What to do with the leftover Brandy Butter

Christmas is long behind us but I do have one last ingredient that is still in my fridge, and until now I had no idea what to do with, brandy butter. We make brandy butter to serve with Christmas pudding and yet very little of it ends up being used. I tried to do some research on ideas of what to do with it and I am sorry to say I was bored with the results. Most people said use it to make brandy butter ice cream but that sounded way too rich for me and besides I was already leaning towards using it in a baked good. So after striking out from my research I decided that I would just do my own thing and see if it works.

Chris and I had recently bought some white chocolate chip cookies that I found delightful and I had been thinking about trying to recreate them. I have only recently been enjoying chocolate and white chocolate, up until now I never cared for the taste of either but ever since giving birth I have discovered some changes to my taste buds that I have enjoyed exploring. So I thought, why not try substituting some of the sugar and the butter for my brandy butter and see how it turns out. Now when it comes to cooking I have no fear about my substitutions. But baking is more of a science and it can be far more risky when you choose to substitute an ingredient, but you never know until you try. It took some tweaking with the cooking times and temperature but the result was worth it. I am going to be very honest here and say I have no idea exactly what using the brandy butter achieved for me, but it was a great way to reduce waste of an ingredient. Plus I got to eat cookies with my tea, no what could be better then that?

Brandy Butter White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

226g (1 c.) brandy butter, room temperature

50g (1/4 c.) butter

115g (3/4 c.) lightly packed brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

280g (2 1/4 c.) plain flour

170g (1 c.) of white chocolate chips

75g (1/2 c.) dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat the butters until light and fluffy.

Add brown sugar and beat again until light, fluffy and well incorporated.

Add the eggs, vanilla extract. Beat well. 

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add to the mixture a bit at a time, beating until just mixed. 

Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips. Let chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.

Line rounded spoonfuls of dough onto a baking tray. 

Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.