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These Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies are perfect for the holiday season. Tangy cranberries and zesty oranges come together in a butter shortbread cookie that’s so easy to make!
Cranberry and orange are two festive ingredients that are just made for each other. This is such a simple shortbread recipe, perfect for a busy holiday season. These buttery rounds of loveliness make for a delicious snack or a beautiful gift.
Looking for more cookie recipes? Why not also try my Maamoul Cookies with Pistachio and my Santa’s M&M Cookies!
Why these Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookes are so good!
- A super festive cookie. Orange and cranberry are made for the holiday season and perfect in these cookies.
- Buttery shortbread. These cookies are crumbly, buttery and melt in the mouth delicious!
- An easy shortbread recipe. Made with a handful of ingredients, these slice and bake cookies come together so easily!
Ingredients you’ll need
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- AP Flour
- Salt
- Dried Cranberries
- Orange Zest
How to make these Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
- Make your cookie dough: Mix your dry ingredients in one bowl and your wet in another. Then mix wet and dry together. Add in the cranberries and mix well.
- Chill the dough: Form a 2 inch thick log, wrap in parchment and chill in the fridge overnight.
- Bake: Cut the log into 1/4 inch thick slices, place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins.
- Allow to cool, garnish and enjoy!
Recipe notes and tips
- Make sure to use a preheated oven.
- Use room temperature ingredients.
- I used vanilla extract but you can also use almond extract.
- Garnish with extra orange zest and coarse sea salt.
- Allow to cool before serving.
FAQ’s
Can you make these Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies in advance?
Theses cookies are slice and bake cookies, so they’re perfect for making in ahead of time! Great for a hectic holiday season. Once the dough is mixed and rolled into a log, you can chill in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you’re ready for cookies, just slice and bake!
Can you freeze these shortbread cookies after cooking?
You can freeze these before or after cooking. If you want to freeze after cooking, place them in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
How thick should slice and bake cookies be?
I cut these Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies 1/4 inch thick. Thicker sliced cookies will bake up softer while thinner ones will be more crisp.
You can also control the texture by how long you bake the cookies. you can test bake a couple to see what time works for you. Some might like melt-in-my-mouth tender, some more crisp. The best thing is you can have both!
Other cookie recipes
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookie recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!
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Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsps. vanilla extract
- 2 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
- Zest from 1 large orange
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together salt and all-purpose flour. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine butter, sugar, vanilla, orange zest.
- With the paddle attachment beat on med high for about 5-7 minutes.
- On low speed add flour/salt in two-three additions.
- Stir in cranberries. Give one more final mix to incorporate.
- Once everything incorporated transfer the dough onto parchment paper.
- Using your hands form a log about 2” thick.
- Wrap the log into parchment paper and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Dough will firm up.
- With a sharp knife cut the cold dough log into slices. About ¼ “thick.
- Spacing at least 1” apart place cookies onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes or until golden in color.
- Let cool.
- Store in an airtight container for about a week.
- To add garnishing, I sprinkle with some extra orange zest and/or coarse sea salt.
Notes
- Make sure to use a preheated oven.
- Use room temperature ingredients.
- I used vanilla extract but you can also use almond extract.
- Garnish with extra orange zest and coarse sea salt.
- Allow to cool before serving.
Hi, does the dough freeze well? Thank you!
I have never frozen this recipe but it should freeze like any other cookie recipe since it doesn’t have any fresh fruits in it.
I made 2 mistakes. First, I don’t own a standup planetary mixer and secondly, I added almonds.
So, note to self, do not sway from the recipe. Truly a shame because the dough was beautifully fragrant!
🙁
I just pre-made the cookie “log” for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I may have tested the cookie dough and it is divine! It also smells delicious and is perfect for the holidays. Thank you!
Hi Brooke,
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for leaving a review.
Hi, I’m wanting to make these cookies but would like to use fresh cranberries! Do you think that would be okay or it would affect baking time with the extra moisture? Thanks for your help!
Lauren
Hi Lauren,
this recipe would not do well with fresh cranberries. Unlike cakes, the cookie dough wont handle all the juice from the cranberries.