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Cranberry orange shortbread cookies are the butteriest, brightest cookies I make at Christmas. Tender all the way through, with fresh orange, tart chewy cranberries, and sweet white chocolate on top.
I have been making these cookies for years now. I got the recipe where I wanted it a long time ago and have not touched it since. They are also the cookie I want with my coffee.
A lot of cranberry shortbread is plain shortbread with cranberries stirred in. A whole fresh orange goes into mine, both the zest and the juice. The zest is the stronger, brighter half of that, and you get it in every bite.
If you want plain buttery shortbread with nothing in it, my classic shortbread cookies are the ones I make.
CHRISTMAS COOKIE FAVORITE
The Prettiest Thing I Put on a Christmas Cookie Tray
These cookies are a little different than your normal Christmas cookies. The orange zest, the dried cranberries and the white chocolate drizzle all show, so they do not look like everything else on the plate. They taste different too, buttery and bright with tart chewy cranberries running through them, and that is a lot of why I make them.
The Ingredients That Matter Most
- Frozen salted butter: Freeze the butter and grate it in on a cheese grater. Grating it frozen makes for a flakier cookie and keeps them from spreading in the oven. Unsalted butter works if you add a quarter teaspoon of salt.
- Fresh orange zest: Grate only the orange part of the peel and stop before the white pith underneath, which is bitter. Use less zest rather than catching any pith. You can leave the zest out, but the orange flavor drops off a lot, so I would not.
- Fresh orange juice: I get all the zest and juice I need for a batch out of one large orange. Juice from concentrate makes the cookies sweeter, so I use fresh.
- Dried cranberries: Dried, not fresh. Fresh and frozen cranberries carry too much moisture and throw off the dough, and they are far more tart than dried. Save the fresh bag for my cranberry cake recipe, where all that juice and tartness work in your favor.
- White chocolate chips: The drizzle takes the edge off the cranberries without making the whole cookie sweet. Dark, milk, or semi-sweet chips all work if you would rather.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Step 1: Rub the Zest Into the Sugar Preheat the oven to 325°F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat the sugar and orange zest together for a minute or two until the sugar smells like orange. This is what carries the citrus through the whole cookie.
Step 2: Grate In the Butter and Add the Juice Whisk in the flour and cranberries, then grate the frozen butter straight into the bowl and blend. Add the orange juice one tablespoon at a time until a firm dough forms.
Step 3: Roll and Cut Roll the dough half an inch thick between two sheets of parchment and cut it with a two and a half inch round cutter. Half an inch gives you a soft, tender cookie and a quarter inch gives you a crisp one.
Step 4: Bake, Then Drizzle Bake one tray at a time until the edges are golden and the centers still look slightly soft. Refrigerate the second pan while the first one bakes. Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 to 7 minutes before moving to a rack, then cool completely. Melt the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, drizzle it over the tops, and let it set before serving.
How to Store Them
Line an airtight container with parchment or wax paper and keep the cookies somewhere cool and dry, like a pantry or a cupboard, away from direct sunlight. They hold for one to two weeks. Do not store them in the refrigerator.
To freeze, layer them in a freezer safe container or bag with parchment between the layers so they do not stick. They keep for two to three months, and they thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
More Christmas Cookies to Make
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
- Christmas Truffles
Building a whole tray this year? My best Christmas cookie recipes roundup has the rest of what I bake.
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup chopped dried cranberries
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) salted butter frozen
- 5-6 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat the sugar and orange zest together for 1-2 minutes in a large mixing bowl with a hand or stand mixer until the sugar is fragrant.¾ cup granulated white sugar, 1 tablespoon orange zest
- Add in the all-purpose flour and dried cranberries and whisk until well combined.2⅓ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup chopped dried cranberries
- Using a cheese grater, grate the frozen butter into the bowl and blend everything using a dough hook or hand mixer.¾ cup (1½ sticks) salted butter
- Add orange juice and add the juice 1 Tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together. Stir the dough with a dough hook until a firm dough forms.5-6 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- Turn the dough onto a sheet of parchment, wax paper, or a well-floured surface.
- Cover the dough with a second piece of parchment paper for best results or flour your rolling pin well and then roll the dough out to ½ inch thick.
- ½ inch dough provides a soft, tender cookie. For a crispy cookie, roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness instead.
- Using a 2 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place them on the prepared cookie sheets. Be sure to place them at least 1 inch away from the edge and each other.
- Bake each tray individually for 14-18 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. I recommend refrigerating or freezing the other pan until the first one finishes baking.
- Cool for 5-7 minutes before moving to a cooling rack, and cool completely, about 30-60 minutes.
- Once the cookies have cooled, melt the white chocolate chips together in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds before stirring well.¼ cup white chocolate chips
- Continue microwaving and stirring in 15-second increments until the chocolate is completely melted, and then use a fork or spoon to drizzle the melted white chocolate over the top of the cookies.
- Allow the chocolate to set, about 30-60 minutes, before serving.
Jenn’s Notes
- The dough looks dry and crumbly before it comes together. Add the orange juice one tablespoon at a time and stop as soon as you have a firm, rollable dough. You do not want it wet or sticky.
- There is no chilling step in this recipe. If the dough gets too soft to roll or cut cleanly, refrigerate it for about 30 minutes and pick up where you left off.
- Zest only the orange part of the peel and avoid the white pith underneath, which is bitter. Less zest is better than any pith.
- Pull the cookies when the edges are golden and the centers still look slightly soft. For a crisper cookie, roll the dough thinner rather than baking longer.
Hi Jenn – Looking forward to making these for the holidays – Can this recipe be doubled? Thanks – Happy Holidays
Hi Diane! It should work no problem to double!