Cranberry Orange Cookies

"I found this on allrecipes.com. I made them without the icing, but since they're a little tart I think I'll add the icing next time. I made changes as suggested by a review."


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest (I used McCormick's orange peel in a jar)
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh cranberries, cut in half
1/2 almond slivers

Icing (optional)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and extract until well blended. Mix in orange zest and orange juice. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Icing:
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

Notes:

I used parchment paper on the cookie sheets, and mixed the dough by hand because it was very dry.
This only made about 3 1/2 dozen for me.