As Christmas approaches I notice my days getting increasingly hectic. Get up, throw in a load of laundry, drink coffee, clean up house a little bit, shower, cookies, wrapping, more laundry, dinner, shopping, etc. until bed only to get up at the same time the next morning to do it all again. I’m sure that I am not the only person noticing this trend. Today I just didn’t have it in me. But I know there had to be a cookie. I have some great cookies in the queue for next week, but with Christmas shopping all day today I needed a quick cookie. Cranberry orange slice and bakes are subtly sweet shortbread cookies with just a hint of orange flavor but packed with bits of dried cranberries.

Cranberry orange slice and bakes cookies are great if you work. Set your butter out in the morning, make the dough before you start dinner, make and eat dinner while the dough is being chilled, slice and bake. These cookies are a great addition to the holiday cookie plate especially if you and your family do not go for the super sweet.

Cranberry Orange Slice and Bakes (about 4 1/2 dozen)

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• zest of 2 oranges, finely grated
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the zest and extract, mixing until evenly incorporated. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients (except the cranberries) in one addition and stir until a stiff dough forms. Fold in the cranberries.

Separate the dough in thirds. Form each section into a 1 1/2 inch log, wrap in wax paper and put in the freezer. Freeze the dough for at least an hour. If you aren’t going to have time to bake the cookies the day you make the dough you can refrigerate the dough overnight instead of freezing it. You can also freeze it for longer term storage, just move it to the fridge the night before you plan to bake.

When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap the logs of dough and slice into 1/4 inch thick rounds with a lightly floured knife. Place cookies about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet (they don’t spread so they don’t need a lot of spacing). Bake for 6-8 minutes rotating once. The cookies will appear dry when they are done baking. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and move them to a wire rack until they cool completely.