If you’ve never used fresh cranberries before, they should be hard, not mushy, and totally white on the inside. They’ll become soft and deep red when baked. I’ve also made this with frozen cranberries, its still pretty good.

Cutting the cranberries is the only time-consuming part of this. I’ve found that three or four quick pulses in the food processor works decently, and saves a lot of time. Only use the firm cranberries, work in small batches, and there will still be a few that you need to chop by hand, but it still helps.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 - 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon orange zest (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; stir into mixture until well blended. Cut the cranberries in half and stir into mixture along with the orange zest. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.