Merry Christmas!!
I hope you’re all having a wonderful day – whether celebrating the holiday or just enjoying a day off. We get to see both sides of the family today, so it’s bound to be a good one.
Since we’re traveling this year, I didn’t do a lot of Christmas baking, but I did squeeze in these “Massachusetts shortbread” cookies right before we left home. “Massachusetts” because of cacao nibs from Taza Chocolate and dried local cranberries. “Shortbread” because of the slightly crumbly texture (as opposed to chewy or crisp). They’re a little sweeter than your standard shortbread, but not overly so. The dried cranberries add a nice tang and the cacao nibs are more nutty than chocolate-y. They’re the perfect cookies to accompany an afternoon tea. If you want something a little more luxurious, drizzle some dark chocolate over the top.
I made them small and kind of fat, but you could roll the dough into a log, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a bit. Once it’s nice and cold, cut thin discs off of it and bake them for 10 minutes or so. This will give you a thinner and bigger cookie. With the assistance of a kitchen scale, you can prep these even before the oven has preheated.
Cran-Nib Cookies
Makes about 45 small cookies
| Amount | Ingredient | Preparation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 ounces | White sugar | By weight | |
| 2 ounces | Brown sugar | By weight | |
| 6 ounces | Butter | By weight; room temperature | Shaw Farm |
| 1 large | Egg | Red Fire Farm | |
| 1 tsp | Vanilla extract | Homemade by a friend | |
| Pinch | Salt | ||
| 12 ounces | Flour | By weight | Wild Hive Farm |
| 1/2 cup | Dried cranberries | Fairland Farm | |
| 1/2 cup | Cacao nibx | Taza Chocolate |
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Beat the sugars and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour and salt and mix well.
- Add the dried cranberries and cacao nibs and mix gently to evenly distribute.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll about 2 teaspoons of dough into a ball. Place it on the pan and flatten it gently with your palm. Repeat with the remaining dough. You should be able to fit about a dozen cookies per pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans in the middle. To rotate the pans, (1) switch the top and bottom pans and (2) turn the pans so that the cookies in the back of the oven are in the front. The cookies should be just a little golden around the edges.
