The Day Before Christmas

Twas the day before Christmas
And all through the day
Mama was baking
And had nothing to say
No witty little stories,
No comments, no puns,
Just visions of candies
And cookies and buns.

So here's a quick cookie
For you to bake
And lay out tonight
For Santa to take.

For whether you think
Santa's real or a fake
The cookies will vanish
Before it's daybreak!



Truly I've Been Good Cookies
- adapted from Fat Witch Brownies

12 Tbsp (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large egg yolks
1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups dried cranberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp grated orange zest

1- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. with a rack in the center. Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with butter and dust with flour, shaking out the excess.

2- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks and mix until well combined.

3- Sift or sieve the flour and salt directly into the batter. Mix gently until well combined and no trace of the flour remains.

4- In a small bowl, stir together the cranberries, granulate sugar, and orange zest. Add these to the batter and mix in by hand with a wooden spoon.

5- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. The batter will be thick and lumpy. Use your hands to press it evenly in the pan.

6- Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only crumbs, not batter, on it.

7- Let cool on a rack for 1 hour. To serve, cut into thirds, rotate the pan and cut into thirds again (making 9 squares). Then cut each square in half, making 18 triangles.