Cranberry orange cookies

Name: Cranberry orange cookies
Ingredients: 250 g butter, softened; 1/2 tsp salt; 75 g caster sugar; 55 g icing sugar; 250 g plain flour; 1 large free-range egg yolk; 90 g dried cranberries; 2 zest of 2 unwaxed oranges

Salivating sablés... cranberry orange cookies by James Hillery. The classic French sablé, but with a wintery twist of orange and cranberry...

Brought to you by James Hillery

Salivating sablés... cranberry orange cookies by James Hillery

These cranberry orange cookies are made using shortbread making them 'sablés'. The classic French sablé, but with a wintery twist of orange and cranberry. The biscuits get their name for their sandy texture, sable meaning sand in French. Very much like an English shortbread, the addition of fresh orange zest and dried cranberries bring these biscuits to life.

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Servings

Ingredients

250 g butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
75 g caster sugar
55 g icing sugar
250 g plain flour
1 large free-range egg yolk
90 g dried cranberries
2 zest of 2 unwaxed oranges

Instructions

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, or in a bowl with a hand mixer, mix the butter and salt on low speed until smooth. Add the caster sugar and icing sugar and mix until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Chop the cranberries into small pieces. Add the egg yolk, orange zest and cranberries. Mix for 1 minute on low speed.

Sift in the flour and mix until just blended; the dough should be soft. Turn the dough out onto the counter and gently bring it together in a ball. Divide it in half and shape each half into a 23cm (9in) log.

Wrap the logs in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. At this stage, you can freeze and keep them to cook another day. Just defrost them in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4. Trim the rounded ends of the logs, then cut the dough into 1cm (1⁄2in) thick discs. Put them on the baking sheets, leaving 5cm (2in) between discs as these do spread.

Bake the biscuits for 18-22 minutes until the edges are golden-brown. Allow to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.