Vegan Cranberry Shortbread

Directions

Step 1

Start by cooking your cranberries. You can get them at most big supermarkets now. Just pop 1/2 cup of cranberries into a pan, add in the sugar and water and heat gently for about 10 minutes. You want them firm enough to hold their shape – not mushy at all. Then drain them so you don’t get extra liquid into the cookie batter. There won’t be much liquid so don’t be fooled into skipping this step – it’s vital!

Step 2

Then beat the dairy free margarine until it goes a lighter colour. Beat in the caster sugar until combined and the mixture looks fluffy.

Step 3

Then stir in the flour. I need to use my hands to bring it all into a ball. Now add the cranberries into the mix very gently. You’ll get some stripes of colour but the berries should hold. You need to be gentle or you will crush the berries.

Step 4

It should be a soft dough, which is very pliable

Step 5

We like our shortbread quite sweet. So we dust the board with a bit of caster sugar and roll out the dough quite thick – about ½ inch. I think these look best as ‘fingers’, or rectangles if you must. Shape the dough into a square, about 1/2 thick and using a sharp knife cut into rectangles.

Step 6

Dip the knife into flour so it doesn’t stick when you cut.

Step 7

Place on a very lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. They should be light brown on the bottom and a bit of colour on top. Cool on a wire rack.