the cashews.  The cashews aslo has a bit of salt on them so I did NOT add salt to the batter as the recipe calls for.  Just thought I would share this with you...mainly about the cashews. :-) Thank you again for the recipe. :-)    Angela