Classic shortbread cookies got a major upgrade with fresh cranberries and orange zest!! You’ll love melt-in-your-mouth buttery texture with bright holiday flavors!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe:
Calling all shortbread lovers! Regular shortbread gets a major upgrade with the addition of tangy cranberries and zippy orange.
You’ll love these orange cranberry shortbread cookies for number of reasons!!
- Incredible melt-in-your-mouth buttery texture
- Look beautiful on holiday cookie platters
- Subtly sweet with an orange-cranberry flavor combo
- Easy to make & freeze!
I cut these into cookie sticks, because I love how they look in holiday tins and cookie platters. You could just as easily spruce up a dessert charcuterie board with them! They never last long, so be sure to save yourself one too.
Key Ingredient Notes:
- All-purpose flour – I highly recommend a kitchen scale to weigh your flour. It’s the best way to accurately measure flour without getting too much. If you don’t have one, use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with the flat edge of a butter knife.
- Sugar – Shortbread are subtly sweet! You only need 1/3 cup and a tablespoon.
- Cornstarch – A small amount of cornstarch produces a softer cookie.
- Salt – Salt enhances sweetness and rounds out the flavors. Don’t skip it. Cookies without salt taste flat and one-noted.
- Unsalted butter – I always bake with unsalted butter, so I control the amount of salt. If you only have salted butter, omit the salt from this recipe.
- Fresh cranberries – I prefer fresh cranberries for their tangy flavor, but dried cranberries work great too! If using dried cranberries, use the exact same amount, ¼ cup equals 35 grams of dried cranberries.
- Orange zest – Use a microplane to zest the outside of an orange. It’s where all the citrusy flavor lies. Avoid the white pith, since it has a bitter flavor.
How to make these shortbread cookies:
1. Make the cookie dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
- Add the butter cubes and mix until the butter is evenly dispersed throughout the flour, about 3 minutes. The mixture should look like wet sand and form into a ball when you squeeze it with your hands.
- Stir in the cranberries and orange zest.
Crumbly Dough
Don’t be alarmed, the dough will be shaggy and loose. Once you squeeze it together, it’ll form into a nice ball.
If you’re using dried cranberries, add 1-2 teaspoons of milk to the dough.
2. Roll & slice the shortbread cookies
- Dump the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat, and knead it into a smooth ball.
- Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll it into a 4×12-inch rectangle. Use your hands to help you shape it.
- Place the rectangle onto a sheet pan and put it in the freezer. Let the dough freeze for 20 minutes so it’s easier to slice.
- Remove the cookie dough from the freezer and carefully slice it into 24 evenly sized sticks. Place the cookies on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
3. Bake the cookies
- Bake the shortbread for about 20 minutes at 325°F, or until the edges turn slightly brown. If the cookies look too brown when they come out of the oven, they’re overbaked!
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Fix misShaped Cookies
The cookies will be slightly misshapen after baking. Simply squeeze the cookies from both sides with 2 offset spatulas, or bench scrapers, as soon as they come out of the oven.
Tips for Success:
- You can bake these cookies in any shape! I love the contrast you get on a cookie platter when you cut them into sticks. They look beautiful, especially drizzled in white chocolate.
- Remove any bruised, brown, or soft cranberries. Fresh cranberries should feel firm and bright red.
- Don’t overwork the shortbread cookie dough. Just knead it until it forms a ball and then stop. Overworked dough creates tough, dense cookies.
Make-Ahead Tips:
- Make the cookie dough ahead of time and double wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 5 days! Let the cookie dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then roll and cut it into sticks.
- You can also freeze the cookie dough or the cookies! To freeze the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap then transfer to a ziplock bag. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter until it’s chilled but easy to work with.
- To freeze the cookies, transfer the cookies to a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Storing Tips:
- Store the orange cranberry shortbread cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
- If you can’t eat them all within a week, no problem! Just freeze the leftovers. Transfer the shortbread cookies to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
FAQs:
What is the difference between a butter cookie and a shortbread cookie?
A shortbread cookie is very similar to a butter cookie with a few subtle differences. A butter cookie has eggs, while shortbread do not. This makes a shortbread cookie slightly more crumbly, buttery, and rich. Butter cookies are also slightly sweeter.
Can I slice and bake these cookies?
Yes! If you’d rather slice and bake the cookies, just roll the dough into a 2-inch wide log, then wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill until firm. Slice the log into cookies and bake! You may need to decrease the cooking time. Just watch for those lightly golden edges.
Why do you put shortbread in the fridge before baking?
Since shortbread dough has a high butter-to-flour ratio, it needs to chill so it can firm up. This works double duty. It makes it easier to slice and prevents it from spreading in the oven.
More Cookie Recipes:
- Honey Cookies (Heirloom Recipe)
- Russian Tea Cakes (Snowball Cookies)
- Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Classic Pecan Sandies
Orange Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
Classic shortbread cookies got a major upgrade with fresh cranberries and orange zest!! You'll love melt-in-your-mouth buttery texture with bright holiday flavors! For extra touch, drizzle the cookies with orange glaze (recipe below) or melted white chocolate.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup (155 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon (75 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch Note 1
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter cold and cut into ½-inch cubes
- ¼ cup (40 g) fresh cranberries finely chopped, Note 2
- ½ tablespoon orange zest
For garnish:
- 2/3 cup (80 g) powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons (15 g) orange jucie
Equipment
- stand mixer with the paddle attachment or electric hand mixer
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Spatula
- sheet pan
Instructions
To make the cookies:
- In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, cornstarch and salt.
- Add the butter cubes and mix until the butter is evenly distributed into the flour mixture, about 3 minutes. The mixture should resemble wet sand and should form into a ball when squeezed in your palm.
- Stir in the cranberries and orange zest.
- Turn the mixture onto a parchment paper or silicone mat and knead it into a smooth ball. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and roll it into a 4×12-inch rectangle.
- Freeze for 20 minutes to firm up.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F
- Slice the cookies into 24 sticks and arrange the cookies on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the edges starts to lightly brown.
- (TIP: The cookies will be slightly misshapen. Simply squeeze the cookies from both sides with 2 offset spatulas, or bench scrapers, as soon as they come out of the oven.)
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
To make orange glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth. Transfer the glaze into a pastry bag or a squeeze bottle and drizzle over cooled cookies.
Tips & Notes
Note 1: Cornstarch makes the cookies a little more tender. If you like crumblier shortbread, you may omit cornstarch.
Note 2: I’ve tested this recipe with both dried and fresh cranberries. While both works fine, I prefer fresh cranberries for its fresh taste. If using dried cranberries, I recommend using same amount, ¼ cup = 35g dried cranberries and chopping them into smaller pieces. And add 1-2 teaspoons of milk to the cookie dough, as the dough is a little on drier side with dried cranberries.
Storing Tips:
– Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
– If you can’t eat them all within a week, no problem! Just freeze the leftovers. Transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
– Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
– If you can’t eat them all within a week, no problem! Just freeze the leftovers. Transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 76kcal
Carbohydrates: 10g
Protein: 1g
Fat: 4g
Sugar: 4g
Sodium: 55mg
Did you make this?Share a comment or a review below!
Made these exactly as in the recipe, using fresh cranberries, and holy moly!!
I will 100% be making these every fall/winter when I can get fresh cranberries!!!
Yay, I’m SO happy you loved the cookies. Thank you so much for your feedback, Jessica!
I just made these beautiful cookies!! My batter was not anything like wet sand, but rather dry sand. I realized by using dried cranberries I lost all that liquid and moisture that the fresh would have supplied. So I dumped it back into my mixing bowl and added a tablespoon of milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. They came together perfectly! Beautiful bars just like your picture. I am about to add the swirled white chocolate to the ends and I notice that is not included in the instructions. Wish me luck!
Hi, Margaret! Thank you so much for your feedback! I’ll have to re-test the recipe with dried cranberries again. I didn’t run into this issue last year. But I’ll test again and update the recipe accordingly.
Tasty! But mine spread on the bottom and don’t have the neat edges in your picture. I may give them a second chill before baking and/or bake at 350 for a shorter amount of time to prevent the butter melting next time.
Hi, Erin! So happy you tried and enjoyed the cookies!! Hmm, I must have not included this tip. It’s normal for the cookie spread slightly, you just fix it by gently pushing the edges with two knifes or offset spatula from both sides as soon as you take them out of the oven. I have a video demostrating this.
I m just making those but my dough is a crumbly mess it won’t form a ball put it back in fridge for now maybe that will help
What am I doing wrong
I’m having the same issue too!! Literally won’t hold together and I’m frustrated!
Hi, Krystal. Sorry to hear about your trouble. It sounds like you’ve added a bit too much flour. I advise to weigh the flour next time.
I too, followed the directions as was posted. My dough was crumbly and hard to roll. I added a few drops of orange juice from the orange that I zest. This seemed to help some.
Hi, Michelle!! How did you measure the flour? It sounds like you used a little too much flour, very easy to do if you measure flour with a cup. I highly recommend using a scale. But I’m glad adding orange juice helped.
Hi, Elke! I’m so sorry you had a problem making this recipe. Too crumbly dough means too much flour was used. And unfortunately, putting the dough in the fridge won’t help. I highly recommend using a scale to measure flour next time.
My first attempt at shortbread cookies. I need to work on my cutting as I didn’t get 24.
I mixed powder sugar and orange juice to make my drizzle.
These are so good and I loved the fresh cranberries! I maybe added a tad too much flour but these are definitely a make again recipe! I might try making them in a food processor to mix the butter / flour mixture next time. Thx for a great recipe and easy too.
can you translate to grams pleeease xxx
Hi, Gillian. Not sure what you mean by “translate to grams”? I have the metric measurements included in the recipe card.
Would like to try recipe, puzzled all photos have a drizzle of icing on one end of cookies, there is no mention of icing in directions?
I made these with frozen cranberries-kept them frozen and chopped in food processor. Very tasty but took closer to 28 minutes to bake!
Yay, I’m so happy you tried and loved the recipe, Andrea!! And thank you for sharing your feedback.
Could previously frozen Cranberries be used? Since it’s hard to get fresh year round I usually freeze the fresh.
Hi, Lori. I haven’t tested this recipe with frozen cranberries. Let me know if you give it a go.