Fruit flavors are one of the easiest ways to make cookies taste yummy. So many combinations that work well together. This week's recipe called for cranberry and orange, which work extremely well together but needed a little kick. Looking around at my nut assortment, I thought perfect pecans would be just what these cookies needed.
Pecans have almost a buttery taste; well, let's face it, who doesn't love butter! Since there is 2 stick of butter in this recipe what a perfect match. Plus, since I have a really good friend in Atlanta, Georgia, I support her state agriculture.
Pecans are a great source of vitamin E and B1, plus they are plant protein sources. So these little beauties are just full of good components. So have 1, 2, or 3 and think healthy nuts.
Adapted from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
Fresh Cranberry Orange Pecan Shortbread Cookies
These are small cookies just a perfect bite of flavor. You can also sprinkle a little powdered sugar on the tops for added sweetness.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter unsalted 2 sticks room temperature
- ⅔ cups Powdered sugar 83 g
- 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 TBSP Orange zest 2 medium oranges
- ½ cup Cranberries fresh or frozen
- ½ cup Pecans crushed
- 2 cups All purpose flour 240 g
- ¼ tsp Baking powder 1 g
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
Instructions
- In a food processor pulse whole fresh cranberries till they are in pieces and add to a small bowl. You can use frozen if you don't have fresh. Then pulse pecans till they are small pieces but not dust, you want very small pieces. Then add pecans to a small bowl. It gives the cookies a little texture and will incorporate well throughout the whole cookie dough. Set both bowls aside.
- Next zest 2 medium oranges into a small bowl. (Depending on how much orange taste you like I added two heaping tablespoons into my dough mix). Set the bowl aside.
- Weigh or measure your powdered sugar into a bowl. In a separate bowl weigh or measure flour, baking powder, and salt together. I run a whisk through to blend them.
- In a stand mixer or handheld, add the butter and mix on medium speed to cream the butter. I scraped down the sides to make sure all the butter creamed. Turn the mixer speed down and slowly add the powdered sugar till it is all incorporated. Next, add the vanilla extract and orange zest and turn the mixer back to medium speed. I had to stop and scrape down the bowl and across the bottom to make sure it was all mixed.
- Turn the mixer speed down and slowly add the flour, baking powder and salt mixture till the flour is incorporated. The dough will be a little stiff. Turn the mixer off and add the cranberries and pecans and turn the mixer on for about 30 seconds. You may need to mix by hand the dough a little to make sure the cranberries and pecans go through the whole mixture.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and place on a silicone pastry mat. Divide the dough in half and roll and form 2 log shapes about 12 to 14 inches each. It should have a diameter of approximately 1-½ inches. Take plastic wrap and wrap around each cookie dough log and put it into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. I took them out after about ¾ of an hour and just rolled them a little, so they do not get a flat bottom, then returned them to the refrigerator for 15 minutes or more.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Take one log out of the refrigerator and unwrap the plastic (I put it on a piece of parchment paper so I can slice the cookie log). Slice into ½ inch slices and put them onto a parchment-lined cookie pan. I did four across and five down. These cookies do not spread hardly at all, so they only need about an inch between each disc of cookie—Bake for 12 to 13 minutes. After pulling the pan from the oven, I leave the cookies on pan for about a minute or two. Then move the cookies to a cooling rack.
Nutrition
Calories: 109kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 24mgPotassium: 20mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 193IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 7mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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