This is the time of year for cookies. Holiday cookies run the gamut from very simple to complicated. I don’t have a real preference, though I do enjoy the challenge of the more involved cookies. What can I say? I just love to play in the kitchen. There is certainly a time and place for the fancy schmancy treats, and there is also a time and place for plain and simple. For example, when you are taking call from home and worried the pager may go off at any moment but you really, really want to bake something. That’s what these cookies were for me. I had all the ingredients on hand and the dough was ready in minutes.
Even better, in my personal ranking of favorite cookies, oatmeal white chocolate cranberry cookies ranked second only to the best chocolate chip cookies ever. And now, this is the version that earns second place because it has all those other things and it contains pumpkin. The pumpkin puree contributes a pretty orange hue, a light chewy texture and a subtle pumpkin flavor. Lots of my favorite ingredients all in one cookie – tough to resist, if you ask me.