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Cranberry orange shortbread cookies.

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based exactly on a recipe by Hannah at Honey & Jam.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
  • 1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp of baking powder
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Cream the butter vigorously until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar in several batches, beating until smooth after each addition. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, orange zest, and dried cranberries, and mix just until combined.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing gently until the dough comes together in a thick paste.
  3. Form dough into 2 logs, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter; wrap in parchment or saran wrap, and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour), or up to 3 days. You can also freeze the dough at this point until you’re ready to bake. If I’m not making these in bulk, I usually freeze one log and chill the other.
  4. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. If frozen, let the logs stand at room temp for 10 minutes. Remove parchment. Definitely eat some dough (no egg!). Slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and space about 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. (They will not spread much.) Bake until pale golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool, and eat!

Notes

For instructions on how to make these with a stand mixer, see Hannah’s recipe at Honey & Jam.

Additionally, if you like, you can add an egg yolk for extra tenderness, though I found that it made the dough a little bit unwieldy when I was shaping it into logs. It adds a bit of sunniness to the dough, though, and will help the cookies stay tender longer when stored. It’s best to add one egg yolk for a double batch of these.

Find it online: https://tworedbowls.com/2013/12/15/cranberry-orange-shortbread-cookies/