Photo by Romulo Yanes
It’s cookie season! And what better way to launch into holiday baking then with our first of three exclusive recipes from The Gourmet Cookie Book, which features the single best cookie recipe for every year from 1941 through 2009.
Bake up a batch of this week’s featured cookie, Cranberry Turtle Bars (November 2001), then order your copy for the ultimate collection of holiday sweets.
Cranberry Turtle BarsCopyright 2010 by Condé Nast Publications, Photographs by Romulo Yanes. Buy it now.
Beautiful, tart cranberries contain a great deal of natural pectin. That quality means that when they are mixed with sugar and pecans and set onto a buttery crust, they turn into a wonderful candied topping. Add a few chocolate streaks, and it’s easy to understand why this cookie has gained such a passionate following. It’s an unexpected – and unexpectedly delicious – combination.
Makes 3 dozen barsActive time: 30 min
Total time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
For base:- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ sticks (¾ cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries (not thawed; 6¾ ounces), coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups pecans (12 ounces), toasted and cooled, then coarsely chopped
- 2 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not sweetened), very finely chopped
- a candy thermometer
