Cranberry Orange Cookies

Cranberry Orange Cookies are a holiday favorite based off of my grandma’s sugar cookies. Perfectly crisp butter cookies filled with dried cranberries and tons of orange flavor. These cookies literally melt in your mouth.

Holiday baking is my absolute favorite and these Cranberry Orange Cookies are perfect for Christmas. They are definitely going in our Christmas goodie bags this year along with our White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Fudge and classic Brown Sugar Shortbread.

Cranberry Orange Cookies ~ Large Batch Christmas Cookies

If you are looking for a big batch of cookies to bake and share with friends and neighbors this Christmas season, these Cranberry Orange Cookies are just the ticket. Make them something extra special with a drizzle of white chocolate.

Ingredients Needed:

• Sugar
• Orange Zest
• Butter 
• Vegetable Oil
• Powdered Sugar
• Large Eggs
• Orange Extract
• Vanilla Extract
• All Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Cream of Tartar
• Kosher Salt
• Dried Cranberries
• White Chocolate Chips
• Heavy Cream

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Add granulated sugar to a bowl. Zest 2 oranges into the sugar and mix together with your fingers until well combined. Set aside.

• In a mixing bowl, add granulated sugar, powdered sugar, softened butter and vegetable oil. 
• Mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add eggs, orange extract and vanilla extract, mix until combined.

• Next, add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
• Mix on low speed until flour is just combined. Raise to medium speed and beat about 1 minute.
• Add 1 cup of cranberries and mix until combined.

• Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough into balls.
• Roll in orange sugar mixture.
• Place on a lined or greased cookie sheet. 
• Smash the cookies with the bottom of a glass. 
• Chop remaining cranberries. 
• Add a few cranberry pieces to each cookie.

• Bake for 12- 14 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.
• Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes. 

• Move to a wire rack to cool completely.

• When all cookies are baked, melt white chocolate chips with heavy cream over low heat or in the microwave, stirring until smooth.

• Drizzle white chocolate over cookies. This can be done with a spoon or a piping bag. If using a piping bag, wrap a small towel or dish cloth around the piping bag to keep it from burning your hands.
• Allow white chocolate to set up for about 1 hour before stacking or storing cookies.

Recipe Notes and Variations:

• Storage: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container up to 10 days. 
• Add-Ins: Chopped pecans or walnuts add a delicious crunch. 
• White Chocolate: Melting wafers or almond bark can be substituted for the drizzle. Dip cookies into white chocolate, coating half of the cookie, instead of drizzling if preferred. The white chocolate is totally optional but makes the cookies a little more fancy for the holidays.
• Make a Smaller Batch: This recipe makes a large batch. Cut the recipe in half to make a smaller batch.

More Christmas Cookies to Bake and Share:

• Chocolate Chip Biscotti
• No Bake White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
• Snowball Cookies
• Molasses Cookies
• Cut Out Sugar Cookies
• Gingerbread Cookies
• Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

If you love the orange and cranberry combo, you’ll also love this easy Cranberry Orange Loaf Cake!

Bake up a batch of Cranberry Orange Cookies to share with your loved ones this holiday season. I am pretty sure they will be Santa’s favorite too!

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4.86 from 7 votes

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Cranberry Orange Cookies are a holiday favorite based off of my grandma's sugar cookies. Perfectly crisp butter cookies filled with dried cranberries and tons of orange flavor.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Christmas cookies, cranberry cookies, holiday cookies, large batch cookies for Christmas, Orange sugar cookies, white chocolate cranberry cookies

Servings: 72 cookies

Calories: 118kcal

Author: Milisa

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar + 1½ cup for rolling
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons orange extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries divided
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips or melting wafers
• 2 teaspoons heavy cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Add granulated 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar to a bowl. Zest 2 oranges into the sugar and mix together with your fingers until well combined. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, add 1 cup granulated sugar, powdered sugar, softened butter and vegetable oil and mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add eggs, orange extract and vanilla extract, mix until combined.
• Next, add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix on low speed until flour is just combined. Raise to medium speed and beat about 1 minute.
• Add 1 cup of cranberries and mix until combined.
• Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough into balls.
• Roll in orange sugar mixture and place on a lined or greased cookie sheet. 
• Smash the cookies with the bottom of a glass. 
• Chop remaining cranberries and add a few cranberry pieces to each cookie. This is optional, all cranberries can be added into the cookie dough if preferred.
• Bake for 12- 14 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.
• Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes.  Move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Optional White Chocolate Drizzle:

• When all cookies are baked, melt white chocolate chips with heavy cream over low heat or in the microwave, stirring until smooth.
• Drizzle white chocolate over cookies. This can be done with a spoon or a piping bag. If using a piping bag, wrap a small towel or dish cloth around the piping bag to keep it from burning your hands.
• Allow white chocolate to set up for about 1 hour before stacking or storing cookies.

Notes

Recipe Notes and Variations:

Storage: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container up to 10 days. 

Add-Ins: Chopped pecans or walnuts add a delicious crunch. 

White Chocolate: Melting wafers or almond bark can be substituted for the drizzle. Dip cookies into white chocolate, coating half of the cookie, instead of drizzling if preferred. The white chocolate is totally optional but makes the cookies a little more fancy for the holidays.

Make a Smaller Batch: This recipe makes a large batch. Cut the recipe in half to make a smaller batch.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 118kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 60mg | Sugar: 8g