Welcome to Batchin’ Bakes! Our family loves to bake all sorts of treats, but our passion has always been Christmas Cookies! Laura started baking with her Mom over 50 years ago and has kept the tradition going with her daughters, Abby and Eleanore.
The day after Thanksgiving marks the start of our baking season each year, and in mid-December, our family hosts a Christmas party for Friends and Family where we serve the hundreds of Christmas Cookies we have baked. Last year we baked 18 varieties of cookies and ended up with 832 cookies, the most we have ever made!! We hope to beat our record this year and bake at least 833 cookies.
Most of the cookies we make are Christmas staples for our family, but we try to mix it up with a few new recipes every year. Our first featured cookie was a new recipe for us about five years ago, and it has landed a spot as a must-bake ever since. It is always super popular and is usually one of the first cookies to be eaten up!
When we first started making these cookies, we were fortunate enough to have a beautiful orange tree in our family home’s backyard that we could pick fresh oranges from to use in the recipe. Unfortunately, that tree died in the 2021 Texas freeze, but thankfully our local H-E-B has excellent produce, including delicious oranges.
These are great cookies if you are trying to impress without having to do a ton of work!! The buttery shortbread, tangy cranberries, and bright orange zest blend perfectly together.
Enjoy!!
Tips and tricks for this cookie:
Oranges are the key for this recipe, so if you can have fresh homegrown oranges that is IDEAL
When chilling this dough, store the roll vertically, in two glasses, or inside a cut paper towel tube, to keep from flattening as it chills.
General baking tip:
Your oven will get hotter as you continue to bake the batch, so your first pan of cookies should stay in for a bit longer than subsequent pans
Recipe
Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest from 2-3 oranges
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries packed
½ cup sugar for sprinkling on cookies
Extra orange zest for sprinkling on cookies
Directions:
Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl, set aside
Cream the butter, granulated sugar, confectioner’s sugar, and zest together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer) until light and fluffy (about 1 ½ minutes)
Mix in the egg yolks one at a time and stir in vanilla until combined
Mix in the flour and salt until just combined
Mix in the dried cranberries
Roll the dough into 2 equally sized logs, about 8 inches long and 1 ¾ inches in diameter. Wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours - note: the dough can last up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator
When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325° F
Using a sharp knife, slice the cookie dough into about 1/3 inch slices
Place the cookies about an inch apart (they don’t spread much) on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and sprinkle them with a little sugar
Bake for about 12-14 minutes. Note: For a softer cookie bake until the cookies are just set. For a crispier cookie bake until the edges start to turn golden brown
Sprinkle the cookies with more sugar as soon as they come from the oven for a little extra sparkle
Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then move to a cooling rack
Sprinkle with freshly grated orange zest just before serving
Yield - around 3 dozen cookies
Total Cookie Count for the Season: 37 cookies
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