Cranberry Shortbread Thumb Cookies
Christina from Thoughts From a Lite Mocha Mom had the indigenous idea to have a virtual cookie exchange. I am excited to take part. My favorite Christmas cookie recipe is a new addition to our regular Christmas goodies. I made them last year for the first time and they were a big hit. I found a couple recipes on-line at Chatelaine- Recipes and adjusted them to make what I had in mind. Hope your family and friends enjoy them as much as mine has.

Cranberry Shortbread Thumb Cookies

Ingredients:
340 g pkg /3 cups (750ml) frozen or fresh cranberries
1 ½ cups (375ml) granulate sugar
1 large orange
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar
11/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt

Directions for Cranberry sauce; (can be done a day or two in advance)

Preheat oven to 325F (160C). If using frozen cranberries, place in a colander, then rinse under cold running water until partially thawed, about 2 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. Place frozen or fresh cranberries in an 8-inch (2-L) baking dish or pie plate. Sprinkle with sugar. Finely grate 1 tablespoon (15 mL) peel from orange and squeeze out 1/2 cup (125 mL) juice. Stir peel and juice into cranberry mixture.

Bake, uncovered, in preheated 325F (160C) oven until cranberries break down and begin to thicken into a sauce-like consistency, about 1 hour. Stir halfway through baking.

Remove from oven and use hand blender to puree sauce a bit. The sauce will thicken even more as it cools. Set aside cranberry sauce. You can use any left-over sauce for dinner! This is also a great recipe for your holiday cranberry sauce needs.

Directions for Cookies:

Preheat oven to 325F (160C). Lightly spray baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir flour with salt. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Pinch off about 1 tbsp (15 mL) dough and roll into a ball. Place on sheet. Continue with remaining dough, spacing balls 1 in. (2.5 cm) apart. Press down to flatten slightly and with your thumb create an indent for the cranberry sauce. Add approximately 1 tsp of cranberry sauce to each thumb indent.

Bake in centre of oven until tops are light golden, 12 to 15 min. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack. Let cookies cool for 5 min before removing from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Then refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week or freeze up to 2 months.

~Sarah

Labels: baking, cookies, Cooking, Cranberry Shortbread Thumb Cookies, Thoughts from a Lite Mocha Mom, virtual cookie exchange

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