Description
Delightfully crisp and buttery Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies infused with zesty orange and studded with tangy dried cranberries, finished with a smooth orange glaze for an extra touch of citrus sweetness.
Ingredients
Scale
Shortbread
- 60 g caster sugar
- 1 orange, zest
- 125 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 75 g dried cranberries, finely chopped
Orange glaze
- 120 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- 30 ml orange juice
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Rub sugar and orange zest together. Massage the orange zest into the caster sugar using your fingertips until the sugar is orange stained and feels wet, releasing the natural oils to intensify the orange flavour.
- Cream butter, orange sugar and vanilla. In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the unsalted butter and orange-infused sugar on medium speed until pale and lightened. Scrape down the bowl, add vanilla extract, and mix again.
- Add flour and cranberries. Slowly mix in plain flour and finely chopped dried cranberries on low speed until combined. The dough will appear raggedy.
- Form and roll out dough. Squeeze the dough into a ball and press into a disc. On a lightly floured surface, roll out to ½ cm thickness. If too soft, refrigerate for 15 minutes until firm enough to roll without cracking.
- Cut out shapes and chill. Use cookie cutters to stamp out shapes and place on lined baking trays. Re-roll scraps to cut more as needed. Refrigerate the cut cookies for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
- Bake cookies. Preheat oven to 170°C (335°F). Bake chilled cookies for 15 minutes or until golden around edges. Cool on trays for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare glaze. Whisk powdered icing sugar, orange juice, and melted butter in a bowl until smooth. Adjust consistency by adding more icing sugar or orange juice as needed.
- Dip cookies in glaze. Dip the face of each cookie into the glaze, let excess drip off, then place on a wire rack to set before serving.
Notes
- Step-by-step photos are available on the blog to help guide you through the process.
- Yield depends on cookie cutter size and dough thickness; approximately 20 cookies using 5 cm cutters.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to one week.
- Undecorated shortbread dough can be frozen up to 3 months; thaw overnight before rolling.
- Re-roll the dough scraps to maximize cookie yield.
- Flour cookie cutters to prevent sticking and maintain shape.
- Chill dough before baking to ensure cookies hold their shape and don’t spread excessively.
- Monitor baking time closely as ovens vary; a minute can affect the crispness and color.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 120 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 40 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
