Are you looking for something new to brighten up your holiday cookie plate? The Old Farmer’s Almanac Everyday Baking cookbook is bursting with recipes that will satisfy a sweet tooth, cookie exchange or dessert for a holiday gathering.
Everyday Baking features 118 original recipes by celebrated baker and longtime Almanac collaborator Ken Haedrich. A winner of the Julia Child Cookbook Award, Haedrich may be best known as the author of Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie, which was recently named one of the best baking books of the past 25 years by Cooking Light magazine.

Everyday Baking, with its handy reference section and time-tested advice sprinkled throughout, demystifies the art of baking and will inspire home bakers of all skill levels to make delicious breakfast treats, after-school snacks, and impressive desserts. The easy-to-follow recipes in Everyday Baking don’t demand unusual ingredients or abstract cooking techniques, but rather just a desire to make delicious home-baked goods completely from scratch.

Everyday Baking is available online at Almanac.com or wherever books and magazines are sold.

From The Old Farmer’s Almanac Everyday Baking cookbook (page 48)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
Optional: Fleur de sel or sea salt, just a few pinches

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the sugars and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir the dry mixture into the creamed ingredients, half at a time, until evenly mixed. Stir in the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly butter two large baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. With lightly floured hands, shape the dough into 1-1/2-inch-diameter balls. Place the balls on the baking sheets, leaving about 2-1/2 inches in between. Optional: sprinkle a tiny pinch of fleur de sel over each ball, literally just about 5 granules on each cookie. Bake one sheet at a time on the center oven rack for about 17 minutes (this sounded like a long time to me, but because the dough was cold, it was perfect!). When done, the edges of the cookies should be golden brown and the centers much less so. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 30 cookies.