Cranberry Shortbread Chews

By krystallondon

The addition of coconut turns buttery shortbread into moist chewy cookies. Popping with flavour, these one-bite morsels burst with fresh lime and zingy cranberry.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking powder
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 1 cup (250 mL) dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) orange-flavoured liqueur (optional)
• 3/4 cup (175 mL) butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated lime peel
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) pecan pieces or coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325F (160C). In a small bowl, using a fork, stir flour with baking powder and salt. Place cranberries in another small bowl, then pour liqueur, if using, overtop. Set aside.

Place butter in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lime peel and vanilla. Add egg and continue beating until well mixed, scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula as necessary. Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir in flour mixture. Dough will be quite firm. Stir in cranberries with liqueur, coconut and pecans, if using.

Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray. Roll dough into 1-inch (2.5-cm) balls. Place on baking sheets about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake in centre of preheated 325F (160C) oven until edges and undersides of cookies are golden, from 10 to 12 minutes. Rotate baking sheets if baking more than one sheet at a time. Remove from oven and let cookies stand 2 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in a cool place or refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 2 months.

Soak it up
Many recipes call for soaking dried fruit in liqueur to add moisture and flavour. You can often substitute concentrated frozen juices such as orange or cranberry if you don't wish to use alcohol.