Finished dish photo of The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies}

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies}

Butter cookies are a favorite for many people, and I’m no exception, especially when cranberries are added—the color is particularly beautiful. Butter cookies are sweet to begin with, and when you add a little tartness from the cranberries, the flavors balance perfectly. After one cookie, you’ll definitely want a second. Lately, this recipe has been going crazy on Taobao and among many sellers on Weibo. I think the basic recipes are all similar; it mainly comes down to temperature control and choice of ingredients. So this time I used the most standard ingredients to make these cookies—turned out great and highly recommended.

Ingredients

Anchor unsalted butter75g
Cake flour (low-gluten flour)115g
Icing sugar60g
Egg15g
Cranberries35g

Steps

1

Melt the butter and add the icing sugar. (Just to clarify, I didn’t use specialized baking icing sugar; I ground regular white sugar into powdered sugar, so it’s a lot sweeter. The original recipe calls for 60g, but I reduced it to 35g. For those who don’t want to buy icing sugar, please note this.)

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies} - Step 1
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2

Beat until the color lightens and the volume increases.

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies} - Step 2
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3

Add the beaten egg in two additions, whipping until fully absorbed each time, then add the cranberries.

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies} - Step 3
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4

Sift in the cake flour.

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies} - Step 4
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5

Mix until evenly combined.

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies} - Step 5
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6

Shape the dough in plastic wrap into whatever shape you like, then freeze in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies} - Step 6
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7

Take it out and slice into pieces about 5 cm thick.

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies} - Step 7
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8

Preheat the oven to 160°C, bake on the middle rack for about 15 minutes, and take them out once the edges are slightly golden.

The Viral Taobao Hit: {Cranberry Butter Cookies} - Step 8
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Cooking Tips

P.S.: The first few times I made cookies and Marguerite cookies, I always felt the dough was too dry. Why? I couldn’t figure it out until yesterday it suddenly dawned on me: in winter the butter solidifies easily, and it’s always such a struggle to beat it. Revised method: each time, soften the butter over a water bath, and when about one-third still remains solid, start whipping. This way, when you add the flour, the dough will be much better. If your home is cold and the dough is still a bit dry after adding the flour, warm the mixture again over a warm water bath. That will definitely solve the problem. It seems that a lot of times, you really need guidance from baking experts to get every step just right.