Cranberry Orange Cookies
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These Cranberry Orange Cookies are the perfect Christmas cookie! Chewy cookies chock full of fresh cranberries and zesty orange, topped with a brightly flavored, homemade orange glaze.
The Best Cranberry Orange Cookies Recipe
Christmas was made for cookies, and I was made to bake them! This was a new cookie I had never made before, so I wasn’t sure how they would turn out. But with fresh cranberries and zesty orange, I knew the flavor combination would work. Add in the homemade glaze and boy do we ever have a winner. These cranberry orange cookies will definitely be added into my holiday cookie rotation, I can tell you that.
Are these cookies delicious? Yes. Are they freezable? Yes. Are they perfect for the Holidays? Also yes. There are so many reasons why these cranberry orange cookies work, I could go on about them until next Christmas! And that glaze? Wow! If you’re looking for a chewy cookie with bright, fresh flavors, you’ve come to the right place.
Why You’ll Love these Cranberry Orange Cookies
- Delicious Cranberry Orange! Aromatic orange and tart cranberries are a classic flavor combination that brightens up these buttery chewy cookies.
- Quick and Easy! This is an easy drop cookie recipe that you can whip together in under 30 minutes! You don’t need any special skills or fancy ingredients.
- Holiday Ready! Made with fresh cranberries and orange, these cookies are bursting with Christmas flavor. They make a wonderful holiday gift or addition to the dessert table.
Cookies
- Butter – I used unsalted to control the sodium, just make sure it’s at room temperature!
- Flour – All purpose works best.
- Sugar – Regular granulated sugar does the trick.
- Egg – I always use large eggs when I’m baking. This is going to help bind all of our ingredients together.
- Cranberries – I used chopped, frozen cranberries, but dried will work. See “FAQs & Expert Tips” for more info.
- Orange – You’ll want fresh oranges because we are going to be using both the orange zest and orange juice. Fresh is always best!
- Vanilla Extract – Without vanilla our cookies will taste a little flat.
- Baking Soda – This is going to act as our leavener.
- Salt – Salt is important to balance the flavors of our cookies, don’t skip it!
Glaze
- Icing Sugar – This is the same as confectioners sugar. This is going to give us a nice sweet flavor and smooth texture to the glaze.
- Orange Juice – Freshly squeezed.
This recipe is super simple! I use a stand mixer to keep it simple, but you can make the dough by hand if you like. It’s really easy either way. Once the dough is made you just form it into balls, place them onto a baking sheet, and pop it into the oven.
Before you begin making the orange cranberry cookies, preheat your oven temperature to 375°F (190°C). It’s important that the oven is hot enough when the cookies go in to bake. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. However, if you don’t have any parchment paper on hand you can also spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease it with oil.
Next, let’s start the cookie dough! First, add the butter and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer. Then cream them together with the paddle attachment on medium speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Next, add the egg, orange zest, vanilla, and orange juice to the bowl. Now, mix everything together for 1 more minute or until it’s well combined. You will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time with a rubber spatula during this whole process of mixing the wet ingredients together. Also, using a microplane as a zester for the orange will save you loads of time.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix everything together on low speed just until combined. Now, stir in the cranberries trying your best evenly distribute them throughout the dough without over-mixing.
With the dough made, it’s time to form the cookies and place them about 2 inches apart from each other on the prepared baking sheet. I use a medium size cookie scoop to form my cookie balls and find that it is the easiest way to do this step. You can also take 2 tbsp size spoonfuls of dough and form it into balls.
To bake, put the formed cookies into the preheated oven and bake them for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown and the bottoms are done. It’s important not to overbake the cookies, so check them at 9 minutes and go from there. In cookie baking an extra minute more or less can make a big difference in the outcome.
Remove the baked cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. This gives them time to set and prevents them from falling apart. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Once the cranberry orange cookies are completely cool, you can make the yummy glaze. Just whisk the powdered sugar and orange juice together in a medium bowl until smooth. Next, use a teaspoon to drizzle the glaze over the cookies. Then give the glaze a few minutes to set before serving the cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Have To Use Fresh Cranberries?
Fresh or frozen cranberries are usually in abundance at the grocery store around the holidays, but if you can’t seem to find them or just don’t have the time to make it there, you’ve got options. Dried cranberries or “craisins” can be used, but keep in mind the cookies will not have the same flavor and texture. I prefer the fresh or frozen cranberries because of the burst of flavor they give when you bite into the cookie, it’s the best!
What Else Can I Use In My Cookies?
In my opinion, these cookies are perfect just as they are, but if you have some ingredients you’re itching to toss in, I won’t stop you! Here’s some tasty recommendations: Any other dried fruit, nuts such as walnuts, pecans, pistachios, almonds or macadamia, or throw in some chocolate!
Expert Tips
- If you want to skip the glaze, be my guest! I like the sweetness it adds to the cookie. It really compliments the flavors.
- Fresh or frozen cranberries and fresh oranges are a must in my opinion!
- Do not ever grease your cookie sheets. I always line them with parchment paper or a silpat and this way there’s no cleaning required afterwards.
- Make sure you DO NOT over bake your cookies. Keep in mind that they will continue to bake once you take them out of the oven.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to form your cookies perfectly.
Storing
Store leftovers cookies in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to a week. If you have any leftover glaze, it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week as well.
Freezing
Yes these can be frozen, but the question is.. will you have any left to freeze? To freeze them, store them in an airtight container for up to a month.
More Great Recipes To Try
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Cranberry Orange Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter (unsalted, at room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon orange juice (freshly squeezed)
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh cranberries (or frozen, chopped)
Glaze
- 1 cups icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon orange juice (freshly squeezed)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter and sugar and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg, orange zest, vanilla and orange juice and mix for 1 more minute until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add the flour, baking soda and salt to the mixer and mix on low until just combined. Fold in the chopped cranberries.
- Form Cookies: Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out cookie balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake: Transfer the baking sheet to the preheated oven and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are slightly golden. Do not over-bake.
- Cool: Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Make Glaze & Set: Whisk together the icing sugar and orange juice in a medium size bowl. Using a teaspoon, drizzle glaze over each cookie. Allow the glaze to set before serving.
Notes
- If you want to skip the glaze, be my guest! I like the sweetness it adds to the cookie. It really compliments the flavors.
- Fresh or frozen cranberries and fresh oranges are a must in my opinion!
- Do not ever grease your cookie sheets. I always line them with parchment paper or a silpat and this way there’s no cleaning required afterwards.
- Make sure you DO NOT over bake your cookies. Keep in mind that they will continue to bake once you take them out of the oven.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to form your cookies perfectly.
- Store leftovers cookies in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to a week. If you have any leftover glaze, it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week as well.
- To freeze them, store them in an airtight container for up to a month.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
The next batch I’m going to try adding white chocolate chips
These are so tasty. I did not frost and they were not too sweet. Many compliments from family and friends. Gave away as part of Christmas gift, along with the recipe, since I knew others would want to make these also.
The taste of these cookies are amazing BUT I don’t know what I did wrong, they ended up flat ?? I tried to chill the dough thought that would help BUT still flat.
Usually that’s due to the butter being either too soft or melted.
Thank U for the quick response – I’ll give it another try, because the taste was amazing.
Made these in my convection microwave and had to bake them a couple minutes more and they are delicious!
Thank you . I made this cookies. They are so good.
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Delicious and such a lovely Christmas cookie! My husband suggested I add them to my Christmas baking list 😊
Just made these as part of my Christmas baking…they are delicious! The fresh orange juice and cranberries give these cookies that extra punch!