These Cranberry Shortbread Cookies have a combination of fresh orange zest and fresh tart cranberries for the perfect holiday cookie combo.
You can easily make these into vegan shortbread cookies by using vegan butter! We have and do use only vegan butter. They’re full of flavor and perfect for the holidays! They are loaded with dried cranberries and pecan nuts. A bit of orange zest that brings all the flavors together. Add them to your Christmas cookie routine and you’ll be happy you did!
Ingredients and notes
- Unsalted Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Orange Zest
- All Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Dried Cranberries
- Pecans
Step-by-step instructions
For the full ingredient amount and full instructions on how to make cranberry orange shortbread cookies see the recipe card below.
Cream together the butter until it’s soft. Add in the powdered sugar and brown sugar and then mix until creamy. Then you’ll add in the vanilla extract and combine once more.
In a separate bowl, you’ll combine the dry ingredients; flour, orange zest, and salt.
Then you’ll combine the wet and dry mixture and then fold in the dried cranberries and chopped pecans, and stir to combine.
Now you’ll need to refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can wrap it in some plastic wrap and shape it into a log.
Once the dough has chilled you can cut it into cookie slices and bake in a preheated oven.
Recipe Tips and Alterations:
- For extra fun and flavor, you can drizzle them with some white chocolate.
- Baking time depends on the thickness of the cookies so if they’re thicker they’ll need more time, you can check on them after 8 minutes.
- Can’t eat nuts? Simply leave them out.
Storage and reheating tips:
- Room temperature: Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.
- Freeze: You can freeze before or after baking. We prefer to slice before baking and flash freeze on parchment paper to prevent sticking and then placing into a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
How to serve:
We love serving them with a hot cup of tea or coffee. They’re also great with a cup of white hot chocolate.
FAQs
Yes! Just leave the nuts out. You can even add white chocolate chips!
We love using cherries too.
We haven’t tried making this recipe gluten-free but we usually have no issues using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour for most recipes.
more cranberry recipes
- Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe
- Stuffed Acorn Squash with Quinoa Cranberry Stuffing
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cereal Bars
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of one orange
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ dried cranberries chopped
- ⅓ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Start by mixing your butter until soft. Then add powdered sugar and brown sugar and mix until very creamy. Finally, add vanilla extract and combine.
- In a different bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, orange zest, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients into the butter bowl and stir until well combined. Then fold in chopped cranberries and chopped pecans. Stir to combine.
- Cut a 12-15 inches square piece of plastic paper or baking paper and place it over the counter. Place half of your batter over the paper, and roll it into a log shape: 1,5 inches thick and 7 inches long. Refrigerate them for 2+ hours.
- Once you’re ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 350F and prepare two large baking trays with baking paper.
- Remove your logs from the fridge and remove the covering paper. Cut them into ¼-⅓ thick slices. Place them in the prepared baking trays and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden in the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them out of the baking tray. They will be soft just before baking, but they’ll get firmer within minutes.,
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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