Blueberry, Lemon, White Chocolate Shortbread

Here in Israel, fresh blueberries are basically never available. You can find extremely expensive frozen ones, or, if you know where to look, slightly less expensive dried ones. Since I don't want to miss out on delicious blueberry flavor simply because I live here, I used the dried ones in these sweet, buttery shortbread cookies.

The blueberries mesh nicely with the lemon and white chocolate flavors and you'll be reaching for them over and over again. Dried blueberries can be found in most well-stocked grocery stores or specialty candy/dried fruit and nut shops. Zest from other citrus fruits besides lemon would also work nicely in these cookies – experiment!

Recipe:

3/4 cup dried blueberries
2 large lemons
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Place the blueberries in a bowl, an pour boiling water over them just to cover. Set aside.
Zest the lemons in to the sugar and mix together until all moistened. Let sit for five minutes
Beat together the lemon sugar and the butter until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla an salt and beat to combine.
Mix in the flour until just combined, then drain and add the blueberries and chocolate and stir until evenly incorporated.
Divide the dough in half, and using either plastic wrap or parchment paper roll the dough into a log about 9 inches long. Repeat with the other half. Wrap tightly and chill in the fridge at least 3 hours or overnight.
Unwrap one log at a time and using a sharp knife gently slice the logs into cookies about 1/3" thick. You may have to press a few cookies back together if they crumble, but they'll be no worse for wear once baked.
Space the cookies about 1/2" apart on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 18 to 20 minutes until just starting to brown around the edges.
Cool on the baking sheets for three minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.