Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

we fell in love with cranberry orange shortbread cookies at first bite

These unique cranberry orange shortbread cookies are made with fresh tart cranberries and lots of orange zest, which gives them that wonderful holiday flavor combination we’ve come to love. They have a vivid cranberry flavor in a classic buttery shortbread base. They’ll brighten up any holiday assortment.

what you’ll need for cranberry orange shortbread cookies

• fresh cranberries ~ this is one case where I don’t recommend frozen because they will release too much moisture into the dough. Could you use dried cranberries? Yes, dried cranberries will work too.
• fresh orange zest ~ I actually used tangerine zest because I have a bowl of beauties on my counter, and tangerine has a distinctive citrus flavor that I love.
• butter ~unsalted
• sugar ~ granulated
• flour ~all purpose
• vanilla extract ~ if you prefer you could use almond extract, or both!

make cranberry orange cookies ahead

The good news: shortbread cookies freeze beautifully, and you can freeze them before or after baking.

to freeze before baking

• wrap the log of dough really well, I like to wrap in plastic, then in foil, and then put in a heavy duty zip log bag. When ready to bake, leave the log in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
• you can also pre-slice your cookies and freeze. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then remove to a heavy duty zip lock baggie. Force any air out before popping in the freezer.

to freeze baked cookies

• let them cool completely, then layer them, separated by sheets of parchment paper, in a sturdy freezer container and freeze.

tips for making fresh cranberry cookies

• I like to chop my cranberries in a small food processor, I just pulse to chop them finely. Some texture is fine, there will be a few bigger pieces. You can also use a sharp knife.
• Be sure to start with room temperature butter. Soft butter will incorporate into the flour to form a dough whereas cold butter won’t. This is especially important with shortbread dough that doesn’t include any extra liquid.
• Be sure to bring your dough together completely ~ you don’t want any dry flour or crumbly bits left. You can let the processor bring it together or you can do that final bit with your hands on a lightly floured surface. Shortbread dough does not contain egg or other liquid so it’s essential that you combine the soft butter and the flour completely to form the dough.
• Thicker sliced cookies will bake up softer, and thinner ones will crisp a bit. You can also control the texture by how long you bake the cookies. I suggest baking one or two first as a test. I like mine melt-in-my-mouth tender, but you might like your crispier.

yes ~ use dried cranberries too!

For those of you who can’t find fresh cranberries, you can use dried.

variation ideas for cranberry orange shortbread cookies

Add chopped walnuts or pecans to the dough.

Add white chocolate chips.

Bake the dough in a 9×9 square baking pan.

Dip half the cookies in melted white chocolate.

Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

4.93 from 303 votes

Cranberry orange shortbread cookies are an easy holiday slice and bake recipe with a burst of cranberry and citrus. Use fresh or dried cranberries!

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Prep Time:15 minutes minutes

Cook Time:12 minutes minutes

chilling:2 hours hours

Total Time:2 hours hours 27 minutes minutes

Servings: 18 cookies

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Equipment

• food processor (optional)
• waxed paper or plastic wrap for wrapping your log of dough

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• zest of one orange or tangerine (just the orange part, not the bitter white pith)
• 1 heaping cup fresh cranberries*
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

• Rough chop the cranberries and set aside.
  
• Cream the butter, sugar, and zest together until well combined. I do this in my food procesor.
  
• Add the flour and extract, and pulse about 10 times, then run the machine briefly, just until the dough comes together into a lump or lumps.
  
• Add the cranberries and pulse just until they are distributed, but don't process too much.
  
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and bring together with your hands. Work it just until it is no longer crumbly.
  
• Form the dough into a 10-12 inch log. The longer your log the smaller your cookies will be. Wrap the log in plastic, using the plastic to smooth out the dough and help form your log. Twist the ends tight to seal.
  
• Chill the dough for at least 3 hours, or overnight. I like to wrap up my log in a folded towel ~ this helps keep it round as it chills.
  
• Preheat the oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Slice the dough into 1/3 inch slices and place on the cookie sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or slightly longer if you like your cookies crisper. They will be pale on top and just turning golden on the bottom. Note: if your cookies are smaller or thinner than mine, they may take less time to cook.
  
• Let them cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets and then tranfer them to a cooling rack. Be careful, the cookies are soft and delicate when hot and will firm up as they cool.
  

Notes

*I don’t recommend using frozen cranberries, but you can use dried cranberries. Use 1/2-2/3 cup, and no need to chop them.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: baking, Christmas cookies, cookies, cranberries, fall, holiday cookies, shortbread, slice and bake, winter

Nutrition

Calories: 163 kcal · Carbohydrates: 16 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 10 g · Saturated Fat: 7 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 27 mg · Sodium: 90 mg · Potassium: 18 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 6 g · Vitamin A: 315 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 5 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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