Cranberry-Pecan Shortbread

While I was out playing Nurse Nancy this weekend, Himself and the boy made shortbread.  They started out with the King Arthur Flour recipe but naturally they changed it up a bit; in this household we are as fundamentally incapable of following a recipe as we are speaking in tongues. 

Here it is:

Cranberry-Pecan Shortbread

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon orange zest

¼ c (about a handful) chopped dried sweetened cranberries

¼ c (about a handful) chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 300.  Lightly grease an 8” square pan. 

With your mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, then beat in the flour.  The dough will be stiff.  Hail KitchenAid.

Press dough into prepared pan, smoothing the surface with your fingers.  Prick the dough all over with a fork.

Bake until the shortbread is a light golden brown across the top surface and slightly darker around the edges, 30-35 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately turn out onto a clean work surface.  Cut into 9 squares while it is still warm.  Transfer to a rack to cool.