Buttery almond shortbread cookies with dried cranberries that are dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles for a fun Valentine’s Day treat.
Well friends, we made it to February. And that means Valentine’s Day is near! Regardless of how you feel about the ‘holiday’ we will admit that it’s one of the funnest occasions to bake for. Give us all the hearts, all the sprinkles, all the cute mushy stuff we normally want nothing to do with.
We knew this was the perfect opportunity for us to test the shortbread cookie recipe we’ve been thinking of for a while. If you’ve never had a shortbread cookie before they are basically like the less sweet second cousin of sugar cookies. They are crunchy on the outside, but buttery and soft on the inside (perfect for coffee dipping if you ask us). It’s also the kind of cookie that once you get the base recipe down you can really add anything you want!
What’s the difference between shortbread cookies and sugar cookies?
The main difference is the ingredients. Sugar cookies contain eggs, and shortbread cookies don’t. Shortbread also has more butter in it than sugar cookies which causes them to be denser and more crumbly than sugar cookies. (But still equally delicious).
What do you need to make these cookies?
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Almond Extract
- All Purpose Flour
- Dried Cranberries
These almond shortbread cookies are perfect to make in a pinch because they require so few ingredients, and you probably already have everything you need in your pantry! I used a mini heart cookie cutter for these, but you could use any shape you wanted and that’s what makes these kind of cookies so fun to make!
How to make these cookies
Shortbread cookies are so easy to make because you just throw everything in the mixer and mix mix mix until combined! The dough will be more crumbly than usual, but it will hold it’s shape when you squeeze it together. We chilled our dough for 15 minutes before rolling it out, because we wanted to make sure they didn’t spread when we baked them.
Once the cookies were baked and fully cooled, we dipped them in melted chocolate, sprinkled them with sea salt, and added some fun and festive sprinkles!
How to store these cookies
We recommend storing these cuties at room temperature but you could also freeze them if you want to save them for a later date! Just wrap in some plastic wrap or a little baggie and pop them in the freezer.
Check out some of our other favorite cookie recipes!
Happy Baking!
Cranberry Almond Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 C Butter softened
- 3/4 C Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
- 2 C All Purpose Flour
- 1/3 C Dried Cranberries Chopped
- 2 C Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the almond, flour and dried cranberries until all combined. The dough will be crumbly, but will hold it's shape when squeezed together.
- Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill.
- Roll out dough to desired thickness, (Mine were 1/3 in. thick), and then use desired cookie cutter to cut out shapes.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until they are slightly brown.
- While cookies are baking, place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, and heat up in 30 second increments, mixing after each until chocolate is smooth and shiny.
- Once cookies are completely cooled, dip each cookie halfway into chocolate and then sprinkle with some sea salt or sprinkles if desired.