Barres de Shortbread Cranberries & Orange

Ingredients

• 200 g Unsalted Butter (softened at room temperature, cut into cubes)
• 100 g Granulated Sugar (fine white sugar)
• 250 g All-Purpose Flour (sifted)
• 30 g Cornstarch (helps create a tender crumb)
• 80 g Dried Cranberries (finely chopped with a large knife)
• 1 Orange (organic, unprocessed; zest only)
• 150 g White Chocolate (break into pieces for melting)
• 1 drop Pink Food Coloring (liposoluble (oil‑based) for chocolate)
• 20 g Pink Colored Sugar (sprinkles for finishing)

Instructions

1. Zest the orange into the sugar

   Place the granulated sugar in a mixing bowl. Using a microplane, grate the zest of the whole orange directly onto the sugar and rub the mixture between your fingers until fragrant.

   Time: PT2M

2. Cream butter with the sugar‑zest mixture

   Add the softened butter to the bowl and beat with a hand mixer for a few seconds until the mixture looks creamy and homogeneous.

   Time: PT1M

3. Incorporate flour and cornstarch

   Add the sifted all‑purpose flour and cornstarch. Stir with a spatula, then finish mixing by hand until a smooth dough ball forms.

   Time: PT3M

4. Fold in finely chopped cranberries

   Finely chop the dried cranberries with a large knife (pieces should be very small) and fold them into the dough until evenly distributed.

   Time: PT3M

5. Shape the dough

   Place the dough on a silicone mat, press it into a square, then roll/pat it to about 1 cm thickness. Trim to a rectangle roughly 22 cm × 14 cm.

   Time: PT5M

6. Chill the dough

   Transfer the shaped dough (still on the silicone mat) to the freezer and chill for 45 minutes until very firm.

   Time: PT45M

7. Rest and cut bars

   Remove the dough, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then using a sharp knife cut 11 bars about 2 cm wide. Cut gently to keep the cranberry pieces intact.

   Time: PT5M

8. Second chill before baking

   Arrange the bars on a perforated baking sheet lined with a silicone mat and return them to the freezer for another 20 minutes.

   Time: PT20M

9. Bake the shortbread bars

   Preheat the oven to 150 °C fan (convection). Bake the bars for a total of 20 minutes. After 13–14 minutes, remove the tray, reshape each bar gently with two large knives to restore the rectangle shape, then return to the oven for the remaining 7 minutes.

   Time: PT20M

   Temperature: 150°C

10. Cool completely

    Transfer the baked bars to a cooling rack and let them cool to room temperature before decorating.

    Time: PT30M

11. Prepare pink white‑chocolate glaze

    Melt the white chocolate in a saucepan over low heat (or in short bursts in the microwave). Add a drop of liposoluble pink food coloring and stir until evenly colored.

    Time: PT5M

12. Decorate the bars

    Fill a piping bag (no tip needed) with the pink chocolate and pipe gentle back‑and‑forth strokes across the top third of each bar. Use a small amount of plain white chocolate to add a second stripe color if desired, then sprinkle pink colored sugar over the top.

    Time: PT10M

13. Set the chocolate

    Place the decorated bars in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes until the chocolate hardens.

    Time: PT15M

14. Serve and store

    Enjoy the bars at room temperature. Store in an airtight box at room temperature for up to 10 days, or refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

    Time: PT0M

Nutrition Facts

Calories

359

Protein

3 g

Carbohydrates

45 g

Fat

20 g

Fiber

2 g