These Cranberry Shortbread cookies are the perfect balance between shortbread, orange and cranberries! Just perfect for any holiday season!
The sweet tartness from the cranberries complements the zesty orange flavor mixed into a buttery shortbread cookie. Can I just add that they are very addictive!
The only problem that I have with this cookie recipe is finding fresh cranberries.
In South Africa it seems impossible.
Luckily there is an easy solution to sort out this issue.
Rehydrate them!! 😉
Here’s how:
Place a cup of dried cranberries in a heat proof bowl and add boiling water to them, add enough water to cover them.
Close with clingwrap and allow them to sit for half an hour. Now strain the water.
And there you go!
Ready to be used “Almost as good as new” cranberries.
The general rule for replacing fresh with dry is that for every cup of fresh cranberries you should use a 3/4 cup of dried cranberries.
Use these rehydrated cranberries in breads, muffins, sauces or any other recipes that normally calls for fresh cranberries.
Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
Makes around 30 Cookies (depending on the size)
Ingredients
1 Cup Butter, room temperature
1/2 Cup Sugar, White
Zest of 1 Orange
1 Cup Fresh cranberries (Or 3/4 cup rehydrated cranberries, see note above)
2 Cups, All-purpose flour
1 Teaspoon Vanilla essence
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 180ËšC. Grease two cookie sheets and set aside.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the Orange Zest and vanilla essence and mix.
Slowly add the flour until just incorporated, now add the cranberries. Only mix until evenly distributed. Make sure not to overmix.
Form the dough into a log around 20 – 30 cm long. The longer the log the smaller the cookies will be. Wrap the log in clingwrap. Use the clingwrap to smooth out the dough log. Make sure the edges of the log are sealed with clingwrap.
A little tip, use a small towel and roll the log up in the towel. This will help the log to keep it’s round shape. Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Remove the towel and clingwrap. Using a sharp knife slice the log into 1 to 1 1/2 cm slices. Place on the prepared baking trays. Bake 10-12 minutes.
Bake a little longer if you prefer a crispier cookie and shorter for a softer cookie.
Just remember to adjust the cooking time according to the size of the cookies. Smaller cookies will bake faster.
Allow them to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled store in an airtight container.
Enjoy!
Hungry for more?
