Recipes: Gingerbread and cranberry-white chocolate oatmeal cookies

Gingerbread rounds. Photos by NCRCranberry-White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.

I dumped a man this holiday season. The cookie cutters, the piping bags full of icing, the wardrobe of designer candies--I didn't have the patience for any of it. He was high-maintenance, and I was looking for something simpler. Therefore, I kicked Mr. Gingerbread Man to the curb and fell in love with Gingerbread Round. Sure, he's a tad rotund, but what he lacks in physique he gains in chewiness and a stress-free baking process.

These Gingerbread Rounds are so full of gingerbready goodness, I promise you won't miss the man. I know I don't.

And when I need a white chocolate and dried fruit fix, I turn to this Cranberry-White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie. It's sweet, tart and chewy, but you can add walnuts if you like a little crunch. 

Before I get to the recipes, a few tips:

1. Vanilla: For both recipes, I prefer to use high-quality, pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla. It has a richer flavor than your average vanilla extract.
2. Professional-weight cookie sheets: I recommend using professional-weight, half-sheet pans for baking cookies. The pans heat up faster, which yields a more uniform baking process. Williams-Sonoma sells cookie sheets made of heavy-gauge, aluminum-coated steel for $19 each. They're worth it.
3. Storage: After the cookies have cooled and you're ready to package them up, put them in separate air-tight containers with a piece of bread. This way, the flavors will stay separate, and the bread will become stale--not the cookies.

I made these cookies for my annual cookie exchange with co-workers and friends. Both sects approved. Hopefully you will, as well.

Gingerbread Rounds
(Makes 2 dozen)

1/2 cup turbinado sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 low-fat (1%) milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two professional-weight cookie sheets with butter. On a plate, spread out the turbinado sugar.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the molasses, oil, milk, vanilla and granulated sugar. Pour half of the dry ingredients into the wet and combine well. Pour the remaining dry ingredients into the wet and combine well.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten each ball into a 1 1/2-inch-diameter disk. Press the tops of the cookies into the turbinado sugar and arrange sugar side up on the cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Cranberry-White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are sweet, tart and chewy.Cranberry-White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
(Makes 4 dozen)

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars using an electric mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat well. 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches until well mixed. Stir in the oats, white chocolate chips, cranberries and optional walnuts until well mixed.

Use a cookie scoop to form balls, and place onto ungreased, professional-weight cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 1 minute. Transfer to a cooling rack.