Cranberry and Orange White Chocolate cookies

As I write this post I'm munching on a piece of chocolate brownie with Baileys and Ferrero Rocher, not separately- no siree- these are all inside the brownie! This amazing treat was one of my cookie exchange items from this years Great Cookie Swap. Julie from The Little Kitchen and Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil are responsible for creating a cookiepalooza worthy of an Oscar. Hundreds of bloggers are matched with three other bloggers, we make cookies for our matches and we mail them to your crib, what could be easier? The girls even had the smart idea of involving a charity this year, Cookies for Kids Cancer. Every participant had to donate four dollars when signing up with 100% of the money going to Cookies For Kids. OXO also stepped in and agreed to match every donation making it a win-win for the food blogging community and Cookies For Kids!

I decided to make these cranberry and white chocolate cookies, I also threw in some orange zest just because orange and cranberry are always an awesome combo! My cookie matches were Christina from Sweet Lavender Bakeshoppe, Kristen from Dine and Dish and Lindsay- the boss- from Love and Olive Oil Yup I had been matched with one of the creators of this cookie madness- the pressure was on! I kept these cookies on the softer side and used chopped white chocolate to get those big chunks of deliciousness, usually I'll always use chunks instead of chips.

I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of some chocolate chip cookies from Jill at Baking By Precious. These were my first delivery and they really didn't last very long. Soft, chewy and wrapped in a cool tin they were so good! Camilla from Caffayway sent me a tray of brownies like I have never seen before. Laced with Baileys liqueur and whole Ferrero Rocher candies, they were outrageously good! My final delivery came from Becky at Becky Cooks. She sent me another fancy box full of peanut butter blossoms, quick someone get me my extendopants!

Thanks again to Julie and Lindsay for giving their time on this years cookie swap, it was especially sweet due to the money being raised for Cookies for Kids Cancer.

Recipe for White Chocolate and Cranberry cookies:

Prep Time- 15 minutes    Bake Time- 15 minutes    Yield- 18-24 cookies

1 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped white chocolate chunks
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
Zest of one orange

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugars together in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and mix thoroughly.

In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until it starts to come together. Add the white chocolate and cranberries and mix gently by hand.

Roll the dough into small balls and place about two inches apart on a baking tray lined with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

Bake for 15 minutes, then let cool on a wire rack.