The absolute best cranberry orange cookies are a delicious cookie with bursts of orange flavor, and sweet cranberries. These delightful little treats are a wonderful party addition to make this holiday season.
There are many family traditions that we have over the winter. Baking a variety of Christmas cookies like sourdough thumbprint cookies, sourdough gingerbread cookies, and sourdough sugar cookies with the kids huddled around the kitchen island is one of them.
These orange cranberry cookies will be added to that list of goodies we make every year, they are absolutely wonderful. Sweet, tangy and simply delicious. This is the perfect cookie and a great recipe to use next time you are making a holiday cookie tray, or have a Christmas cookie exchange. It may even become your new favorite cookie to eat all year long!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Holiday traditions – There is something so special about that time of year when you get to re-make favorite recipes from last year and years before. This one is the perfect recipe to add to your collection!
Flavorful – The bright flavor combos of tangy orange and sweet cranberry work amazing together in this cookie recipe.
Easy – Made with simple ingredients, these fresh baked cookies take just a little bit of prep time and a quick chill in the fridge to make the best treat with little effort.
Ingredients
Orange Zest – Preferably use organic oranges when zesting, since the skin will be used. Orange zest adds such a lovely, fresh orange flavor. If you don’t have oranges you could substitute with lemon zest.
Vanilla – Want to make your own vanilla extract? Learn how to easily make vanilla at home here.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Cookies
Step 1: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Step 2: In a separate large bowl, combine both sugars and the orange zest. Mix until the zest is completely incorporated with the sugar.
Step 3: Add the melted butter to the orange sugar and beat using an electric mixer for about 30 seconds.
Step 4: Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat again until combined.
Step 5: Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients along with the dried cranberries. Beat again until the dough has formed. Do not over mix.
Step 6: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 7: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop about 2 heaping tablespoons of the dough per cookie and place onto the cookie sheet. Top each cookie with a few more cranberries if desired before baking.
Step 8: Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Tips for Cranberry Orange Cookies
- You could freeze a batch of dough to have on hand for unexpected guests.
- You can choose to snip the cranberries with kitchen scissors into 2-3 pieces just to achieve smaller bits of cranberries.
- These cookies are lovely for Christmas or Thanksgiving. They are easy enough for any day, but beautiful enough for a special occasion.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you could. Use about half the amount. They will also be much more tart than the dried, sweetened ones. Cutting the cranberries in half or chopping them will help to prevent them from popping while baking.
Cranberry orange is a classic fall and winter flavor commonly associated with Christmas. Cranberries and oranges are in season during the fall and winter months, which makes them both great candidates to work into seasonal dishes and baked goods.
Store these cranberry orange cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four or five days. Freeze up to three months.
More Cookie Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
- Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Rustic Granola Cookies
- Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
- The Best Lactation Cookies
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Cranberry Orange Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- Zest from 1 orange
- 1 cup salted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup dried cranberries, plus more to top
Instructions
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, combine both sugars and the orange zest. Mix until the zest is completely incorporated with the sugar.
- Add the melted butter to the orange sugar and beat using an electric mixer for about 30 seconds.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat again until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients along with the dried cranberries. Beat again until the dough has formed. Do not over mix.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop about 2 heaping tablespoons of the dough per cookie and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Top each cookie with a few more cranberries if desired before baking.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- You could freeze a batch of dough to have on hand for unexpected guests.
- You can choose to snip the cranberries with kitchen scissors into 2-3 pieces just to achieve smaller bits of cranberries.
- These cookies are lovely for Christmas or Thanksgiving. They are easy enough for any day, but beautiful enough for a special occasion.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made the original cranberry orange shortbread cookies that you had posted last year with the chopped almonds. I can’t find that recipe anymore. Would you please post it somewhere or email it directly to me? I was really looking forward to making them for everyone again this year for Christmas. Everyone loved them last year.
Could the Cranberry Orange cookie be converted to a sourdough recipe? I have a gluten sensitive household that eats lots of sourdough without issue.
YUMMY! Thank you for sharing. I love baking with dried cranberries. So tasty!
I just pulled these cookies out of the refrigerator to start baking them today when I noticed you updated the recipe. Will you be reposting the original recipe under a different name? Those cookies were really good. It would be a shame to lose that recipe.
Question: the description says almonds but the recipe calls for walnuts?
The cook time on the recipe sheet says 42 seconds. That’s an error, right? The time given in the blog writing says 10-12 minutes. I’m assuming the latter is the correct time. These sound absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to make them!
Uh oh! I will check that out. They will not bake in 42 seconds ha.
my dough came out very crumbly. I even tried adding more butter. Any experience with this?
It shouldn’t be crumbly!