Cranberry Pistachio White Chocolate Bake-off Cookies

Cranberry Pistachio White Chocolate Bake-off Cookies

I love the idea of bake off cookies, especially when entertaining at the Holidays. Simply nothing says 'welcome to my home' like the smell of freshly baked cookies and one of the easiest ways to have that intoxicating aroma on demand is with good old fashioned bake-off cookies. Known in some parts as refrigerator cookies, the bake-off cookie was the predecessor and probably the the inspiration for all of those logs of cookie dough that line the supermarket refrigerator aisle. The dough for bake-off cookies is simply made in advance, rolled into a log shape and stored in the fridge where it can be quickly retrieved and sliced into individual cookies, then baked in just a few minutes to be served fresh and warm.

Who is going to forget your Christmas party when they are served warm cookies filled with crunchy pistachios, chewy dried cranberries and creamy white chocolate chunks? I vote for warm, fresh baked cookies as an entertaining trend this Holiday season.

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies.

• 1 cup butter 
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 6 ounces white chocolate roughly chopped into small chunks
• 1/3 cup unsalted shelled pistachio nuts
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Cream the butter and sugar well. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then fold into the creamed mixture until a soft dough begins to form. Finally add the white chocolate, cranberries and pistachios.

Form the cookie dough into a log 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. The dough should be chilled for at least a couple of hours but can be kept in the fridge for several days so you can bake as many or as few as you like and bake the rest later when needed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and with a sharp serrated knife, cut off 1/2 inch thick slices of cookie dough and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they turn golden at the edges. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.