Hi Bold Bakers! Holiday desserts are often rich, decadent, and nearly as filling as your main holiday meal! But sometimes, you just want a lovely, tender, buttery shortbread to enjoy alongside your tea. That’s why I love my Cranberry Orange Shortbread — and it’s wonderful all year long! Already have an account? These homemade cranberry orange shortbread cookies offer a light crispness thanks to the fruity orange and lemon zest and the delightfully chewy dried cranberries. On top of the delicious flavor and wonderful shortbread texture, they’re super quick to make! You don’t have to wait for the dough to chill, and you don’t even have to waste time with cookie cutters. All you have to do is pack them in a square pan and cut them in squares when they’re done baking! Easy-peasy-cranberry-and-orange-shortbread-squeezy!
What Is Cranberry Orange Shortbread?
Shortbread cookies are made with a high ratio of flour to butter, so not only do they taste wonderfully buttery, but they are very crumbly and tender. There’s no leavening in a shortbread, which means no baking soda or powder. They’re a popular Christmas and Hogmanay (Scottish New Year’s Eve) treat in Scotland, where the first shortbread recipe was printed in 1736. This shortbread cookie rounds out the butter’s incredible richness by adding the brightness of the orange and lemon zest, and the texture is improved by adding a little variety in the form of chewy dried cranberries.
What You Need To Make Cranberry Orange Shortbread
Measuring Cups and Spoons 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20cm) square pan Parchment paper Stand mixer or handheld mixer Wooden skewer or fork
How Do You Make Cranberry Orange Shortbread?
Looking for an easy (but delicious!) holiday cookie? Check out how to make these cranberry orange shortbread cookies (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Cranberry Orange Shortbread
Before making your dough, make sure your butter is at room temperature, so it creams well with the sugar. Instead of using a square pan, you can use a round pan and cut the shortbread into wedges. The lemon zest helps bring out the flavor of the orange zest, but if you do not have lemons, the zest from two oranges works as well. To make cutting easier (less crumbly), bake the shortbread for 20 minutes, remove the cookies from the oven, and score the 16 squares, cutting only halfway through the dough. Then return to the oven and finishing baking. To make cutting the cookies even easier, you use a bench scraper if you have one. Be sure to cut the cookies while they are still warm, or else they might crumble up on you!
How Do I Store Cranberry Orange Shortbread?
Any leftover cranberry-orange shortbread cookies can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They do freeze wonderfully, though, and can be kept in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Make More Cookie Recipes!
Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies Homemade Biscoff Cookies Homemade Digestive Biscuits
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook! Full (and printable) recipe below!
