It started out as a totally normal week.. Seriously, who hasn’t had days like these? Still, I wonder, can we really “have it all” and is it really worth it? And often I think, something’s gotta’ give. So… anyhooo… After an intense four 8 hour days straight of house shopping with awesome clients, I’m finally…
by Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen
They look and sound delicious… anything with white chocolate in it catches my eye. And the cranberries are so festive.
Hope the party was a raging success! I bet it was with your cooking. That’s a wonderful ad. It’s so true that young women think they couldn’t possibly have a heart attack. I don’t think I’d consider it if I started to feel not so good.
It’s great when a family morphs into elves and help get the cleaning done. I keep hoping Max will morph into something other than a problem. No luck so far but hope springs eternal.
I made cookies similar to these a number of years ago, using dried cherries instead of cranberries. I like your recipe better — and not just because I long ago lost the other recipe. Dried cranberries have more flavor and I like the bit of sour they’d bring to a sweet cookie.
Thanks for sharing your recipe with us, Barb. Speaking of sharing, if those elves of yours are looking for work, send ‘em my way.
I loved the video
is important to take care of ourselves, even if is just because our family will be a mess without us… 
Your Christmas deco is marvelous and those cookies deserve a A+ Congratulations!
Like a film set – looks great. Have a great party:)
No walnuts for me, please, and I bet your house is the prettiest in the neighbourhood. Merry Christmas, Smidge!
Beautiful decorations and absolutely lovely cookies Barb’! I’m getting my xmas cookie baking on very soon
I hope this week calms down so you can enjoy your decorated house. I love your wreath and mercury glass decorations. Our tree is still festooned in the motley arrangements of things a 10 year old picks to hang, but I’ve gone with the vintage glass ornaments elsewhere in the house. Lovely.
Good luck with the party – great cookies
Type A personalities…. they come with a heavy toll, but I honestly don’t think the type can be changed….
Maybe toned down a little for a day or two. (sigh)
Glad you are handling it all well, take care, and ENJOY!
Love your decorations and fabulous cookies!
Is bread flour like cake flour or am I missing the mark here! Love the photos, decorations, and recipe!
Love these beautiful festive cookies – lovely photos too!
I’m sure everyone had a fantastic time. Your home is beautifully decorated with the white and silver…love mercury glass.
Oooooh, how festive! Love your décor, Barbara, just beautiful! I have similar star ornaments but they aren’t vintage like yours
And a beautiful, holiday inspired cookie. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Bread flour is not cake flour.. It’s much higher in protein I believe. It’s a “sturdier” flour than cake flour which is more delicate of that makes sense? xx
Sent from my iPhone
The ornaments tossed around the candles, so simple yet so elegant, you have such creative ideas. I am sure your party was a smashing success.
I think your neighbors are quite lucky to have you hosting, Smidge! Have fun:)
Love the video! Just like a woman to think about how dirty her house is while having a heart attack (or gall bladder, or kidney stones, etc.) Thanks for sharing the video and raising awareness — so important. Your cookies are so festive with the red and cranberry is at its seasonal best.
Chocolate Chunk Cookie … who care, when the post is stunningly beautiful into ever little detail.
Barbara, you are some indulgence cookie – yourself.
Great video – scary that so many women get heart attacks today – before it was something that only happens to men and rarely women.
You take it easy, Girlfriend – we don’t have time for any heart attacks.
The cookies I love everything about, maybe one day I will do them. This week the feedback on you CousCous will be posted. Have done it 3 times now. That dressing is to die for.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So glad you have some help to make things a teeny bit easier on you. Have fun and enjoy! It sounds like a fun party. Thank you for the recipe, Barb. Cookies with cranberries always win around here, no matter the season. I’ll be trying these very soon!
Yum! Loving your photos – just getting me more in the holiday spirit:) Have a Great One!
I want to come over!! Your decorations look beautiful, as do these CHUNKY cookies. Chunks are WAY better than chips for sure.
I love the video entertaining and yet delivering such and important message. I felt your stress when I read about four intense eight-hour days and then coming home to host the neighborhood Christmas party!
These are wonderful Christmas cookies!
Yum, the cookies look fantastic!
Once again, wonderful post, lovely photographs and a wonderful recipe. I really do enjoy your blog.
We’ll get to your cookies later. For starters lets talk about how pretty your halls are decked, from your front door to your chandeliers! Let’s talk about what a generous soul you are to have the whole neighborhood to your house for a Christmas party, not once, but again next year! Let’s talk about how you manage a marathon house hunt for clients, take swimming lessons, write a drop-dead gorgeous blog, deck your halls, write poetry, paint, bake, play cello, walk the dog…and then, on top of all that, provide a public service announcement just in case there’re any young active healthy type A’s out here! (hmmmmmmmmmm! Know any?)
Now…to your cookies…they sound Just Perfect…and of course – they would! xx spree
Great looking cookie! And fun video. Definitely something to try. Good stuff – thanks.
Smidge, does your whole home look like this? Seriously, it’s better than visiting the spa when I come to your page… so relaxing and darn inspiring. I definitely recognized parts of myself in that video… although that woman seemed a bit more organized in her disorder than me
. Your cookies look de.lightful! And, the fact that they are your new favourites makes me think I should maybe add them to our Christmas cookie list – I’ve barely had time to make any yet this season so these might make up for the lack – go with a big bang, you know.
I have got to try these! Everything so magical in your photographs. I know your house looks like a winter fairyland with the addition of the baking smells. Yum. Looking forward to the school break and baking and cooking with the family, too.
There are parts of that video that ring very true — except for the heart attack! I am sitting here now reading because I literally can’t move from the day’s activities. I’ll bet those cookies are as delicious as they are festive! Lovely post! (wish I was your neighbour!)
Yum!
These will be on the menu for my Christmas Open House this Sunday – thank you for the inspiration and of course the recipe. (I’ve already made Nell’s sugar cookies, and my, they’re so good, all the better because of the loving story of your grandmother that accompanied the recipe). I love your decorations; your home must look so festive! Apart from the tree, my decorating approach is quite, shall we say, minimalist, but I would love to create a beautiful atmosphere like you do. There’s always next year!
These look like Christmas Barbara
Your decorations are beautiful! Paperwhites are my favorite holiday flower and scent as well. I have two groups of them blooming right now and the house smells wonderful! The only thing that would overpower them would be the smell of these cookies baking! What a wonderful smell that would be! Great cookie recipe!
Everything is beautiful. Love your cookies with cranberries and white chocolate. Delicious!
Such pretty pictures! Sets the mood perfectly!
A serious but very funny video. Thanks for sharing and hope you’re having a good week!
a very serious video indeed – thanks for the reminder. heart attacks are a cause of concern for ALL women regardless of being type A or type B or type whatever – ALL women – and do tend to be overlooked/mis-diagnosed.
sorry my type A being just had to remind people of that least someone feel she can’t be having a heart attack simply because she is not type A ….
You are the great multi-tasker, Smidge! I’m so impressed that you could host a neighborhood holiday party after having such an intense work schedule. You do all things with a lot of style. The cookies are really beautiful for Christmas, with the red and white as standouts! I also love the silver and glitter and polish! I am sure that your guests felt very special!
Just a little heart attack…! Thanks for putting the reminder out there as do you know this time of the year we have a peak in incidence in the ER. I am sure that everyone in the neighborhood had a lovely time enjoying your beautiful decorations and cranberry white chocolate cookies- my favorite. Please do take care of yourself this holiday season. BAM
You have “totally normal weeks”?
Kidding! Seriously, great post and recipe! My mouth is watering. I think I better get looked at…
Oh Barbara, these cookies look absolutely amazing and delicious! If only I can get my hand inside that cookie jar!
Oh Smidge, I feel like that’s been my whole year. So I can relate. I have no doubt you threw a delightful party – beautiful in fact! And I’m sure these cookies were a hit. I hope you’re having a fabulous holiday season.
[...] Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies* [...]
I just got a bucket of this from Mrs Higgins (cookie shop here), If I just know you will be posting this I would never had bought it. Love this cooking flavour
Oh my I’d be popping one of these cookies in my mouth every few minutes ! Love the white chocolate and cranberry combination.
So glad you had wonderful party, Smidge! A good time well deserved after all that hard work!
Smidge… I had to drop in again to tell you how you and this post inspired me to buy paper whites and an amaryllis to decorate our Christmas home… (something I rarely splurge on) but your sense of style and mostly peace/serenity work wonders for me! Thank you and have a beautiful holiday.
Love the video! Don’t we all have days like that! Your photography is stunning! Thank you so much for linking up! These cookies look delicious! The recipe looks easy and fun….the perfect combination!
Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas!
karianne
For all the frantic feelings during this time you may have it’s interesting that your posts always have a calming effect on me. Maybe it’s the place where you feel this too.
Enjoy these last few days till the 25th. Peace….x wt
PS – Am out to stock up on white chocolate for these lovely cookies. Might throw in some oats for that little natural mood booster
Just wanted to follow up and tell you I made these cookies and love, love, LOVE them! I didn’t have bread flour so used all purpose. Mine were not as high as yours, but oh my goodness, the flavour! These will be part of my repertoire now. So good!
Aren’t they just the best? I’m so glad you liked them.. and I’m so glad I didn’t mess up the recipe! I’ve had two different mistakes pointed out this past week.. so now I’m checking 3-4 times when I type:D xx
It’s so busy these days, I think we’re all making more typos and the like. Thank goodness we can go back and edit any time!