Cranberry & Bittersweet Chocolate Shortbread Cookies for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap #fbcookieswap

Cranberry Chocolate Shortbread

This year I participated in the 2nd Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, where bloggers from around the country bake cookies and send them to other bloggers as a surprise. Last year was super tasty and great fun, and this year was even better. In addition to baking and receiving tasty cookies, the cookie swap supported Cookies for Kids' Cancer, a non-profit that raises funds for pediatric cancer research. Every blogger who participated made a donation to the cause and OXO matched our donations dollar for dollar. What a great company (and IMHO) with really awesome products! When you eat tasty treats while also supporting a great cause, everybody wins.

I sent a dozen of these buttery Cranberry Bittersweet Chocolate Shortbread cookies to three bloggers in Texas, New York and Ohio. In turn, I received 3 types of scrumptious cookies including Jammin' Thumbprint Cookies from Christy at My Invisible Crown, Greek Koulourakia Cookies from Veronique at Food and Wine Chickie and Grinch Cookies from Sarah at Food, Fun and Life in Waukesha. All the cookies were amazing and have already disappeared into the bellies of my friends and family.

This is an event I'll be sure to join every year. It is one more "to do" on the holiday list that makes the season more worthwhile. I hope you have a chance to make these shortbread cookies in the rush of the season. Happy Holiday Ya'll! Merry, merry to you and yours!

Yield: About 24 Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

• 1 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt

• 1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter, Room Temperature

• 3/4 Cups Confectioners (Powdered) Sugar

• 2/3 Cups Fresh Cranberries

• 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

• 4 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped*

*Note: A quick way to "chop" chocolate is to leave it in the wrapper and bang it firmly against the counter until broken into chunks the size you desire. Open the wrapper and Voilà, chopped chocolate.

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, with a whisk, thoroughly combine the flour and sea salt.

2. In a bowl fitted to an electric mixer beat Butter on medium speed until fluffy, occasionally stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides with a spatula.

3. Gradually add Powdered Sugar to the Butter, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing between each addition until mixture is a pale white and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Gradually add flour mixture to the Butter mixture and mix until just combined.

5. In a small food processor pulse together fresh Cranberries and Granulated Sugar until they are finely chopped. Add Cranberries and Chopped Bittersweet Chocolate to the dough and mix briefly until just combined

.6. Remove dough from mixing bowl and divide into two even balls. Shape each ball into a dough log and wrap in plastic wrap. Place dough logs in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.

7. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator. Cut longs into 1/4 inch thick slices (as pictured below). Place on a cookies sheet about an inch apart.

8. Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes until cookies are slightly firm to the touch and edges are browned. Eat warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Cutting Dough