Leftover Cranberry Sauce Drop Cookies

You’ve probably arrived here because you’ve got cranberry sauce left over from your big holiday meal. Let me tell you, these Leftover Cranberry Sauce Drop Cookies are a delicious way to use it up.

The cookie dough is super quick to mix and bake and they come out soft and chewy with the sweet and tangy taste of cranberries.

Before we get to the actual baking, please note that this post was originally written for you to share a fun story with your little ones during the holidays. And then perhaps bake some cookies with them to create memories together.

If you’re here just for the recipe and aren’t interested in the story, please scroll down to the bottom of the post where you’ll find the recipe card that you can print off.

If you’ve got little ones, gather them around and let Lexie tell you all a story of our baking day.

It’s been a long time since Sue let us come visit with you! We’re the Hexie Turtles.

I’m Lexie. Sue made me first, so that makes me the oldest.

Lanie’s the next oldest. She’s my BFF!

Rexie is the youngest. He’s my other BFF.

Since I’m the oldest, I get to be the one to tell you about all our adventures.

We love helping Sue bake!

For Valentines’ Day we helped her make Linzer Cookies and last Christmas we made Spiced Shortbread.

This week, we made Leftover Cranberry Sauce Drop Cookies and we’re going to show you how to make some too!

First you’re going to need the following ingredients:

• 3 3/4 c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c butter
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 c leftover whole berry cranberry sauce (Sue’s recipe is sooo good!)

Here’s a bowl of that leftover cranberry sauce:

YUMMMMYYY!!!

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

Put all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

See that pink stuff? That’s Himilayan Pink Sea Salt but you can use plain old table salt if you want.

I helped stir it all together with a really big whisk.

Sue says this makes sure that the spices, baking powder and baking soda end up in all the cookie dough, not just parts of it.

Oops!! My hat fell off!

Our hats are always falling off. Sue keeps saying she’s going to add little elastics so they stay on but she’s been really busy and hasn’t gotten around to it.

We’re not allowed to do this part because we’re too little.

Put the butter in a large bowl and use a mixer to cream the butter until it’s well… creamy. 🙂

Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Dave, Sue’s husband, said that Sue was mean because she was beating the butter and the eggs.

Sue just groaned and rolled her eyes. I’m not sure why… Lanie, Rexie and I thought it was pretty funny. We started giggling.

That made Sue smile and then she laughed too!

Lanie got to help stir in the cranberry sauce.

See what a good job she did!

Next, add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time. Beat until it’s all mixed together and there are no dry places left.

Drop spoonfuls of dough 2″ apart on baking sheets lined with a silicone baking sheet (or parchment paper.)

Rexie said, “Hey, when’s my turn to help?”

Rexie was right, he hadn’t had a turn yet so Sue helped him hold the spoon to scoop the dough onto the baking sheets.

Then Sue put the cookies in the oven and let them bake for 15 minutes.

She said to make sure to tell you that each oven is different and they can take anywhere from 15 to 18 minutes to bake. Once they are lightly golden brown around the edges.. they’re done!

We got 40 cookies out of this batch. But you might get a few more or a few less, depending on how big of scoops you make with the spoons. We used regular teaspoons from the fork and knife drawer.

We had to wait for the cookies to cool completely before we could put them in the cookie tins to freeze them.

All year long, Sue checks for pretty tins at thrift stores to use to give gifts in at Christmas. She washes them in really hot water to make sure they are extra clean.

She freezes the cookies in the tins ahead of time and then when it’s time to drop off a gift, she takes one of the tins out of the freezer and ties a ribbon around it with a big bow.

We got to help fill the tins!

Sue also likes to put lots of cookies on a plate and wrap them in cellophane.

Aren’t those snowmen cute!!

And if Sue’s in a cookie exchange, she’ll take a big piece of clear cellophane and put a paper doily wrong side up on it. Then she stacks four or five cookies in the middle:

Then she gathers it all up and ties it with a string.

We tried to help Sue tie the strings but our little flippers got all tangled up!

For cookie exchanges, she also likes to attach a recipe card.

This Hexie Turtle story is © 2016 Susan Flemming  All Rights Reserved.

No part of the story text or photos may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

If you make this recipe and post about it on social media, I’ll bet Sue would love to have you tag her. She’s @supermomnocape on Instagram and @1SuperMomNoCape on Facebook and 1SuperMomNoCape on Twitter. And I know she’d also love to have you follow her!

Did you like reading about our baking adventure? Then you might like to read some of our other adventures:

The Hexie Turtle Christmas Adventure in Maui (2017)

A Hexie Turtle Christmas Eve – A Visit from Holly (2016)

The Hexie Turtles’ Snow Adventure

The Hexie Turtle’s First Cookie Baking Adventure

Teeny, Tiny Turtle Quilts

The Hexie Turtles’ Christmas Eve (2015)

A Hexie Turtle Valentine

Be sure to save the recipe for Leftover Cranberrry Sauce Drop Cookies for future reference by clicking on the Pinterest button underneath this post.

And of course, Sue would love it if you shared it on Facebook and Twitter too. 🙂

Yield: 40

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Drop Cookies

Print

Delicious chewy Leftover Cranberry Sauce Drop Cookies are a great way to use up left over cranberry sauce.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 3/4 c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c butter
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 c leftover whole berry cranberry sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
2. Put all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Put the sticks of butter in a large bowl and use a mixer to cream the butter until it's a smooth, creamy texture.
4. Add the sugar and beat until it's light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
6. Next, add the dry ingredients about 1/3 at a time. Beat until it's all mixed together and there are no dry places left.
7. Drop spoonfuls of dough 2" apart on baking sheets lined with a silicone baking sheet (or parchment paper.)
8. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges.
9. Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
10. Enjoy!

Notes

The cookies can be stored in an air tight container for a couple of weeks before they'll start to go stale (trust me, they won't last that long.)

Or they can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

40

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 131Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 115mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 2g

Please note that nutritional calculations are approximate. If you required more precise information please perform the necessary calculations yourself.

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