Cranberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

The holidays are the perfect time to reach out to friends and family. I’m always a fan of doing that with food. A big thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post so we can share one of our favorite holiday cookie recipes with you. This recipe for Cranberry Almond Shortbread Cookies is always a hit when we make it and we always include these on our holiday cookie plate that we share with family and friends.

We are fully in holiday baking mode around my house. My kitchen counter has been covered in flour more often lately than it has been clean. My kids love to bake and there’s no way we can ever eat all the things they make so it’s the perfect opportunity to share some of the goodies with family and friends.

The holiday season is so busy and cheerful that it can be easy for us to forget that it isn’t the happiest time of year for everyone. For people who are grieving, alone, or struggling with something else, the holidays can be a rough time of year. 

One of the best ways to help someone we love feel better is to find a way to connect with them. If you know someone who is struggling, packing up some of your favorite cookies and taking them over to say hi is a great way to reconnect. I’ve heard that connection is the best way to fight depression, so it seems especially fitting during the holiday season when we naturally want to connect with each other anyway. 

If you are feeling down, baking for others has been shown to improve your mood and uplift you even more than the person you are gifting your treats to, so the benefits really go both ways. 

These Cranberry Almond Shortbread Cookies totally feel like Christmas to me. We always include them on our neighbor cookie plates and they are fun to enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate or herbal tea at the end of the night. 

We use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Flour in these. Because there are only a few ingredients in these cookies, I really feel like the flour makes such a big difference. 

Right now you can save $1 off any Bob’s Red Mill product with this coupon. 

Cranberry Almond Shortbread Cookies Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic All Purpose Baking Flour
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Cranberry Almond Shortbread Cookies Instructions

Combine the Bob’s Red Mill Organic All Purpose Baking Flour  and sugar in a bowl and mix well.

Use a pastry cutter to blend in the butter.

Stir in the almond extract and dried cranberries.

Once the mixture begins to look combined, form it into a ball and knead until smooth.

Roll until the dough forms a 1/2 inch roll (or larger if you want larger cookies), wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20-25 minutes, or until the dough firms up.

Remover from the fridge, once chilled, and slice in equal pieces to form round cookies.

Place on a cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart and bake at 325° for 20-25 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before serving. 

We love including these homemade shortbread cookies in our neighbor cookie plates each year or just making a batch to share with friends. 

 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.