I wanted to make some Christmas cookies for our old neighbours and the starter was looking a little hungry, so I figured it was time to give this recipe a go. Initially I was a bit disappointed at how cakey they came out. But after I'd tried a few I decided I quite liked the texture! And the flavour was quite nice. The orange just comes through, the spices are nice, and the cranberries are wonderful little nuggets with a bit of sweetness and chew. I left the walnuts out of this batch because I was giving them as gifts and wasn't sure about nut alergies. I think walnuts or pecans would definitely be a nice addition though!

Cranberry-Orange Sourdough Cookies

Slightly adapted from Cultures for Health

Ingredients

• 250g fresh (fed/active) sourdough starter (100% hydration)
• 1 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 300g (~2 c.) whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• zest of 1 orange
• 1/4 c. honey
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. dried cranberries
• 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Mix starter with butter. (Make sure the butter isn't too hot!)
2. Add flour and oats ~1 c. at a time, cover and set aside for 2-8 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
4. In a separate bowl, mix together brown sugar, salt, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, orange zest, honey, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Add egg mixture to sourdough mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
6. Stir in cranberries and nuts.
7. Spoon mixture onto parchemnt lined baking sheet.
8. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 10-12 minutes.