TWD: Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

I apologize for the late posting.  I've been KO'd by a stomach virus and have lost all sense of direction and time.  Luckily, I got my baking done before I went out for the count.

I had tried this recipe some time before I joined TWD, and it was not one that I thought I would make again.  I didn't like how the cookies tasted.  I thought it was rather, well, blah.  So when it came up as one of December's recipes, I decided to tweak just a tiny bit.

I followed the recipe but just substituted 1/2 teaspoon of orange oil* for the vanilla and added a generous 1/2 cup of chopped dried cranberries.  Oh, and I didn't roll it out. I really, really do not like rolling out dough.  Maybe that's part of why I don't like making pie crusts. All that sticking to the rolling pin and board.  No matter how well I flour the rolling pin and board, it ends up being a frustrating experience. It's a mess.

* I used Boyajian orange oil.

Anyway, I knew rolling was out of the question so I scooped out little balls of dough with my handy dandy teaspoon sized scoop, placed them on the cookie sheet then pressed down with the bottom of a glass so that each cookie was about 1/4 inch thick (approx 1-1/2 inch in diameter). I also dipped the bottom of the glass into a bowl of sugar so that the dough wouldn't stick, just like when you make ginger cookies. 

This dough is very soft and this pressing method works best when it's been refrigerated so that it's somewhat firm.  I scooped out the dough all at once and placed them in the freezer between baking each batch.

The end result was just what I imagined it would be.  The amount of the orange oil was just enough and was absolutely lovely.  The little bits of cranberry gave it an additional layer of pizzazz and texture. I'd like to thank Ulrike of Küchenlatein for this week's selection, thereby, giving me a second chance with Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies.