These cranberry orange shortbread cookies have all the flavor of the holidays! A buttery shortbread cookie flavored with fresh orange zest and orange juice studded with tart dried cranberries. This simple holiday cookie recipe will become a family favorite!
Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature.
- Powdered sugar: Adds a subtle sweetness to the cookies.
- Salt: To enhance the flavor of the cookies.
- Orange zest: Fresh orange zest. Use a very fine hand grater or zester to zest the orange.
- Orange juice: Freshly squeezed. Be sure to zest the orange before juicing.
- All-purpose flour: Level your measuring cups!
- Dried cranberries: Dried cranberries add a tart and sweet flavor.
- Granulated sugar: Prevents the dried cranberries from sticking together when pulsing with a food processor.
Tools & Supplies for Making Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
How to Make Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
To make these cookies, I recommend using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Here is the basic breakdown of the steps:
- Cream together unsalted butter, powdered sugar, and salt.
- Add in orange zest and juice and mix to combine.
- Add in all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until the dough becomes crumbly.
- Combine dried cranberries and granulated sugar in a food processor. Pulse to break up the cranberries into small pieces.
- Add dried cranberries to the crumbly dough. Continue to mix on low until the dough forms.
- Place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Form the dough using your hands and the parchment paper into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Chill the dough log for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Slice the cookie dough log to create cookies about 1/2 inch thick. Place the cookie dough slices on the pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies Recipe Tips
Fresh orange juice and orange zest is best
For the best and brightest citrus flavor, be sure to use fresh orange juice and orange zest. Be sure to zest the orange with a zester or fine grater before you juice! And check for seeds in the juice! For this recipe, I used the zest of one orange which equaled about one tablespoon. You will need one tablespoon of fresh orange juice.
Pulse the dried cranberries
To create the perfect appearance and texture, pulse the cranberries in a food processor to create smaller pieces. Add the dried cranberries and one tablespoon of granulated sugar to a small food processor and pulse until the cranberries are broken up into small pieces. The granulated sugar helps break down the cranberries and prevents them from sticking together.
Forming the dough into a log
To form the dough into a log, I like to use a sheet of parchment paper to assist. Place the cookie dough on the center of a parchment sheet and form the dough into a log shape. Fold the parchment paper over the dough to assist in creating the log shape. I also love using a spatula to help press the dough into a log shape. After the dough log is formed, wrap the dough in parchment paper and plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Cookie sizes
For the cookies pictured, I shaped the cookie dough into a log that was about two inches in diameter. I sliced the cookies approximately 1/2 inch thick. Feel free to make the diameter of the cookies smaller or slice the cookies thinner. Just be aware that the yield of the recipe will be different than what is stated and the bake times will vary. The smaller or thinner the cookies, the less time baking. The cookies are done baking when they are very slightly golden-brown around the edges.
Make the cookie dough ahead of time
I love making cookie dough ahead of time, especially around the busy holidays. Make the cookie dough, form it into a log, wrap in parchment paper and plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for a week or two. When you are ready to bake, simply slice the dough and bake as directed. You can also store the dough log in the freezer for up to one month. To slice and bake the cookies, you will want the dough log to thaw slightly so that it remains cold but sliceable.
Storing
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days!
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Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
- Food processor
- Baking sheet pans
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp orange juice fresh squeezed
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream together unsalted butter, powdered sugar, and salt on medium speed until smooth.
- Add in orange zest and juice and mix to combine.
- Add in all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until the dough becomes crumbly.
- Combine dried cranberries and granulated sugar in a food processor. Pulse to break up the cranberries into small pieces.
- Add the dried cranberries to the crumbly dough. Continue to mix on low speed until the dough forms.
- Place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Form the dough using your hands and the parchment paper into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Chill the dough log for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Slice the cookie dough log into ½ inch pieces. Place the cookies on the pan allowing some room for spreading. Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes until the edges are a slight golden-brown color.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
Very good! I love cranberry and orange. However, I miss the rich, buttery taste of shortbread in this recipe.
Yes, the cranberry and orange are the stars of the show in this recipe. It sounds like you may be more interested in a plain butter shortbread cookie! 🙂