Cranberry Crunch Cookies


Cranberry Crunch Cookies
Turn these quart-sized cookies into monsterous ice cream sandwiches by smashing them with your favorite vanilla ice cream (ours is Anna Marie's) or an old-fashion orange sherbert, like the one at Tower Grove Creamery.

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
²∕³ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Zest of half an orange
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
6 oz. Craisins
6 oz. white chocolate chunks
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted and cooled
3 cups potato chips (plain but salted, such as regular Lays or Ruffles)

Preparation

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugars, salt and orange zest until light and fluffy.

• Scrape the bowl well with a rubber spatula before adding the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, scraping in between additions and mixing until well-emulsified.

• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda to lighten. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the creamed mixture on low speed, in 2 to 3 additions, until nicely combined.

• Add in the Craisins, white chocolate, almonds and potato chips and mix just until the dough comes together. (There’s no need to crush the potato chips; the mixer will do it for you. Don’t be tempted to mix this by hand or with a hand mixer. There is just too much fabulousness inside for it to turn out well.)

• Scoop the dough into uniformly sized balls. For regular-sized cookies, use a tablespoon scoop. For quart-sized cookies, use a 3.2-ounce scoop. Place on a lined baking sheet and freeze until the dough is frozen.

• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the dough balls from the freezer, unwrap and place on a lined cookie sheet.

• Bake for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size, or until they turn lightly golden around the edges and are slightly undercooked in the center. Allow to cool.

To make these quart-sized cookies into jumbo ice cream sandwiches, freeze them until they’ve hardened. Next, spread a heaping spoonful of vanilla ice cream or orange sherbert in the middle and top with another cookie. Freeze until ready to serve.