Cranberry and orange come together in this soft and chewy holiday drop cookie.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Every holiday season I try several new cookie recipes. Most of them are tasty, but only a select few go into the permanent recipe file with favorites like Four Spice Crackles and Rolo Cookies. These Cranberry Orange Cookies are a definite keeper!
Honestly, these cookies are just about perfect. They are soft and chewy, just like a good cookie should be. And orange and cranberry is such a wonderful holiday flavor combination.
My family couldn’t stop raving about these cookies, and neither could the friends we shared them with. And I love that they’re so easy to make.
Who says a simple drop cookie can’t be the star of your holiday cookie tray? These cookies also freeze well, which is a big plus if you like to get a head start on your holiday baking.
I also love that these cookies don’t require any special extracts or flavorings–just regular orange juice and zest. Sometimes, the simplest recipes are the best.
And everyone I’ve ever shared these cookies with loves them and asks for the recipe. In fact, every year when the holiday season rolls around, people start asking if I’ll be making my Cranberry Orange cookies.
Don’t skip the glaze! It only takes a minute to whip up and adds so much to the overall flavor and presentation.
I know I’ll be making these soft, sweet Cranberry Orange Cookies for years to come.
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Oranges
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Dried cranberries
- Powdered sugar
Cranberry Orange Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional
For the glaze:
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well blended.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture. Stir in cranberries and pecans, if using.
- Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are just golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
- In a small bowl, stir together ingredients for glaze until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Let stand until set.
Nutrition
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81 comments
Lynsey
My cookies came out flat.I don’t know what I did wrong.
Linda
Mine were totally flat as well. After reading all of the reviews it seems the brown sugar should be omitted. What a waste of time and money for an ugly flat cookie that I would be embarrassed to serve.
Andrea
Linda, relax
Mia
I baked mine on two different cookie sheets one came out flat and one came out thick and fluffy. lol might be that taste the same, totally different texture and size!
Jennifer Hunger
Next time, try chilling your dough before spooning onto the cookie sheet. I’m going to try this as well.
Danelle
Did you make any adaptations? Like using fresh cranberries in place of dried. Or sometimes it can be old baking soda or powder. Or with me, sometimes I just measure wrong or miss something and don’t even realize.
Jessica
Hello! I made these cookies and mine came out paper thin, and very greasy. I used high quality butter, flour, etc… chilled the dough overnight and my baking powder and soda were new. What could I have done wrong? The flavor is good, but the texture is completely opposite of what I was hoping for! 🙁
Danelle
I’m really not sure. I’m sorry they didn’t turn out for you.
Connie
I have a few fresh cranberries left, do you think they would work or not sweet enough?
liz
Is it orange juice from a container or fresh squeezed?
Danelle
Either kind is fine Liz!
Ruthie
Hi there! I have made these cookies three times. The first time I accidentally forgot the brown sugar. They were fluffy and delicious! Second try, I put in the brown sugar and they turned out flat. Third time I made them the same way the first time, they were perfection! The recipe with the brown sugar were way to sweet, I prefer the half cup of white sugar only, just thought I would share!
Barb
Thank you for this info. I loved the cranberry/orange flavor and these were so easy to make. I, too found them a bit too sweet and wondered if cutting back on some f the sugar would alter the texture in a bad way. Sounds like I can cut back and still have a delicious cookie.