Dried Cranberry Thyme Shortbread

I came across this recipe for a savoury shortbread in an old LCBO Food and Wine Magazine. The combination of fresh time, lemon zest and dried cranberries intrigued me because dried cranberries aren't often used in savoury baking recipes.

The shortbread are incredible easy to make, the buttery dough comes together quickly in the stand mixer, then gets rolled into logs and put in the fridge. Once firm, just slice and bake. The dough can even be frozen in logs to be baked off for impromptu hor's oeuvres.

These buttery, sweet and herbaceous shortbread are good served with cheeses, especially brie, added to a cheese plate, or just eaten as appetizer nibblers. They are also very festive.

Behold, Pack-man brie loves these shortbread:

Dried Cranberry Thyme Shortbread

Time: 1 hour

Makes about 45 shortbread

dairy

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ dried cranberries or cherries, coarsely chopped
• flour for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. With a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, rind, juice, salt and thyme. Cream until light and fluffy.
3. Stir in the flour and cranberries. Stir until combined and then remove from bowl and place on lightly floured surface.
4. Gently form the dough into a 12-inch log. Roll up in plastic wrap and place in fridge, allow to chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Slice the log into ¼-inch medallions and place on baking sheet.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges become light golden.

From: LCBO Food and Drink Holiday 2007