Cranberry-Ginger Shortbread
These cookies are buttery and dotted with dried cranberries and nibbles of crystallized ginger. They are simple and sublime. I use a mix of white and light brown sugar, which adds a little softness to the cookie. It’s one of those cookies that is lovely fresh out of the oven, but gets better and better each day.
I made these to honor two great things: New Jersey and my husband. New Jersey because author/friend/Jerseyan David Kamp and I talked a lot about Jersey on my podcast. My husband because it’s our wedding anniversary October 14 and he’s a sweet British man who loves ginger. (And he’s a bit of a ginger, but don’t tell him I told you.)
Shortbread still life with purple cauliflower
Notes on the making of shortbread:
Use crystallized ginger for this. That’s the ginger that’s dried and coated in sugar. If you love ginger use a packed 1/3 cup. If you like ginger, use a 1/4 cup. If you want to yell at me for not using measurements by weight, you can do that, too. I deserve it.
Mince the ginger and dice the dried cranberries. The ginger pieces should be smaller than the cranberries.
Chopping these sticky things is a pain. Unless! You oil your knife with a flavorless oil, like safflower or Canola. You may have to grease the knife up a few times, but it makes life easier. Promise.
I make mine about 2 inches in diameter, but they are also cute if only quarter-sized.
When your dough looks like this, it’s time to split it in two and roll it into logs.
Cranberry-Ginger Shortbread
What You’ll Need:
18 tablespoons (9 ounces) cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 to 1/3 cup minced crystallized ginger
1/2 cup diced dried cranberries
Optional: Raw brown sugar crystals for coating the outside of the cookies.
What You’ll Do:
In a stand- or with a hand-mixer, cream the butter, white sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt on medium-high speed until lovely and fluffy. This always takes longer than you think: three to five minutes is optimal. Remember, scrape down the sides and beaters once or twice to ensure everything is blended evenly.
Add the flour and mix on low speed until the mixture becomes crumbly and most of the flour is absorbed. Scrape all around, like you know I like. Pour the ginger and cranberries in and continue to blend until the mixture just starts to come together.
Lay one piece of parchment on your work surface, and place half the dough on it. Shape the dough into a log. I typically make mine about 2 inches in diameter. If you’re using the raw brown sugar to create a crunchy, sparkly exterior, sprinkle it on the parchment now and roll the log in it. In general, be gentle when you are rolling and handling the dough to keep it tender. Roll the cookie dough log up in the parchment paper, twist the ends and repeat with the other half of the dough. Refrigerate the logs for 4 hours or up to 3 days. Wrapped well, you can also freeze the logs to get a head start on your holiday baking.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Slice the cookies about 1/2” thick and lay them out on the cookie sheets, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie as they spread a wee bit.
Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, rotating the pans once, until the cookies begin to turn light golden on the bottom.
Let cool. Store in a an air-tight container for as long as they last.
