Almond Shortbread Cookies With Cranberries And Orange Food

CRANBERRY ORANGE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Place butter, powdered sugar, almond (or vanilla) extract and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl if using a handheld mixer.
• Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Turn mixer speed to low, and gradually add flour and orange zest. Mix until a dough forms.
• Stir in almonds and cranberries with a spatula.
• Pat dough into a ball, and then form into a log shape, about 2-inches in diameter.
• Wrap the log in plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a cookie sheet or line with a silpat baking liner.
• Remove the dough from the freezer and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices.
• Place on cookie sheet, at least 1-inch apart. Bake for about 15 minutes, just until the edges start to turn golden. Check them after 10 minutes as ovens can vary!
• Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.

ALMOND SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH CRANBERRIES AND ORANGE

Steps:

• At Medium Speed in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat room temperature butter, sugar, salt and orange zest until nicely combined, about 2-3 minutes. Add the almond extract and mix an additional 15-30 seconds to incorporate.
• Turn speed down to Medium-Low and add the flour, beating until you can see no streaks of flour, a minute or 2. Shorter time keeps the cookies tender. Then mix in chopped cranberries.

ALMOND-ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mix just until a dough forms. With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands, gently mix in almonds.
• Freeze the dough: On a piece of waxed paper, form dough into a rectangular log, 12 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. Wrap log in the paper, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 months. If freezing longer than 1 day, wrap log again, in plastic wrap.
• Bake the shortbread: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove dough from freezer. (If dough has been in freezer a long time and is frozen solid, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes so it slices without crumbling.)
• With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet; transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.