White Chocolate and Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

and the holiday baking continues... and this one was a hit as well. We had a hard time keeping our hands out of the cookie jar!

I love shortbread. Because it requires very few ingredients. Because it is easy to make and bake. And I'm lazy. I ought to be called the Lazy Gourmet!

Ingredients:

3/4 lb butter (3 sticks)
1 cup of confectioners sugar
3 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of white chocolate morsels
1 cup of dried cranberries

In a large mixing bowl (preferably of a large mixer like KitchenAid) beat butter and sugar until creamy. Slowly add the flour, one cup at a time until well blended. Fold in cranberries and chocolate. (See, wasn't that easy?!)

Roll into a log and slice, or cut into shapes using a small cookie cutter. (I also love shortbread because it doesn't spread like sugar cookies do and you can place them close to each other.)

Place on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat, parchment or wax paper.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes-  until the edges are a nice light golden brown. Let cool on a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving.

The Peppermint Stars are Brightly Shining!

I love working with shortbread. I love the taste of shortbread. Though these could certainly be made with a sugar cookie recipe. I'll be bundling these stars up with the chocolate shortbread stars to give as a little extra to teachers and faculty at school. (We've pooled our funds with the other parents in the classes and the children will be giving a big gift card, but still I like to give a little something extra with a personal touch.) Some of these will be packaged up with 1/2 pound bags of Starbucks Holiday Blend Coffee.

I used a classic shortbread recipe.

• 3/4 pound butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
  
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 - 2 tbs vanilla
• 2 cups of vanilla *frosting, canned or home made
• Food coloring, your choice
  
• Mini candy canes in individually wrapped (about 6)
  
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. Add flour to the to the butter-and-sugar mixture. . Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. You can either wrap the dough and refrigerate for later use or roll dough and start cutting into desired shapes with the cookie cutter of your choice. Be sure to liberally apply flour to your work surface as well as your rolling pin.

As cookies are cut place them onto your cutting board. When ready bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown. (May require up to 20 minutes)

As the cookies are baking use a rolling pin and carefully smash the miniature candy canes.

When cookies have cooled you can start to decorate. You can use store bought frosting or make your own icing. If you use store bought, color it with food coloring to get the desired shade. Then add about 2 Tbs of water to the container and mix well.

Using a pastry knife or butter knife carefully spread the frosting on to the cookie. Once the cookies have been covered (I usually do this in batches) shake some of the peppermint candy cane crumbs on to the cookie. A little goes a long way for a perfectly and not overwhelmingly pepperminty cookie! Cookies frosted with a canned frosting will need a longer time for the icing to harden, at least overnight.

Recipe Courtesy Cooks.com

ROYAL ICING FOR SUGAR COOKIES

3 egg whites 1 lb. confectioners' sugar 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar 1/2 tsp. almond extract or white vanilla extract Place all ingredients in bowl and beat on medium high for a full 10 minutes. Icing will become thick and glossy but will not increase in volume. Keep covered with damp cloth while using, removing small portions to bowl as needed. Tint if desired. To thin, add a few drops of water. Royal icing hardens with a nice sheen.

Oh My Stars! Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I totally snagged this recipe from the Hershey website and can take no credit for it at all. Then again shortbread is shortbread and everyone knows (who cooks) that all you need is butter, sugar and flour. That's the beauty of this recipe. 3 simple ingredients or 4 as I like to add vanilla and you have a perfect sweet treat. But I needed a dark cookie. So I decided to see what a chocolate shortbread would be like. I like it! I like it! To add some flair I made some very simple designs using white cookie icing. Rustic, primitive would describe it! I can't even take credit for the icing. I used Wilton's white cookie icing. Ready to use. Delish! The only fault I had was that the opening of the bottle was too wide to make any intricate designs. Well, that's what I get for trying to be lazy!

The only thing that took any time was cutting the star shapes out of the dough. The rest was just too simple!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa or HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 container Wilton White Cookie Icing or your own icing recipe
  

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 300°F. Beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add cocoa; blend well. Gradually add flour, stirring until smooth.

2. Roll or pat dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured surface or between 2 pieces of wax paper; with cookie cutters, cut in holiday shapes. Re-roll dough scraps, cutting cookies until dough is used. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or just until firm. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Store in airtight container. About 4-1/2 dozen (2-inch diameter) cookies.

4. Once the cookies have been cooled place them onto a flat surface and decorate with the icing. Let icing harden completely before placing them in a container or gift package.

Shortbread Cookies with Orange Essense and Chocolate Chips

I love the combination of orange and chocolate. And I love shortbread. The way it breaks apart in your mouth and crumbles and melts and the sugar and butter and orange and chocolate dance around on your tongue... It's perfection!

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 3/4 pound butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• zest from 1 orange
  
• 4 tablespoons Grand Marnier
  
• 1 (heaping!) cup of semi sweet or dark chocolate chips
  
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the Grand Marnier. Add the orange peel. Add flour to the to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.