Triple Berry Orange Shortbread

I feel like I haven’t posted in waaay too long (jury duty and a photography workshop have kept me busy), but as promised here is a new recipe that brightened my (very rainy) day today.  I think it has rained about every day this entire last month, and while it doesn’t bother me – to the mind and wiggly body of a 4 year old, it is pure torture.

And when he gets bored, I get hopelessly sucked into the imaginative world of a little boy- a boy with no siblings and no neighborhood kids to play with. This means endless hours of getting in touch with my manly side.

The side that only deals in superheroes, race cars, dirt and worms.

The side that gets a laugh out of certain bodily functions and chasing the dog and cat around until they are running for any kind of cover.

After putting one too many “bad guys” in jail, and cleaning up the bathroom which looked like a fire hydrant had exploded in it, I was ready for a break.  A suggestion to make cookies was met with a hearty, “awesome!”, and that’s where these cookies come in.  I decided to throw some chopped up dried berries and orange zest in shortbread, and then drizzle an orange glaze over them.

A couple of these and a cold glass of milk later, I feel much better.

Triple Berry Orange Shortbread
(prep: 15 mins; bake: 20 mins; yield: 15 cookies)

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp finely grated orange zest
• 1/2 cup chopped dried berries (I used a mix of cherries, blueberries, cranberries)

Preheat oven to 325F. In a small bowl combine the sugar and orange zest, rubbing the zest into the sugar with your fingers. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and sugar mixture. Cut in the butter with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and starts to cling. Stir in the chopped berries. Using your hands, shape the mixture into a ball, kneading until smooth. Don’t worry if it looks like a crumbly mess at first, the longer you work it, it will form into a smooth ball.

   

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough until 1/2 inch thick. Use a 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. Reroll scraps as necessary. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bottoms just begin to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tbsp orange juice, drizzle glaze over cookies. Eat and enjoy!

Amber