Cookie of the Day: Candied Blood Orange Shortbread Cookie

They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, Yahoo Food’s very own Photo Editor Samantha Bolton shares her recipe for citrus-laced cookies from her blog North Dixie Kitchen.

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Candied Blood Orange Shortbread Cookie. (Photo: Samantha Bolton)

Candied Blood Orange Shortbread Cookie
Makes 16 cookies

Y’all!!!! It’s my favorite time of the year. Yes, you know the one! It’s cookie month and citrus season! When faced with the hard choice of baking cookies or concocting something with citrus, I did the natural thing: both at the same time. Obviously, the perfect combination of everything in December is a candied blood orange shortbread cookie. It’ll knock Santa right off of his sled. (In a good way!)

For the candied blood orange slices:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
16 slices of blood orange

2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
4 star anise
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
2 vanilla beans
¼ cup sugar
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick of cold unsalted butter, cubed

Make the candied blood orange slices: Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil until sugar has dissolved. Add in blood orange slices. Simmer for 40 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, remove blood oranges and let cool on a drying rack with a piece of parchment or paper towel underneath it.

Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a food processor, toss cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom, and ground ginger. Scrape insides of vanilla beans and add to food processor; discard pods. Pulse ingredients until mixture reaches a fine consistency.

In a large bowl, whisk sugar, flour, spices, and salt. Add in butter. Mix until dough resembles a course meal-like consistency. Gather dough and roll into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Roll out dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Using a cup or mason jar top, cut circle shapes into your dough. Shapes should be around the same size as your blood orange slices. The cookies will expand a bit, so if your circles are slightly smaller than one or two slices, no fears!

Place the dough circles on the cookie sheets, leaving at least half an inch between each cookie. Top each with an orange slice. Bake cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the outsides have turned a golden brown. Remove and let cool on a drying rack.

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