Oooh this cranberry shortbread cookie recipe is one for the books! Read below for this lovely Christmas cookie recipe.
Christmas Cookies!
It’s been a while since I shared a cookie recipe on here (and when I say a while I actually mean years…). With the holiday season upon us it seemed like a good time to get baking and share some of my favourite recipes. This weekend was my twin neices birthday party so it was the perfect opportunity to try out a cranberry shortbread cookie recipe that I’ve had in mind. As always, I like things to be traditional but with a twist. Shortbread is one of the best Christmas cookies but to make them a bit more interesting and festive we added in cranberries.
I’ve said it here many times before – I am no baker and I have the most modest of kitchens (still all about that #nokitchentools life!). So, if I can make this delicious cranberry shortbread cookie recipe…so can you!
Ingredients for this Cranberry Shortbread Cookie Recipe (makes 4 dozen):
- 2 cups butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup dried cranberries – I used Ocean Spray Craisins…classics
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Although this is a cranberry shortbread recipe, the same recipe can be used for a traditional shortbread cookie recipe too – just remove the Craisins!
How to Make these Delicious Christmas Cookies
First, allow your butter to naturally warm to room temperature. Once the butter is warmed, combine it with sugar in a mixing bowl until there are no clumps. Once you have reached a smooth consistency with your butter and sugar mixture add in the 4 cups of flour. Finally, finely chop up the Craisins and add them into the cookie mixture by folding the dough onto itself until the craisins are evenly distributed. Your mixture is complete!
Prepping your Shortbread Cookies for the Oven
Prepping the shortbread cookies for the oven was the part that was most surprising to me when making shortbread for the first time. Traditional rectangular biscuits like I have made here are not prepared in the same way that most cookies are in individual balls. Making rectangular shortbread cookies is more comparable to making a bar or even a brownie!
First, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease the surface. The recipe above made the perfect amount of dough for covering a large cookie sheet that measured 18″ x 14″ (48 cookies in the end). Place your ball of dough in the centre of the baking sheet and roll it out to completely cover the surface of the baking sheet evenly. I started by spreading the dough with my hands and then finished off the process by placing a piece of wax paper over top of the dough and using a rolling pin to smooth the surface. The wax paper is so that the rolling pin does not stick but is to be removed after smoothing. The final thickness of dough slab should be about 1/2″.
Once you have a smooth and even surface of cookie dough, use a knife to score (quite deep cuts are necessary) the surface of the dough to mark out your individual cookies in a grid. My grid was 6 cookies by 8 cookies. Once you have made your cuts, add the dots that are traditional for shortbread. I used a skewer to put 4 dots on the surface of each cookie but a fork works well for this too. You are ready to bake your shortbread cookies!
Finishing off your Christmas Cookies
Place the cookie sheet in an oven that is preheated to 350 degrees. Cook until the surface is slightly browned – it should be about 20 minutes. When you remove the cookie sheet from the oven the cookies will no longer have full cuts from when you cut/scored the dough prior to baking, but the lines will still be very noticeable. Using a knife, cut the cookies again on your initial score lines and remove each cookie and place them on a cooling rack. Now, this is the hard part…try your best to wait until the cookies are completely cooled before trying them! Anxiously, I tried the cookies when they were fresh from the oven and, unlike other cookies, shortbread actually taste best once cooled. So, take my word and practice patience…you’ll be much more satisfied 
Looking for other sweet recipes to make for parties this Holiday Season? These pop tarts are perfect for Christmas morning and this homemade dunkaroo recipe is a seriously delicious sweet snack!
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