Here's a winner….

I love baking. Lots and lots of baking at Christmas brings a lot of joy to me.

My favorite cookie (and sadly it’s not gluten free so I’ve only been able to take a small bite but the smell alone is worth it all!) is the cranberry tea sandwich.

Here’s the recipe. I make the dough a day or two ahead of time. I even make the little one inch balls and bake those and freeze them. Pull them out of the freezer, slap on that good orange frosting and you have a WINNER!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries

FILLING:
2/3 cup butter, softened
2-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1-1/4 teaspoons grated orange peel
milk to add to make frosting

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, lemon peel and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in cranberries. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine the filling ingredients; beat until smooth. Spread on the bottoms of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Yield: about 4-1/2 dozen.