Orange Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

A girl after my Scottish grandpa's heart, I firmly believe shortbread is the most under-appreciated holiday cookie. Yes, peanut butter blossoms and snowman-shaped sugar cookies are fun, but shortbread is just plain delicious.

Another great thing about shortbread cookies is their simplicity. To make good shortbread, all you really need is butter, sugar, salt and flour. Although shortbread is perfect on its own, I wanted to kick it up a notch in this recipe. The additions of almond extract, hazelnuts and orange are super easy and make these cookies delightfully holiday.

These cookies are super flavorful, only need 7 ingredients and look adorable. They truly deserve a place on your holiday platter. Feel free to double or triple the recipe as needed!

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

Let me know what you think of the recipe and don't forget to follow the sustainability tips below!

Time: 30 minutes

Makes: about 24 cookies

Ingredients

For the Cookies

  • 8 oz (1 cup, 2 sticks) butter

  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

  • zest of 1 orange (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)

    • Note: you can use the orange’s juice for the glaze recipe below

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

For the glaze

  • 1 cup powder sugar

  • Juice from 1/2 an orange (about 2 tablespoons)

For the Garnish (optional)

  • About 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

  • Extra orange zest

methods

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. If your nuts did not come pre-roasted and chopped, toss them on a sheet pan and roast them for about 5-10 minutes. Then, roughly chop the them (with a knife or using a food processor). Set aside.

  2. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter until light and fluffy. Then, add in the sugar, salt, almond extract and orange zest and mix again until fully combined. Continue mixing on low while you add the flour a little at a time. Add the chopped hazelnuts and mix until just combined.

  3. Transfer the dough to a flat surface and roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. Then, use a cookie cutter about 2 inches by 2 inches to cut out cookies. Re-roll and cut the scraps. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 18-22 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown.

  4. For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice. Then, drizzle or spread it over the cooled cookies. Optionally, you can combine granulated sugar with any extra orange zest and sprinkle it over the cookies as a garnish. Eat up!

Sustainability tips

  • Butter: Since cows contribute a lot to climate change, I like to buy my dairy products from B Corps, which are held to really high environmental and social standards. You could also try out vegan options, but please keep in mind that I have not tested vegan butter in this recipe.

  • Powdered Sugar: Buy sugar that's fair trade if you can find it. Read all about it in my sustainable sugars post!

  • Orange: Make sure your orange is in season when you make this! For naval, winter is perf. Also try to go for as local as possible to cut back on GHGs even more.

  • Flour: I like to buy King Arthur Flour brand because King Arthur Flour is a B Corp. That means that they're held to a high environmental and social standard. Alternatively, you could find a farmer who grows and mills flour locally. Buying locally can help connect you to your local food system and cut back on the miles your food has to travel.

  • Hazelnuts: I went with hazelnuts in this recipe because it’s easy to find fairly locally and sustainably grown hazelnuts in my area. If you live on the West coast, you might want to opt for almonds. If you live in the South, local pecans might be more up your alley. Go for local or organic, and you'll be in good shape. Read more in my sustainable nuts post!