These are one of my favorite holiday cookies. They are simple to make, taste great, and have a sophisticated look to them. Nothing says the holidays like cranberries and this recipe gives you just that. I love making these cookies for holiday parties. It’s so good I have to remind myself not to make them from every party I attend.

One of the best things about this recipe is that it’s a simple shortbread cookie with some holiday cheer. I chose orange because I think it pairs great with cranberries but I was on the fence with choosing lemon. I think the next time I make this cookie I’m going to give lemon a try.

I started by chopping cranberry craisins into small pieces and setting them aside. Here again is a way to vary your recipe. There are some many different craisins out there, go crazy. One of my favorite ones is pomegrante. I’ve used original, blueberry, and pomegrante for this recipe. Next I combined flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then I added the cubed butter. Using a pastry cutter I mixed the butter, flour, and sugar until it turned into a fine crumb mixture.

Next I added the wet ingredients; almond extract, orange juice, and orange zest. I kneaded the dough by hand until it formed dough.

Then I shaped the dough into a long log and placed it over plastic wrap. I wrapped the dough up and refrigerated it for at least 2 hours. Another great thing about this recipe is that if your in a hurry the dough can wait up to 72 hours in the refrigerator. So if you only have a few minutes to make the dough no problem. Your cookie dough will be ready for you in the fridge when you have time to bake.

When your ready to bake take the dough out of the fridge and unwrap. Cut dough log about ¼ inch thick. Place cookies on a lined baking sheet. Next sprinkle cookies with sugar and bake for 12-15 minutes at 325 degrees. Cookies will be light in color. Once cookies cool try not to eat them all at once.

Orange Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

½ cup cranberry craisins

¾ cup white sugar

2 ½ cup flour

1 cup butter, cubed and chilled

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 orange, zest

1-2 tablespoons orange juice, squeezed from the orange

Sugar for coating the cookies prior to baking

Directions

Line baking sheet with parchment paper

Chop craisins into small pieces, set aside

In a large mixing bowl combine flour and sugar

Using a pastry cutter mix in the cubed butter until fine crumbs appear

Add wet ingredients, knead with hands

Shape into a log and wrap with plastic wrap

Refrigerate for 2- 72 hours

Cut ¼ inch thick cookies

Place on baking sheet

Sprinkle sugar over top of cookies before baking, just a light dusting

Bake 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes

Allow too cool before enjoying