Cranberry Rosemary Pine Nut Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

• --1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature {I used Kerrygold Unsalted Butter}
• --1 cup granulated sugar {I used Vanilla Sugar}
• --Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
• --1 large egg
• --2 cups all purpose flour
• --6 ounces (about 1 cup) dried sweetened cranberries {I used 2 3-ounce bags Melissa's Produce Sweetened Dried Cranberries}
• --2/3 cup pine nuts, toasted* {I used 1 3-ounce bag Melissa's Produce Pine Nuts}
• --1 tablespoon finely minced fresh rosemary
• --1/4 cup sugar crystals (like sprinkles, only large crystals of sugar)
• Garnish: Use fresh sprigs of rosemary for garnish and platter decoration

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with foil; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, 1 cup sugar and salt on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth and fluffy. Beat in egg until blended. Add flour and mix on medium until combined. Fold in cranberries, pine nuts and rosemary, by hand (if you use the electric mixer you'll crush the nuts).
3. Press dough evenly into prepared pan -- a small offset spatula is useful for this -- and sprinkle top with sugar crystals. Bake for 30 minutes, until edges and top of bars are light brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
4. Grab foil to remove block of cookies from the pan, and peel foil down. Cut into about 60 small squares. Decorate platter with fresh sprigs of rosemary, because we're all fancy like that.
5. Makes 60 cookies.

Notes