These Orange Shortbread Cookies are the most flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread you've ever tasted! Flavored with orange zest and orange oil, with a beautiful glaze made from fresh cranberries, you'll want make these beauties for the holidays and all winter long!
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar, and orange zest. Beat until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add 1 tablespoon orange juice and orange oil (see note) and mix to combine.
Gradually add the flour/salt mixture and mix just until you can't see flour anymore. Mixture won't come completely together into a ball and will be a bit crumbly, which is what you want.
Use a bowl scraper (see note) to press the dough together into a ball inside the bowl, or turn the dough out onto your counter and press together with your hands. (I like to use the bowl scraper to keep my hands/counter cleaner.) If the dough won't come together, add additional orange juice by the teaspoonful until you find success (up to 3 teaspoons).
Roll the dough into a 12-inch long log that's as round as you can manage. Roll the log in sparkling sugar, if desired. Wrap the dough and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour (you can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to two days if you'd like).
Once chilled, preheat your oven to 325° F. Line baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
Slice the dough into ¼-inch rounds. I find that a thin, serrated knife (like a bread knife) works best. Place the rounds 1-2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and freeze for 10 minutes before baking.
Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are just barely golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
For Cranberry Glaze
Warm cranberries and water in a small saucepan over low heat until cranberries burst and give off their juice. I smush them with a spatula once they've burst to help them along. If you're using frozen cranberries, there's no need to thaw them, they will just take a few minutes longer to break down.
Press the cranberries through a fine mesh strainer, saving the juice. I ended up with about 2 tablespoons of juice. Discard the cranberry pulp/skin left in the strainer.
Pour the cranberry juice (see note) into the sifted powdered sugar and stir to combine. If the mixture is too thin you can add a bit more powdered sugar to thicken it. If too thick, add a small amount of water (½ teaspoon at a time) until you reach the desired consistency.
Dip each of the cooled shortbread cookies into the glaze, allowing the glaze to set before serving. If desired, you can garnish with orange peel as I did (see note).Enjoy!
Notes
Note on orange oil: I use orange oil to heighten the orange flavor in the cookies. I've found that the oil has more concentrated flavor than orange extract. If you'd prefer not to buy orange oil, you can use orange extract or just add a bit more zest to your dough. The link to the orange oil is to a set of citrus oils because it's more cost effective! If you're looking for another recipe to use them in, check out my Lemon Sugar Cookies!Note on bowl scraper: I like to use a bowl scraper to press the dough together in the bowl because it's flexible shape makes the job much easier, and it keeps my hands and countertop a bit cleaner. They're easy to store and easy on the wallet if you'd like to get yourself one!Note on lining pans: I like using nonstick parchment on my pans to ensure no sticking and for easier cleanup.Note on cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. If using frozen, there is no need to thaw them, they will just take a few extra minutes to break down.You may be tempted to use store-bought cranberry juice, which I can understand due to the small amount of cranberries needed and the added step in the recipe. Just note that store-bought juices sometimes contain more than just cranberry juice ("cranberry juice cocktail"). Also, store-bought juice will be thinner than what I used, since it contains no pulp at all. This means that if you use store-bought juice, you will need less of it to reach a glaze consistency, and your flavor and color will likely not be as strong as mine. Note on orange peel garnish: While beautiful (and yummy), the orange peel garnish doesn't last long before the peels start to sink into the glaze and/or start to dry out. If you want to add this detail, I suggest waiting until close to when you plan to serve the cookies to do so. The glaze sets up in about 30 minutes. I used a citrus zester tool to make the strips.