Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate Ginger Cookies #BakeTogether

December’s #BakeTogether from Abby Dodge arrived in my inbox at just the right time: I was STILL trying to pick the perfect cookie to take to our neighborhood cookie exchange. Abby’s recipe for spicy ginger slice ‘n bakes was just the starting point I needed. I loved the idea of “slice ‘n bake”; it is easy to make a lot of cookies quickly and any leftover dough can be refrigerated or frozen for another day. Fantastic! Now all I had to do was make these cookie my own. Abby’s monthly baking challenge encourages anyone who is game to start with her recipe then take some twists and turns to create something new. For someone like me who loves to bake but isn’t making my own recipes from scratch all of the time, this is just the inspiration I crave. Come bake along with us!

I modified the amount of spices slightly, added dried cranberries (craisins) and white chocolate chips with a dip in white chocolate to finish it off. I followed Abby’s instructions so please click through to see her recipe; I will include my ingredient list here to share the changes I made.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or dried cherries would be lovely)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (mix into the batter)
1 cup white chocolate chips for dipping the cookies once baked (optional)

These cookies had almost a shortbread texture—slightly crisp rather than chewy—and excellent with a cup of tea. Enjoy!