Rum-Drunk Cranberry Hazelnut Cookies

Submitted by Matty H.

"Holy man. I made up these cookies on a whim, based on the assumption that the oils contained in the nuts would be an interesting substitution for the oils in butter or shortening. What resulted was crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and completely delicious. I also did rum soaked cranberries instead of the traditional chocolate chips or other fare because I wanted to go for something more 'sophisticated', a 'grown up' cookie (Okay, maybe I was just trying to be fancy - sue me.) While they would be impressive at a schmoozy cocktail party, they also taste good enough that your 8 year old nephew will start taking secret trips back to the cookie jar. One consideration of using nuts as your oil is that you're probably going to need a really sturdy mixing spoon to incorporate the wet and dry ingredients (That is, of course, unless you're lucky enough to have a stand mixer). This dough is SUPER thick, so grab a strong spoon and do a couple of extra sets of upper-body workouts at the gym. ***Just as a note, be sure to reserve some extra brown and white sugar, cranberries, and crushed hazelnuts to top the cookie patties before you pop them in the oven."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Yields: 24-36 cookies
• Serves: 24

ingredients

• 2⁄3 cup hazelnuts
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1⁄2 cup white sugar
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg (or egg substitute)
• 3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon allspice
• 1⁄2 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons rum

directions

1. Combine the cranberries and rum and microwave for about a minute. Let it sit for about 15 minutes so that the cranberries can get a nice, steady buzz.
2. In a food processor (Unless you really like working with a mortar and pestle for a long time) combine the hazelnuts with the margarine until it has a rough paste consistency.
3. Stir together the sugars in a large mixing bowl. Beat together the egg and vanilla extract and mix them with your hazelnut 'butter'.
4. Sift together the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the dry stuff to the wet stuff a little bit at a time. Do some light stretching and get ready for a really good workout.
5. When all of the flour mixture has made it into the sugar mixture, pop your dough ball in the fridge for about an hour or so.
6. Roll the dough into little balls (about a spherical inch, maybe). Mix the reserved sugar, crushed hazelnuts, and cranberries in a small dish and press the dough spheres into dough patties in the mixture.
7. Put the dough patties on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silpat if you've got it and bake each batch for roughly 8-10 minutes at 375°F You don't really need to worry about too much spreading as the nuts hold the melting point of the dough up pretty high. Cool the finished product completely on a cooling rack.
8. Dunk these babies in some milk and revel in the deliciousness you've just created. Good job!

Reviews

[Shannon Holmes]

Oh my goodness these are good. I made mine a little different as I did not have the same ingredients. I used about 1/3 cup Nutella, 1/4 cup oil, 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp flax seeds, 1/4 cup each chopped walnuts and white chocolate chips, forgot the vanilla and about 1/2 cup soy milk. I did not have WWPF so I used regular whole wheat flour. WOW!!!! I will definitely make these again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!!!