Cranberry Shortbread Cookies – Food Photography

We made 2 batches of these cookies. One for Christmas that were enjoyed by family and friends. And a second batch so I could photograph the process and record the recipe for next Christmas. The recipe is from Baking in the ‘Burg and was so good it didn’t need any tweaking. I love shortbread cookies at Christmas and this recipe was perfect and very well received.

Cranberry Shortbread from Baking in the ‘Burg

makes 48+ cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric or stand mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low-speed, add flour, mixing just until a dough forms. Stir in cranberries.

Divide dough in half; place each half on a piece plastic wrap. Gently roll each into a 1 1/2-inch-diameter log. It will be about 12 inches long. Wrap tightly in the plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Unwrap logs; with a serrated knife, slice dough 1/4 inch thick.

Arrange slices, about 1 inch apart, on baking sheets. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, 6 to 8 minutes.

Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

And here is the final result, delicious, tender, buttery shortbread. We will definitely make them again next Christmas!

A super helpful tip from Baking in the ‘Burg for storing a log of cookie dough in the fridge or freezer. Put it in an empty paper towel roll that you’ve cut down the middle. It helps to keep the round shape and prevents the flat side you might get after it rests for a while. We missed this tip when we were doing our batches this year but hopefully will remember to do this next year. Click on the link if you would like to see the picture that goes along with this tip. 🙂