Cranberry Orange Brown Sugar Shortbread
Cranberry Orange Brown Sugar Shortbread
Welcome back to my Christmas Cookie Week! It’s been busy in my kitchen over the last few days as my daughter and I have been on a baking marathon creating all of these recipes! Now my freezer is stocked and ready for Christmas. All recipes are simple, use straightforward ingredients and can be frozen to enjoy later. Just what you need during this busy time of year!
6 Delicious Christmas Cookie Recipes!
So far this week I have shared recipes for Christmas Oat Drops, The Most Chocolatey Hot Chocolate Cookies, Fruitcake Shortbread Squares, Snowball Cookies, German Chocolate Cookies, and today I’m sharing the recipe for these Cranberry Orange Brown Sugar Shortbread. All of these recipes make up the ultimate holiday cookie platter!
About these cookies!
These cookies are SO good…cranberry and orange fit together perfectly. The tartness of the cranberries is balanced deliciously with the sweetness of the orange zest. And the combination of the two baked into a rich and buttery brown sugar shortbread, makes for the most delicious Christmas cookie!
These are a slice and bake cookie.
These cranberry orange shortbread cookies are perfect for the holiday season! This is a slice and bake cookie so you can make the cookie dough ahead of time and bake cookies as you want them. The cookie dough is rolled into 2 logs and wrapped in parchment paper (or wax paper). Once cooled, the logs are sliced then baked as you want them. Or give a log to a friend so they can bake fresh cookies at home, or freeze a log for later. They’re a delicious and very convenient cookie to have around!
These cookies are delicious with a cup of coffee…cookies at breakfast are perfectly acceptable right? I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookie Recipe Tips
- CRANBERRIES: This recipe calls for dried cranberries but you can use finely chopped fresh cranberries too. Fresh cranberries will make the cookie more tart though.
- ORANGE ZEST: Use the zest from 1 large fresh orange
- STORAGE: Keep these cookies in an airtight container or freezer ziplock bag at room temperature.
- FREEZING: These cookies freeze well. Store in an airtight container or freezer bags for up to 2 months.
Cranberry Orange Brown Sugar Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh orange zest
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
Instructions
- Cream together the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until the mixture is soft and fluffy. (I just use the paddle attachment) Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.1 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Stir in the orange zest.2 tbsp fresh orange zest
- Add the flour slowly, and mix well.2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- Chop the dried cranberries into small pieces, and add them to the batter. Mix well.3/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
- You will find the dough quite dry, but don’t worry it’s supposed to be like that. Just mix the dough with your hands until if firms up into a ball, then make 2 balls.
- Once the dough is firm, roll each ball in parchment paper to make 2 cookie dough logs, about 2″ in diameter. Wrap each log tightly. One batch to bake now, and one to bake later!
- Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the log into 1/4″ slices, and bake cookie for ~10 minutes.
- Let the baked cookies cool on a wire rack.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
So many Christmas cookies to choose from! Yum. Happy baking.
Happy Holidays!
I just made these cookies. They are absolutely delicious. My house smells heavenly. They were so easy too. I’ll be making these all winter. Great recipe, thanks so much.
I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
JUst made these for Christmas. DElicious. simple with a nice hint of orange.
Thank you for this LOVELY recipe, totally delightful!
I tried it with lemon zest and added white chocolate chips, tasty!