Cranberry Orange Shortbread Bars with Orange Glaze
We are already on Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Cranberry and orange are a delicious flavor pairing. My cranberry and orange shortbread bars with orange glaze use dried cranberries and fresh orange juice and zest. The bars themselves are not all that sweet so the orange glaze makes it more “dessert like”.
What I like about bar recipes is they are a bit quicker to make than cookies. No scooping, no waiting for cookie sheets to cool for the next batch.
This recipe is a true shortbread flavor and texture. My husband was pleasantly surprised because he thought it would be more like a blondie texture. I can see why, because they do kind of look like blondies. They have just a subtle orange flavor, it’s not too overpowering. Add them to your holiday cookie trays or a party dessert table. They will be perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Bars with Orange Glaze
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter. softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2 teaspoons orange juice maybe more for drizzling consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with aluminum foil and set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer beat butter and sugar on medium speed for 1 – 2 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. Beat in egg until blended. Ad flour and mix on medium until a smooth dough forms. Fold in dried cranberries.
- Press dough evenly into prepared pan.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until edges are light brown and bars are barely golden. Remove from oven and let cool before removing from pan. Remove from pan, foil and all and set on cutting board. Drizzle with glaze. Let glaze set before cutting into bars.
- To make Glaze: Combine powdered sugar and orange juice stirring until smooth and a drizzling consistency. Add more juice if too thick, more powdered sugar if too thin. Drizzle over shortbread.
Very festive flavors!
I love the addition of cranberries and orange in these cookies and I love that they are made in easy to make and bake bars.
These would be perfect with a cup of tea! I can see why he’d think they would have blondie texture, but I’ll bet that buttery shortbread was excellent with the cranberries and orange!
Cranberry and orange are like peanut butter and jelly to me! The perfect combination.