Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies Baked Until the Edges Set

Set out all-purpose flour, cinnamon, and kosher salt before you start Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies Baked Until the Edges Set. The batch is written for 42 Cookies.

Count on 15 minutes of prep, 18 minutes of cooking, 2 hours of resting, about 2 hours from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
• ⅓ cup + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ½ orange zested
• 1 cup pistachios whole, lightly toasted
• ¾ cup dried cranberries preferably unsweetened
• 1 egg white beaten until frothy
• turbinado sugar or sanding sugar

How the cooking goes

1. Blend flour, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and whisk to distribute.
2. Zest orange into sugar then mix in with your fingers or a spoon. The longer this sits, the more pronounced the orange flavor will be.
3. Cream butter and sugar until the mix looks even but not light and fluffy.
4. Reduce mixer to low and add dry ingredients just until the mix looks even. Add cranberries and pistachios until distributed. There is basically just enough dough to hold all the mix-ins together. All the nuts and fruits!
5. Turn dough out onto baking paper or plastic wrap and shape into log, tighten to compress dough and release air pockets. Flatten sides to create a long rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap to maintain shape. Refrigerate until solid. The dough can also be frozen for a month at this point.
6. Brush log with egg whites and roll in sugar. Slice 1 cm thick and bake at 325°F until the surface is deep gold at the edges. They should look matte (no longer shiny) in the centers. You like mine soft and chewy but if you want crispy cookies, continue to bake them 4-6 more minutes.

After it comes off the heat

Cool the sheet on a rack before the pieces are stacked. A covered tin keeps them for a few days.

If you want another plate from Cookies, open Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies with a Soft Middle and Snowball Cookies Baked Until the Edges Set.