Secret Ingredient Jumbo Bakery Style Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These delicious Jumbo cookies are both chewy and crunchy. ❤  My husband doesn't like white chocolate, so he wasn't
enthusiastic about trying these cookies, but after he
tasted one bite, he quickly changed his mind! 😃

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon orange zest (skin from one medium orange)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries*

6 ounces high quality white chocolate trips

3 cups Special K cereal**

Method:

Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda. Set aside.

Add the butter, sugars and orange zest to a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until the ingredients are light and fluffy.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each one. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the vanilla and beat just until mixed in.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix at low speed until all of the ingredients are well combined. Fold in the cranberries, white chocolate and cereal just until distributed evenly in the dough.

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Use a 1/4 cup cookie scoop to measure portions of dough and roll into balls.

Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet, making certain that they do not touch each other. Place in the freezer for 2 hours.

Once the dough balls are completely frozen, place a zippered frezzer bag, or airtight container, and continue to freeze until you are ready to bake them. (up to 6 months)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375*. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the dough balls 2 to 3 inches apart on the sheet.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown and not completely cooked in the center. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to finish cooling completely on a rack. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to a week. (They may be stored longer in the refrigerator, but these cookies lose their chewiness the longer that they are stored after baking.) Wrapping pairs of completely cooled cookies in plastic wrap, with the flat sides together, will keep the cookies chewy longer. Makes about 22 to 24 cookies.

*Raisins, dried cherries, dried blueberries or currants may be substituted for the cranberries.

**I prefer the crunch and texture of the Special K cereal, but Rice Crispies or broken potato chips can be used instead. 

Notes: 

Freezing the dough before baking is an important step because it gives time for the flavors to develop and keeps the cookies from spreading too thin while baking.

To give as gifts or party favors, wrap two cookies, flat sides together, in plastic wrap and then place in a cellophane gift bag. Add a bow, sticker and/or gift tag.

To ship cookies, place plastic wrapped pairs of cookies in an airtight container and place in a a box with plenty of padding around the container. (Popcorn is a great papcking material.) If the package will be traveling more than 5 days, vacuum sealing is recommended, since it will prolong the cookies' shelf life to 2 to 3 weeks.