White Chocolate Chip & Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

  • Cranberry White Chocolate Shortbread

    I know I just made cranberry and white chocolate cookies, but I just couldn’t stay away from the combo.  I had extra shortbread dough leftover (from making the most excellent Fruitcake Shortbread with Rum Glaze) and knew I had to reunite the medley of flavors again (also because I really want to use the cranberries before they pass the point of no return in the cupboard), because they really do make for a winning combination.   You can’t diagreee with that.

    For some reason I got off the dried cranberry kick for a year or two or three, and have left them out of my baking repertoire for almost as long.  (I did throw them into the healthy Chocolatey Oatmeal PB Bars, which might have gotten me back on the wagon because the bars are just plain AMAZING.)  I don’t remember why I fell out of love with the fruit for that gap of time- usually I overdo something to the point of repulsion and then stay away from it for a very long time, or ever (like Cinnamon-flavored Eggo waffles, or tequila)- but no, I don’t recall cranberries ever doing me harm.  I recently gorged on yogurt-covered cranberries (code for “candy-covered”, let’s be real) and tuned into what I had been missing.  So we’re back together in a “trying out the relationship” kind of way.  We’ll see what kind of damage we can do together in the kitchen.

    Adapted from my Classic Shortbread Cookie recipe…

    2 cups all-purpose flour

    1 1/4 teaspoons salt

    1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)

    1/4 cup granulated sugar

    1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

    1 teaspoon vanilla

    1 cup white chocolate chips (or chunks cut off a block)

    1 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped

    1. In a small bowl, sift flour and salt together and set aside.
    2. Cream butter with a stand mixer (or hand-held mixer) until light (2 – 3 minutes), then add sugar and beat for additional 2 – 3 minutes (scraping sides of bowl a couple of times throughout).  Add vanilla.  Add flour & salt combo and mix on low speed until dough is barely incorporated together into a ball.  Stir in white chocolate and cranberries, being careful not to over mix the dough.
    3. Pat dough into a flat disc and wrap with plastic wrap; chill until very firm (at least an hour).  Roll dough out to just under 1/2 inch thick (you might need dough to ‘warm up’ a bit to do this), and use a cookie cutter to cut out your desired shapes.  Chill until cookie shapes are firm before baking.
    4. Preheat oven to 325°, and bake shortbread until firm to the touch and turning golden brown (about 15 minutes).  Cool on a wire rack and indulge.

    Tips:

    • Refer to the original post for tips on making an amazing batch of shortbread.
    • Chips or chunks?  Why are you asking such a hard question?  Chunks are always fun but they take more time and you sometimes get little shavings instead of chunks.  Pros and cons to both.
    • Dried cranberries… I prefer “sweetened” cranberries, but you can but the plain ones if you’re all healthy.  (Just a quick question: if you’re all healthy, what are you doing on “More Sweets, Please”?  Don’t go!  I have healthy treats for you here, like this one!)
    • I pressed the cookie dough into mini tart pans in this batch, which in some ways was easier than rolling out and cutting out shapes.  I had to bake for about 25 minutes because the dough was thicker, FYI.  You could also bake into a large 9″ tart shell (I like tart pans because they have removable bottoms which makes it so much easier to remove from the pan) for about 25 – 30 minutes.  (Score the dough while it’s cold into slices so they break up into neat pieces after baking.)  Make sure the cookie is really golden brown and smelling up your whole house- and make sure it feels firm in the center, rather than soft and smooshy (like how you want bars to look).  An underdone shortbread cookie is average, whereas a fully done shortbread blows your mind.  Every time.
    • Save some dough for more fun later.  I freeze a bit of it so I can roll it out later when I absolutely must have a cookie or a base to a good bar, or I roll it into 1″ balls and bake, with the intention of dipping the cookies into chocolate later- if The Husband will leave enough around for me to do so.  (Always chill the dough really well before baking.)
    • Shortbread freezes well, whether it’s baked or raw, so no excuses not to have any hanging around.  You could always crush them up and use them in Ugly But Good Bars or sprinkle crumbs on Lemon Curd.  Lots of ways to love shortbread for later.
    • Want more Cranberry & White Chocolate?  Try the Cranberry & White Chocolate Chunk Cookies (with a chocolate chip style of cookie base).  Or try the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut & Lime Cookies and throw in some cranberries.
    • Enjoy!

     

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    January 4th, 2014 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: ,

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