Almond-Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
These almond-cranberry shortbread cookies remind us of the holidays—the perfect recipe for potlucks, cookie swap parties, and any holiday event.
Servings: 36 cookies
Calories: 87kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar or ⅔ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries chopped or tart cherries
- ⅔ cup sliced almonds toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Using a standing mixer, mix the butter, powder sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth, around 3 minutes.
- Turn mixer on low speed and gradually add flour and orange zest.
- A dough will form.
- Stir in the cranberries and almonds with a spatula.
- Form dough into a ball, then forms a log shape, about 2 inches diameter.
- Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and slice into ¼-inch thick slices.
- Place cookies on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart.
- Bake between 12-15 minutes, just until the edges start to turn golden.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them and place them on a cooling rack.
- Tip: The dough can be kept frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
Note about sugar:
If you choose to use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar:
1 cup powdered sugar = aprox. ⅔ cup granulated sugar (if you need a more accurate measurement, it is 4.4 oz or 125 g sugar.)
If you swap 1 cup powder sugar for 1 cup of granulated sugar, expect the cookies to spread.
Note about butter:
Place the dough in the refrigerator. Do not skip this step. Because the dough has a high-fat content, it should be chilled for at least 1 hour, preferably longer. This will firm it to make slicing easier and will also ensure that the cookies hold their shape when baked.
Note about the thickness of the cookies:
The texture of the cookies is determined by the thickness of the slices: thinner slices will make fairly crisp cookies, while thicker ones will be slightly less crisp.
Because this recipe has dried fruits and also nuts in it, it is best to slice the cookies into thicker slices.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 87kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 33mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 158IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.5mg
