Modified: by Stefanie Fauquet · This post may contain affiliate links · 21 Comments
This post is brought to you by Ocean Spray. All opinions are my own.
For the past three years Ocean Spray has brought a cranberry bog to the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. The bog is on display,with more than 1000 pounds of fresh, floating berries,to educate consumers about the taste, health and heritage of the cranberry. For cranberry lovers, it's a fun exhibit to see how the berries are harvested firsthand. Sadly, I won't have the chance to attend this year as the annual event is wrapping up November 11, 2013.
No worries though ... Ocean Spray knows how much their fans love cranberries, and to celebrate the bog at Disney, they're giving away a 3-month supply of Craisins! The Twitter giveaway is being held — TOMORROW — Friday, November 8th.
To enter, follow@OceanSprayIncon Twitter and answer the question asked from the account at 12pm EST with thehashtag#ilovecraisins.
So what could you do with a 3-month supply of Craisins? You could start with this AWESOME Oatmeal Craisins Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I tried out last weekend. My whole family agreed that these were some of the best cookies I've ever made and another batch was already requested.
Oatmeal Craisins Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Makes 2 ½ dozen cookies
⅔ cup butter, softened ⅔ cup brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats 1 ½ cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 5-ounce package Craisins Dried Cranberries ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 375. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well.
Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in dried cranberries and chocolate chips.
Drop rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on wire rack.
The combo of Craisins and chocolate with the oatmeal made for a hearty, slightly sweet and chewy cookie. These cookies are perfect for serving at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and make great holiday treats for friends, colleagues and cookie exchanges— just wrap up a few in a cellophane bag with a bow!
If you're not feeling the chocolate chips, coconut flakes or nuts would be an excellent addition. Just sub the same amount of whatever mix-in you want for the chocolate.
Ready to start baking!? Get a head start by winning that 3-month supply of Craisins!
More Desserts
How to Make Fossil Cookies for a Dinosaur Party
How To Make Dinosaur Cookies for a Dinosaur Party
Easy and Fun 3-Ingredient Strawberry Sorbet Recipe
The Best Homemade Brownie Mix Gift in a Jar
Reader Interactions
Comments
Penelope (NYC Blogger)
Ooh, yum! I never had cranberries in cookies before, but it sounds so good!
Reply
Paula @ Frosted Fingers
We found our favorite type of wine at the food and wine festival. I wish we could go to that again. I'll mark this to try for Christmas cookies
Reply
Jenn
Sweet T would blow through a 3 month supply in a week! LOL
YES! I love Cranberries in my cookies! The tart flavor with the sweet - just perfection.
Reply
Tammy
I'll add craisins to just about anything, I love them. For the first time yesterday I bought the 'blueberry' flavored ones, I haven't tried them yet though.
Reply
HilLesha
Oatmeal raisin cookies has always been a long time favorite, but I never tried them with craisins before.
Reply
Leilani
Oatmeal chocolate chip craisin cookies are my favorite!!! I make them every year for the holidays.
Reply
Colleen
I love that the cookies look so plump and soft YUM! The craisins sound like an awesome addition.
Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.
Hard cookies: you are over mixing, baking too long, baking at too high a temperature, or some combination of these. Cakey cookies: not enough brown sugar, too much or too little egg, too much flour, maybe you used baking powder instead of baking soda?
They may have cooked too long - I've done that, and they might be on the dry side then. If they're just too dry for your taste, try using a little more butter/shortening. Or try adding a little molasses. Assuming your oven is baking at the correct temp, don't bake them so long.
Chocolate chip cookies have less protein and fiber, and more fat, than oatmeal raisin cookies. Although both types of cookies should be enjoyed in moderation, oatmeal raisin cookies do provide more health benefits than chocolate chip cookies.
Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.
Different types of sugars affect the texture because they absorb different amounts of water. Remember moisture is the key! White sugar creates crispier cookies and brown sugar creates chewier cookies.
If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.
Many cookie recipes call for long refrigeration times, but a finicky dough or a little extra chilling time can result in dough that's as hard as a rock, and nearly impossible to work with. Merrill recommends putting dough near a warm stove, and pounding it with a rolling pin once it starts to soften.
Golden brown edges - A fully cooked chocolate chip cookie will have light, golden-brown edges. If the edges are dark brown or black, you've overcooked them. On the other hand, if they're pale without a honey-brown tinge, they're not ready yet.
Since most cookies are made with softened butter, which is then creamed with the sugar to act as the foundation, it's best to chill the dough after mixing to allow that butter to cool off. “Cookies made from chilled dough expand more slowly as they bake,” Hill says.
Use a higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture to the cookie dough and helps create a softer texture. Use melted butter instead of room-temperature butter. Melted butter incorporates more easily into the dough, creating a more cohesive and pliable dough.
Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.
Even with healthy additions, an oatmeal cookie is still a cookie. Enjoying one occasionally is OK. They may contain more nutrients than other cookies, but they still contain large amounts of fat and sugar, which aren't so healthy and may be detrimental to your waistline.
A cup of cooked oatmeal (1/2 cup of dried oats) contains approximately 30 grams of carbs, which can fit into a nutritious meal plan for people with diabetes. Oatmeal is high in fiber and nutrients but low in saturated and trans fats and sugar and can help you maintain a healthy blood sugar level.
The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.
Butter contributes milk solids and water to a cookie, both of which soften it. Brown sugar contributes molasses – again, a softener. Using lower-moisture sugar (granulated) and fat (vegetable shortening), plus a longer, slower bake than normal, produces light, crunchy cookies.
According to The Kitchn, this occurs when you over-mix the dough. Mixing the dough naturally causes gluten to develop in the flour, and while you do need a good amount of gluten to give your cookies structure, too much of it will result in hard cookies.
Address: Suite 369 9754 Roberts Pines, West Benitaburgh, NM 69180-7958
Phone: +522993866487
Job: Sales Executive
Hobby: Worldbuilding, Shopping, Quilting, Cooking, Homebrewing, Leather crafting, Pet
Introduction: My name is Golda Nolan II, I am a thoughtful, clever, cute, jolly, brave, powerful, splendid person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.