Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies might just be the perfect little slice and bake cookies for the holidays, I’ll be making them right through to when I snag that last bag of fresh cranberries of the season (always a sad moment!)
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
Cranberry orange shortbread cookies are an easy holiday slice and bake recipe with a burst of cranberry and citrus. Use fresh or dried cranberries!
Servings: 18 cookies
Video
Equipment
- waxed paper or plastic wrap for wrapping your log of dough
Ingredients
- 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.
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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more shortbread cookies to try
- New Fallen Snow Cookies
- Maple Walnut Shortbread Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
- Chocolate Walnut Shortbread Cookies
- Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
New Fallen Snow Cookies
Sparkly vanilla shortbread cookies are a deliciously simple treat for the purists on your list!
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Maple Walnut Shortbread Cookies
Maple walnut shortbread cookies have 3 layers of maple flavor and a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture!
View this recipe
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are an easy to make slice and bake shortbread recipe with a melt in your mouth texture, a light peanut butter flavor, and plenty of chocolate chips!
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Chocolate Walnut Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Walnut Shortbread Cookies have deep chocolate flavor and a melt in your mouth texture!
View this recipe
Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Pistachio shortbread cookies are simple and festive ~ they're crisp and buttery with a touch of sparkle for the holidays and beyond!
View this recipe
great cookies thank you
These are great – easy, not to sweet, and fresh tasting when so many cookies, especially at Christmas, aim for sweet to the point of cloying. Roll top and sides in sugar before baking to add a lovely crust.
Just mixed up my dough and the taste I sneaked was so good! Quick question, how did you get the dough to remain its usual color? My dough turned pink when I added the cranberries, so I am just curious. I used a hand mixer because I don’t have a food processor, so I’m not sure if that’s the reason. Still super excited to see how they turn out!
I don’t blend the dough too much after the cranberries get chopped, so that helps. Another good idea would be to pre-chop the cranberries and just fold them into the dough. If you use frozen berries they bleed more than fresh. I find the pink color fades when the cookies bake, too.
That helps a lot, thank you for getting back to me so quickly! Happy holidays!
Hi There, I made this recipe and it failed. I would like to hear from you what you think may have happened. In step #3, the dough never formed lumps. So the processor ran a bit longer than the recipe calls for. Can you suggest why the dough never formed lumps? The result was a “wet” dough. I refrigerated and baked them for about 20 minutes. But they were not very tasty and never hardened as they seem to appear in your pictures.
Thanks,
Rita
The dough should have gotten crumbly in step 2, when you added the flour. If not, there was not enough flour or too much butter. Then you should pulse, not process, the berries and chocolete into the dough. It sounds like some kind of measurement issue Rita. Could you have gotten too much butter, or cranberries?
Can I add a egg so they are less crumbly?
I think that would make the dough too moist, but you could try. It would transform the cookie into more of a sugar cookie than a shortbread. You may need more flour as well.
Is there a way to use cookie cutters with this recipe? Will the dough stay together if rolled out after it’s been refrigerated?
Yes, you can roll this and cut out with cutters, as long as they’re just round, and not any intricate shape. After you bring the dough together form it into a disk and wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll.
I love the flavor but there is a “flour” texture to the cookie as opposed to a buttery one. Maybe they need to be cooked longer?
I do like my shortbread soft, but yes, try baking them a little longer, you’ll get a slightly different texture, and a more classic cookie ‘crunch’.
I see that you don’t recommend using frozen cranberries. However, I have about 5 bags of them and don’t want to buy more.Is there any way to use them successfully in this or your cranberry orange recipe? I love the idea of using fresh rather than dried cranberries. Thanks!
(Oops, I have saved both the white choc-cran and this recipe and didn[t check which one I was commenting on!)
In the case of cranberries you can probably thaw them without them getting mushy. The problem with using the frozen berries is that the cold tends to seize up the dough and make it harder to work with, but if you’re ok with that you can use the berries frozen. Or, thaw them first.
Thanks for the quick reply! I want to make them this weekend so now I will proceed. I might combine both recipes….!
I’m here if you have further questions as you’re making them 🙂
These were the best! Everyone who tasted them loved them and wanted the recipe. Added zest of 2 oranges and used salted butter because that’s all I had. Also, glazed with
confectionary sugar mixed with orange juice. So delicious!!
I’m so glad ~ I’m actually in the middle of working on a new variation of them…coming soon so keep your eyes peeled 🙂
Another great cookie for my Christmas freezer stash, and so pretty too! I got 28 cookies from this dough. A trick that I used to keep the dough round while it was chilling is to slit the cardboard tube from iside a roll of paper towels and place the plastic-wrapped roll of dough inside it. The top of the roll didn’t close completely, but i was able to shape it into a round and it stayed that way in my very crowded fridge. Thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks for the paper towel roll tip!