Winter Shortbread Cookies
Pine needles are often overlooked when finding seasonings to cook or bake with. During a time of the year when there isn’t much more to harvest, I like to make these soft, buttery shortbread cookies to bring some brightness into our home. Paired with oranges, these citrus-ey cookies are fun to decorate, make for friends, or devour shortly after they are removed from the oven. I like to use white pine needles, and keep in mind not all pines are edible and they all offer different variances of flavor. These cookies are a good incentive to get outdoors and take some time to search for pine needles that have a fresh/sweet aroma while spending some time (hopefully) with snow shoes strapped to your feet!
70g Dried Cranberries
165g Sugar, Divided (55g + 110g)
280g All-purpose Flour
120g Pastry Flour
10g Pine Needles
Zest of 1 Orange
60g Orange Juice
226g Butter, softened
Begin by blending cranberries with 55g of sugar until the cranberries are finely chopped and incorporated with the sugar. Set aside.
Next, place the pastry flour into the blender with the pine needles. Blend until the needles are fully chopped up into small pieces and dispersed into the flour. Then, pour into a bowl and add remaining flour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the remaining sugar with the butter with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
With the mixer running on low speed, add in the orange zest and orange juice. Allow the mixture to become fully emulsified before moving onto the next step.
Next, add in the flour and mix until almost completely incorporated. Add in the cranberry/sugar mixture and mix until the dough comes together and there is no more dry flour. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Once the mixture is fully incorporated, remove from the mixer bowl into a lidded container and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Roll out dough to 1/4”-1/8” on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Cut out with cookie cutters of your desired shape and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are beginning to turn a golden color but the center of the cookies are still slightly soft.
Enjoy!
