In the wide wonderful world of cookies, melt in your mouth shortbread cookies rank up there as my favorites. What is not to love about a buttery, borderline luxurious cookie that gets even better with age? Whether made simply with a dusting of sugar or dipped in white chocolate, left plain or studded with nuts, dried fruit or spices, shortbread cookies have an irresistible quality to them. They may one of the only cookies I find home made or store bought to be equally irresistible. Particularly if Walker's Shortbread is the store bought version.
There are more versions of shortbread cookies on this blog than another kind of cookie. If hard pressed to pick a favorite, I couldn't. I love them all. Amy's Shortbread Cookies were one the very first cookie recipes posted to the blog. Made with chopped pistachios and white chocolate, they not only make an appearance around the holidays, but they have been known to make appearances year round.
Up until now I hadn't even considered tinkering with the original recipe.
But then I had the idea of adding of dried cranberries to them. At first I thought about eliminating the pistachios, but then remembered just how much I love the flavor combination of dried cranberries and pistachios in the White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti.
Other than adding in a half cup of chopped dried cranberries to the batter, I reduced the amount of finely chopped pistachios from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup. (See note in recipe.)
Some of my cranberries were finely chopped and some were a little more coarsely chopped. If using a crimped edge cookie cutter, finely chopping them will make the cutting process much easier.
Of the many things I love about this shortbread recipe is how easy the dough is to roll out as well as how forgiving it is. Scraps of dough can be balled up and rerolled out. Because they don't spread very much during the baking process, you can get alot of cookies on the baking pan.
In a preheated 350 degree (F) oven, the cookies bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden on the bottom and edges. However, baking time will change depending on the size and thickness of the cookie. Thinner, smaller cookies will have a shorter baking time than a thicker, larger cookie.
With or without the addition of melted white chocolate, these Cranberry Shortbread Cookies reminded me why it's a good thing I don't have shortbread cookie favorites.
You definitely need to make these White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Shortbread Cookies for all of the cookie monsters in your life. Especially the shortbread loving kind.
White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Shortbread Cookies (a variation to Amy's Shortbread Cookies)
Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies depending on the size of cookie cutter used.
Ingredients
1 cup (230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (62 g) confectionary sugar
1 teaspoon high quality vanilla
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (64 g) dried cranberries, finely chopped (could also use dried cherries)
1/3 cup (45 g) chopped pistachios, plus additional for sprinkling on top of cookies (Note: Could use up to a 1/2 cup of chopped pistachios)
9 ounces (255 g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Sift together the flour and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or alternately in a medium sized bowl if using a hand mixer), beat butter and confectionary sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy (approximately 3-4 minutes).
4. Add vanilla and mix in.
5. With mixer on low speed, add sifted dry ingredients until incorporated.
6. Add in chopped pistachios and chopped cranberries. Mix until blended.
7. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one half of the dough to desired thickness (my preference is 1/4"). Using a cookie cutter of your choice, cut dough and place cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
9. Bake cookies until lightly browned on the bottom (approximately 12-15 minutes, depending on the cookie's size and thickness). Allow cookies to cool for 3-5 minutes on pan before removing and transferring to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely before dipping in melted chocolate (approximately 30-45 minutes).
10. Place a bowl filled with the chopped white chocolate over a pan of simmering water. Dip half or the top of the cookies into the melted chocolate. Place on a sheet of parchment paper. Note: While chocolate hasn't set, sprinkle with chopped pistachios if using.
11. Allow chocolate to set completely before serving and/or storing cookies in a tightly sealed container in a cool location.
Note: (1) I kept some of the cookies plan (no chocolate); dipped some of them in the white chocolate without topping with any chopped pistachios; and dipped some in the chocolate and finished with a sprinkling of finely chopped pistachios. (2) Cookies can be placed one inch apart on the baking sheet as they spread very little during baking.
Cape Elizabeth Light, aka Two Lights, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine