Festive Orange Cranberry Butter Cookies

Hello, everybody! I have a delicious recipe for you that was almost ruined by my multi-tasking (badly) brain. But it was saved in the end and it was delicious!

 So, the ingredients for the recipe are:
1 cup butter
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 cup cranberries, dried
2 TSP orange zest
2 TBS orange juice
drip of almond extract

 So, let me explain what happened to this batch. I follow the instructions (I'll put them below), chill the dough, put it in the oven, and then after about 7 minutes check on it and see.... DISASTER. The cookies were swimming in a POOL OF MELTED BUTTER. Something had gone very, very wrong.
But how?? I had checked and double checked the ingredients!
Then I realized... one cup butter. One pound butter. One package is one pound. One cup is two sticks. I had doubled the butter! So, I pulled the half-baked cookies out, drained off the butter, scraped them into a bowl, added more flour and sugar... and they're edible! But there you go... too many kids, cats, dog, husband, and music in the kitchen. My brain was *POOF*.
                                         
So, a cup of dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a blender or food processor and pulse...
                                               
Until combined, and the cranberries are in bits. Add the orange zest.
                                            
Meanwhile, cut the butter (only one cup, not one pound!!) into the flour and sugar mixture.
                                                  
Mix butter with your hands until it looks like dough. Add in the cranberries, orange, juice, and a dribble of almond flavoring. (I'm not a fan of almond flavoring but someone told me butter cookies just aren't butter cookies without it. Hmmmm.... I'm tempted to omit next time.)
                                                
Shape into a log and cover with foil. Chill until hardened. You'll thank me later.
                                                 
Take a break and gaze at your new kittens. Adorable!
                                               
Open package from friend and discover awesome Fall wreath she made! Thank you, Christalee!

Okay, skip the part where you have to drain off the melted butter and slice the dough into rounds. Put in the preheated oven at 325F and cook for 12 minutes. These don't have any baking powder, eggs or baking soda so do not overcook! You'll end up with little rocks.

 MMMMMMM, tea and butter cookies!

 We just got back from the Veterans Day parade (a few of my kids were on the Boy Scouts float, and one lost a tooth, hahaha) so we're all ready to have some tea and cookies!

That's all for now, but be sure to stop by my facebook author pages at Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael, or my personal blog at The Things That Last! Until next time!