I found this recipe on the Taste of Home site while I was searching for a cookie that featured dried cranberries and pecans. I truly love the combination and wanted to make a cookie with these two amazing ingredients for members of the Seabreeze Jazz Band with Mr. C. on piano. (Always want to keep the boys happy so they’ll keep coming back and filling our home with live music as they practice.) After reading this recipe, I knew I had found the perfect holiday cookie for the guys and for us. So I made a batch and the rest is history.

There isn’t much more to say except to thank Brooke Maynard for the recipe and to recommend that you bake some of these easy to prepare and delicious cookies at your earliest convenience. Christmas may be over, but winter is really just getting started. So a couple of these darlings and a hot cup of tea or coffee on a cold rainy evening is just the ticket to ward off winter woes.

2/3 c. whole almonds

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

½ c. granulated sugar

½ tsp. salt

¾ c. (1½ sticks) plus 2 T. cold unsalted butter, cubed

3 lg. egg yolks

2 T. cold water

½ c. chopped toasted pecans

½ c. chopped dried cranberries

powdered sugar

Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add flour, granulated sugar and salt; pulse until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and water together. Add to the almond butter mixture, and pulse until dough forms. Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for about an hour.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Divide into fourths.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into an 8-inch circle. Sprinkle with pecans and cranberries; lightly press into dough. Cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up from the wide end. Place the point side down on lightly buttered baking sheets about 1-inch apart.  

Bake until lightly browned, 15 – 18 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Immediately sprinkle with powdered sugar. (I use a fine mesh strainer to sprinkle on the powdered sugar. Just place a small amount of powdered sugar in the strainer and shake over the cookies.) Let cookies sit until completely cool. Store in an airtight container.