These slice and bake shortbread cookies are the Best. Cookies. Ever. And they’re ridiculously easy. Make some for Christmas!
When my kids were young, we always did lots and lots of Christmas cookies. They took them to school, we did neighborhood cookie swaps, and they loved arranging them in cookie tins and giving them out to their friends. I really miss those days, but since I don’t need to have so many sweets sitting around looking at me longing to be eaten each day, I’ve really scaled back. Now, I do just a few, and my favorites are Spiced Dark Chocolate Dipped Orange Slices (not actually a cookie at all) and these Cranberry Almond Shortbread Cookies.
I’ve narrowed it down to these two for a reason – and yes, this is probably silly, but I feel better that they both have healthy ingredients – fruit, and chocolate in the orange slices, and fruit and nuts (ahem, let’s just ignore the butter and sugar) in these shortbread cookies.
Plus, these are just ridiculously easy, deliciously melt-in-your mouth buttery, AND, the batter freezes really well. That means, make it, roll it up, freeze it, and just slice them up and bake them as needed.
Cranberry Orange Almond Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup confectioner's powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2/3 cup sliced almonds toasted
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet or line with a silpat baking liner.
- Place butter, powdered sugar, almond 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, at least an hour.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and slice into 1/4-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.
Notes
Are you baking this holiday season? What’s your favorite cookie?
Eat well!
Hi, this recipe sound wonderful and easy. I’m not a fan of almond. Could I use pecans instead?
Hi Gloria, Yes! Chopped pecans would be great! You can omit the almond extract too and add a little extra vanilla extract instead. Enjoy!
These are delicious! I used pecans and vanilla because I didn’t have almonds on hand. Mine took 20 min. to bake. I will be making these again.
So glad you liked them Jane! And I love that you tweaked the recipe to make them your own 🙂 Happy Holidays!
Best cookies ever!
So easy to make too!
Yay! So glad you like them!
I just made my second batch of these cookies. I used pecans and lemon zest because that’s what I had on hand. One change I made to the original recipe was the addition of one egg yolk and a sprinkle of water which made the dough much easier to handle. I found the original recipe too crumbly. Freezing the roll for one hour and cutting pieces was so easy with this revised batch. My yield was 44 cookies.
Thanks for sharing your tips Heather! I’ve been wanting to experiment with a lemon version so I’ll give this a try!
Hi! Love this recipe. How long do they keep at room temp? And would it be okay to freeze dough on forefront before the bake, and freeze again after the bake?
Yes, you can freeze them before and after baked! I think they’ll last for at least a week as long as you keep them in an airtight container. Enjoy!
I have mad these the last couple years and they are delicious! I am nervous to mess with success but in the spirit of trying to be slightly healthier, I’m wondering if anyone has tried cutting down the butter in the recipe?
Hi Laura, I’ve never messed with the butter, but I’ve been wanting to experiment with the flour. I’ve heard almond flour makes delicious shortbread and it would reduce the carbs quite a bit.
I will be trying this recipe shortly and am anticipateing the outcome. Sooo excited.