Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies

These are great cookies, stuffed full of fruit and flavor. The baking soda is activated by the hot liquid, so it is best to work quickly to mix it into the batter and not to delay the cooking.

MAKES: 15–30 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) soy margarine
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 3/4 cup fine-milled whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease 1 or 2 cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, beat the soy margarine, brown sugar, and white sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Stir in the sifted all-purpose flour and fine-milled whole wheat flour, along with the salt.
4. In a small saucepan, bring the orange juice to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda until dissolved.
5. Quickly add the orange juice mixture to the bowl, along with the grated zest of 1 orange, oats, and dried cranberries. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.
6. Drop the cookie dough by teaspoonfuls (or tablespoonfuls for larger cookies) onto the greased cookie sheet, leaving space between them to allow for spreading.
7. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges become a light golden brown.
8. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Repeat the process with the remaining cookie dough until all cookies are baked.

VARIATIONS:

CRANBERRY -PECAN OATMEAL COOKIES 

• Prepare the basic mixture, using 1/4 cup boiling water in place of the orange juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in place of the orange zest, and 3/4 cup chopped pecans in place of 3/4 cup of the dried cranberries.

RAISIN-PECAN OATMEAL COOKIES 

• Prepare the cranberry and pecan variation above, but use raisins in place of the cranberries.

CHOCOLATE CHIP-ORANGE OATMEAL COOKIES 

• Prepare the basic recipe, using 1 1/2 cups vegan semisweet chocolate chips or chopped vegan chocolate in place of the cranberries.

BLUEBERRY-ORANGE OATMEAL COOKIES 

• Prepare the basic recipe, using 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries in place of the dried cranberries. (Blueberries work well in the cranberry pecan oat variation too, using 3/4 cup blueberries in place of the cranberries.)