Goat cheese cranberry shortbread appetizers

This recipe is from the Star Tribune Taste section, a submission for the annual cookie contest several years ago from Jennifer Pettit of Coon Rapids. The judges didn’t deem it a cookie, and I concur, but they did deem it tasty, and I heartily concur. It makes a great appetizer with just a bit of sweetness to go with the savory. Plus it’s a different touch of color for the appetizer table, and the only salt comes from the cheese, so it’s a palate break.

Goat cheese and cranberry shortbread

Ingredients

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves

½ cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature

11 ounces of goat cheese, at room temperature (remove from the package while it’s still a log and soften in the same mixing bowl with the butter and you’ll be happier than if you try to get all the softened goat cheese out of the package)

½ teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup powdered sugar

½ cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9- by 9-inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and rosemary in a bowl. Set aside. In large mixing bowl combine butter, goat cheese and vanilla; blend until creamy. (I used a handheld mixer.) Add powdered sugar, flour and cranberries. (I used a mixer for the initial combining at this stage.) Then with your hands, knead until dough is combined and comes together.

Pat dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes, depending on your oven and whether you’re using a non-stick pan. The recipe called for a minimum of 20, but I checked it as soon as I could smell it, and that turned out to be about 18 minutes. You don’t want to dry these out by over-baking them. Definitely get them out of there if you see browning around the edges; you're not looking to brown these.

Cool on wire rack. Cut into desired shape and size. The recipe claims it makes 3 dozen, but those are some pretty bite-size pieces. If you’re doing small bites for a party, that’s probably about right. But if you’re assembling a packet for a gift basket, I’d cut them into 24 pieces; 10 or so of these in a small bag makes a nice tuck-in to any basket.

Make ahead: This doesn’t have to be served warm so you can make it earlier in the day or even the day before. Like most shortbread, this freezes well. Just wrap in waxed paper or freezer paper if you can find it and store in a sealed container. Thaw at room temperature.