Cranberry Orange Cookies

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Cranberry Orange Cookies

My holiday baking has officially begun with these Cranberry Orange Cookies. The cookies taste amazing from the combination of cranberries, orange zest, orange juice and almond extract and smell great too. I came across a Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies recipe on the blog, Mom on Timeout (see link below), and adjusted it by adding freshly squeezed orange juice. I also used my Ateco round cutter, instead of forming the dough into a log shape and slicing before baking as the recipe suggests. This recipe make 15 cookies if you use a round cutter, and 30 cookies if you form the dough into a log shape and slice them.

Close-up of Cranberry Orange Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

3/4 cups Granulated Sugar, divided + 1 tablespoon to sprinkle over cookies

1 cup, 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, cubed and cold

1/2 cup Dried Cranberries

Zest of 1 Orange

2 teaspoons Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

1 teaspoon Almond Extract

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Directions
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a processor pulse a few times the cranberries and 1/4 cup of sugar. If you do not have a processor, just chop the dried cranberries into smaller pieces and combine with sugar using a spatula. Set aside.

Add flour and remaining sugar in a large bowl and combine with spatula.

Add cubed/cold butter chunks and with a pastry cutter work until you achieve fine crumb texture.

Cranberry Orange Cookies on wire rack cooling

Add almond extract, cranberries and sugar mixture, orange zest and orange juice.

Use your hands and knead dough until combined and forms a ball.

Either shape dough into a log shape or form into round shape and cover with plastic wrap. Set in fridge for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Cranberry Orange Cookies yumminess

If you did a log shape cut slices that are 1/4 inch thick.

I rolled out the dough and with a cutter cut round shapes.

Place cookies on baking sheet and lightly sprinkle sugar over the top before baking.

Bake for 12 to 18 minutes. My cookies baked in 18 minutes.

Cranberry Orange Cookies, see the orange zest on top! 

Bake until cookies are set and just before they start to brown.

After 2 to 3 minutes, remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. This is where I ate one warm just to give it the taste test. Yum!

For the Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies recipe, please visit Mom on Timeout: http://www.momontimeout.com/2015/11/cranberry-orange-shortbread-cookies-recipe/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys