Everyone likes a bit of shortbread at Christmas! However nothing comes close to homemade shortbread, especially when you get to eat it the day it has been made! I’ve always thought that the best way to eat it is with a cup of tea. Mmmm!
Last Christmas I made simple lemon shortbread but this year wanted to do a different flavour. After brainstorming a few ideas it just came to me – cranberry and orange shortbread. Yes!
Apart from adding a juicy hit of flavour, the cranberries makes the shortbread stand out. The orange adds a bit of zest and the whole thing together is to die for! Tomorrow evening we are off out with friends for a festive curry night so I’ve made a massive batch and giving them all a bag each to try. My friends love being my food tasters and along with the positives it’s great for me to get feedback on what could have been better.
Plus I think Dean and I are getting a bit tubby with all the Christmas cakes and shortbread I’ve been making!
Cranberry and Orange Shortbread
Ingredients
- 60 g cranberries (dried)
- 1 orange zest
- 360 g plain flour
- 110 g caster sugar Plus extra for sprinkling over
- 125 g margarine/unsalted butter
- icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas 4. Prepare your lined baking tray.
- Beat the sugar, butter and orange zest together until you get a nice smooth mixture.
- Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon, until your mixture turns to a paste. It will go very crumbly but will eventually come together. Using your hands gently work the dough into a ball, you might want to do it a bit at a time, I found doing this much easier.
- Roll your dough out gently and sprinkle the dried cranberries on then roll over with your rolling pin.
- Cut out with a cutter of your choice and sprinkle with a bit more sugar. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown.
- Put them to cool on a metal wire rack. Once cooled dust with icing sugar.
- Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee!
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