Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

These Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies are rich, buttery, and perfectly sweet. Filling them with fresh orange zest and dried cranberries makes them the perfect fall cookies for the holiday season.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Diet Kosher, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 12

Chill Time 1 30

Total Time 1 52

Servings cookies

Calories 136kcal

Author Alana Lieberman

Cost $10

Equipment

Ingredients

¼ cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

Instructions

In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar and orange zest until well combined.
Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Pour in the sugar and orange zest mixture. Continue beating for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Slowly add in the flour and salt, mixing until the dough comes together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dried cranberries.
Divide the dough into two equal halves. Transfer each half of dough to a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and roll into a 2½-inch wide log. Tightly secure the ends and refrigerate for 4 or more hours, or freeze for 90 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add some more granulated sugar to a shallow bowl or plate. Remove the logs from the fridge/freezer and discard the plastic wrap. Coat the outside of each dough log in sugar.
Slice the logs about ¼-inch thick and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

This recipe would also work with lemon zest in place of orange zest.
Use high quality vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla) for the best flavor.
Make sure to sift the powdered sugar before mixing into the dough. Powdered sugar tends to clump up together and can be difficult to mix smooth. To ensure your cookie batter is as smooth and buttery as possible, sift the powdered sugar using a fine mesh sieve before adding it to the batter.

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