This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Made with dried cranberries and orange zest, these Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies are lightly tart and sweet with bright orange flavor. Drizzle or dip in melted white chocolate for a beautiful and festive holiday cookie.
Cranberry Orange For The Win!
These two flavors aren’t always what first comes to mind for the holiday. Eggnog, gingerbread, peppermint – those are the more common ones. But every time I make something with orange flavor, I’m reminded of just how bright and tasty it is. And when you add cranberry, it’s instantly holiday ready. The flavor of these shortbread cookies is truly wonderful. And let’s be honest, there are so many of the same cookies at Christmas, why not add in the unexpected? These truly will be a HUGE hit!
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Orange Shortbread Recipe
- Perfect flavor combination. These cookies are so yummy! The combination of the lightly tart and sweet cranberries with the pop of the bright, refreshing orange is hard to resist. I’m totally in love with it right now. It’s such an awesome flavor combination and so light.
- Topped with white chocolate. I like to drizzle melted white chocolate over the top of my cranberry orange shortbread, though this is an optional step. I think it really adds to the overall flavor and balances out the tart and citrusy flavors. Plus, it’s pretty!
- Great for the holidays. The combination of cranberry and orange makes this shortbread recipe great for the winter season and especially for the holidays. I think these are a nice change from many of the super sweet classic Christmas cookie recipes.
If you love this recipe, be sure to check out my classic shortbread and peppermint chocolate shortbread recipes too!
What You’ll Need
These cookies require just 7 ingredients plus white chocolate and sugar for the optional decorating. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Unsalted butter – If you use salted butter, you’ll want to omit the extra salt in the recipe. The butter needs to be at room temperature so that it combines properly.
- Powdered sugar – Sweetens the cookies and helps create the perfect texture.
- Vanilla extract
- Orange zest – Orange zest adds the orange flavor to the cookies. Orange juice would thin out the cookie dough too much.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure the flour correctly as adding too much can lead to overly dry cookies.
- Salt – Helps to balance and enhance the other flavors.
- Cranberries – You will want to use dried cranberries, not fresh.
- Turbinado sugar – Optional but I like to use it to decorate these cookies.
- White chocolate – I used Ghirardelli vanilla melting wafers, but a white chocolate baking bar or something like almond bark would also work.
Here’s an overview of how to make these irresistible cookies. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the printable instructions.
- Begin the dough. Beat the butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Mix in the vanilla and the orange zest.
- Finish the cookie dough. Add the flour and salt, then mix until the dough is well combined. Gently stir in the dried cranberries.
- Chill. Shape the dough into a log. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 3 days.
- Slice and bake. Slice the log into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices. If desired, roll the edges in the turbinado sugar. Place on the baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 8-11 minutes.
- Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3-5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Decorate. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15-30 second intervals, until melted and smooth. Transfer the chocolate to a piping bag with a small round tip (or use a Ziplock bag with the corner sniped off) to drizzle on the cookies. You can also dip each cookie halfway into the melted chocolate. Only melt as much as you need – if you’re just drizzling the cookies, you’ll need less. Sprinkle with more turbinado sugar to finish.
- Cool. Place the decorated cookies on a sheet of parchment paper to allow the chocolate to set fully.
Tips for Success
- Measure the ingredients carefully. There are only a few ingredients in this recipe and the exact amount of each one does have an impact on the final cookie. Too much or too little flour, sugar, or butter can result in too dry cookies or cookies that spread too much in the oven. I highly recommend a food scale.
- Don’t over mix. Once you add the dry ingredients to the recipe, mix just until everything is thoroughly combined. Too much mixing can give you tough cookies.
- Measure before slicing. You may get more or less cookies, depending on the width of the log and how thick you cut them. I cut mine to about 1/2 inch thick and I think somewhere between 3/8 inch and 1/2 inch is the sweet spot. If there’s a particular number of cookies you want, measure out the thickness of the cookies on the side of the log and mark where to cut the dough prior to cutting them all so that you make sure you have that number.
- Avoid over baking. The exact bake time for these cranberry orange shortbread cookies will vary based on the thickness of the cookies and your oven. Thinner cookies will not need to bake as long. They should be no longer glossy on the top but not yet browning around the edges when you remove them from the oven.
- Decorate as desired. I did a combination of rolling some of the cookies in turbinado sugar and drizzling some with white chocolate. You could do neither, you could do them all one way, or do some of each.
Proper Storage
- Room temperature. Once the chocolate has hardened, these cranberry orange shortbread cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They are best enjoyed within 4-5 days.
- Freezer. They can also be frozen. Flash freeze them on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or Ziploc. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before enjoying.
More Shortbread Recipes
- Shortbread Cookies
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies
- Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Raspberry Orange Shortbread Bars
- Carrot Cake Shortbread Bars
Recipe
Cranberry Orange Shortbread
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 8 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with dried cranberries and orange zest, these Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies are lightly tart and sweet with a bright citrus flavor. Drizzle or dip in melted white chocolate for a beautiful and festive holiday cookie.
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (58g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 1/2 cups (195g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (80g) dried cranberries, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar, for decorating, optional
- 2–8 ounces white chocolate, for decorating, optional
Instructions
- Beat the butter and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is well combined and smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and orange zest and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is just well combined. Don’t over mix.
- Gently stir the dried cranberries into the cookie dough.
- Turn the cookie dough out onto the counter or a piece of parchment paper. Shape the dough into a log and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, until firm, or until you’re ready to bake. The cookie dough can be refrigerated for 2-3 days prior to baking.
- When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Cut each log into about ¼ to ½ inch thick slices, depending on how thick you want them to be. Keep in mind that the thicker you make them, the less cookies you’ll get. If there’s a certain number of cookies you want, use a ruler to measure them out and mark the side of the log with the correct number before you slice them. You should be able to get roughly 18-20 cookies.
- If you’d like to add the sugar, place it on a rimmed plate and roll the edges of the individual slices in the sprinkles.
- Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 8-11 minutes. The time will vary based on how thick you cut the cookies and your oven. Thinner cookies won’t need to bake as long. You want to bake them until they are no longer glossy on top and before they start to brown around the edges.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for about 3-5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- If you are using the white chocolate, melt the chocolate in the microwave for 15-30 seconds at a time, mixing after each interval, until melted and smooth. Melt the smaller amount of chocolate if just drizzling it, melt the larger amount if you want to dip them half way into the chocolate instead of drizzling.
- You can add the white chocolate to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (like Wilton 3 or 4) and drizzle it onto the cookies like I did, or you can dip each cookie halfway into the melted chocolate. After drizzling or dipping, sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Place the cookies onto a sheet of parchment and allow the chocolate to set.
- Store cookies in an air-tight container. Cookies are best if eaten with 4-5 days.
Notes
- Storing. Once the chocolate has hardened, these cranberry orange shortbread cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They are best enjoyed within 4-5 days.
- Freezing. They can also be frozen. Flash freeze them on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or Ziploc. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before enjoying.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 166
- Sugar: 13.4 g
- Sodium: 38.1 mg
- Fat: 8.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.1 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 17.1 mg
