I'm not a huge fan of cooked fruit, with the exception for pies. I also don't have many fall/Christmas recipes other than some apple and pumpkin-inspired desserts. Having worked with shortbread before, I was excited to try this recipe out, and with a holiday work party around the corner, the timing could not have been better.
What was different from other shortbread cookies is that this one used granulated sugar. Normally, I've been instructed to use powdered sugar. I have to say that I really liked the consistency of this shortbread. It was softer than what I'm used to and also held together well (if you've made shortbread before, you know that that's not always the case).
Cookies are pictured in the center.
Yield: 40-45 cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 1/2 cups flour (spooned and leveled)
1 cup butter, cubed, cold
1 tsp almond extract*
1 orange, zest and 1-2 tbs juice
Additional sugar for dusting
*Almond extract is 100% recommended for these cookies. At first, I was not even going to mention substituting almond with vanilla because they just aren't the same. However, because I'm nice, I'm giving you the option to swap almond for vanilla as long as you promise me you will try them with almond at least once.
Directions:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Combine cranberries with 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor and process until cranberries are broken down. In a large bowl, combine flour and remaining sugar. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until you have very fine pebbles. Stir in the extract, cranberries and sugar mixture, orange zest and juice. Using your hands, work the dough until it forms a ball. Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a log about 2" in diameter and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours until hardened (I've frozen the logs for multiple days, then I moved them to the fridge about 30 minutes before I planned to use them. It's great when you have a lot of baking to do). Preheat oven to 325. Cut slices of cookie dough about 1/4 inch thick. Place about 1/4-1/2 cup sugar in a bowl and coat both sides of the cookies with sugar. Place cookies on the baking sheet (they don't spread much), and bake for 12-15 minutes. The trick is to under bake the cookies so 12-13 minutes should be plenty. Usually when I make cookies, I put the first batch in for 13, then the second batch for 12 since the pan is warm. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container or frozen.
Recipe from mom on time out.