Soft and full of tangy cranberry flavor! You'll also want to make some of my favorite cranberry oatmeal cookies.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
These cranberry orange cookies are full of old fashioned flavor with every single bite. They're not fancy or exceptionally pretty but they bring back that feeling of a country Christmas - and they smell better than any scented candle ever made.
🧾 Ingredients
🔪 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.
- Cream the butter and sugars together.
- Add the egg, orange juice, and orange zest - mix well.
- Mix the dry ingredients and blend in.
- Stir in the cranberries and pecans.
- Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake according the the recipe below.
💭 Tips for success
Expert Tip: These orange cranberry cookies freeze beautifully! I like to drop them on the cookie sheet then put the in the freezer. When they're completely frozen drop the frozen cookie dough into a freezer container. I can have fresh cookies in minutes with no mess!
- Walnuts are traditional in these - we just like pecans better. Macadamia nuts are also good.
- The orange glaze is completely optional.
- Don't chop the cranberries too finely or you'll have pink cookies with no texture.
- The 2 ½ cups of flour works perfectly for me but if you think the dough is too soft or it runs together stir in an extra ¼ - ½ cup of flour.
- If you will be shipping these overseas substitute dried cranberries for the fresh ones. They'll stay fresh longer.
- Buy cranberries in season and freeze the bag for use later in the year.
- Good, ripe cranberries will bounce so Bounceberry is an old timey name for them. This is because the berries have pockets of air inside - which also cause them to float. That's your trivia for today.
👩🏻🍳 Frequently asked questions
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
Brown sugar, fruit, dried fruit - anything with a higher moisture content will help cookies stay soft. In this recipe the cranberries and orange zest combined with brown sugar does the trick!
Start with chilled dough, for one thing. Using a vegetable shortening like Crisco rather than butter can help, too.
🥫 Storage
Cranberry cookies store well baked or unbaked.
- Store unbaked dough, tightly covered in the refrigerator for a day. After that the leavening will lose potency.
- Unbaked dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Baked cookies can be stored at room temperature for several days. Although these ship well they are not great for overseas shipping because if the box is held up too long they could go bad because of the fresh cranberries.
- Baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
📚 Related recipes
Here are plenty of Christmas cookie recipes plus lots of information on storing, shipping and more!
📖 Recipe
Cranberry Nut Cookies
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, grated
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pecans, or walnuts - chopped
- 2-½ cups cranberries, chopped
Glaze
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- 1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Grease baking sheets.
- Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
- Stir in orange juice and egg.
- Mix in dry ingredients.
- Stir in nuts and cranberries.
- Drop dough by tablespoons about 2" apart on greased baking sheet.
- If you are making these to bake later flash freeze them by placing the unbaked cookies on the cookie sheet and putting them in the freezer. When frozen add them to freezer bags.
- Bake 10-15 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to wire cooling racks to cool completely.
- Drizzle the glaze over the top when cool.
Glaze
- Mix glaze ingredients until smooth and drizzle on cookies.
Notes
- Walnuts are traditional in these - we just like pecans better. Macadamia nuts are also good.
- The orange glaze is completely optional.
- Don't chop the cranberries too finely or you'll have pink cookies with no texture.
- The 2 ½ cups of flour works perfectly for me but if you think the dough is too soft or it runs together stir in an extra ¼ - ½ cup of flour.
- If you will be shipping these overseas substitute dried cranberries for the fresh ones. They'll stay fresh longer.
- Buy cranberries in season and freeze the bag for use later in the year.
- Good, ripe cranberries will bounce, so bounceberry is an old fashioned name for them. This is because the berries have pockets of air inside - which also cause them to float. That's your trivia for today.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published November 2008. Last updated December 2, 2020 to improve readability, add more tips, and better images.
Elaine
Sounds delish. Just to confirm....this calls for fresh cranberries, correct?
Not cooked or dry.
Thank you.
Marye
Yes! Fresh cranberries.
Becky
Folks!!!!!!!
She shares her recipes with us!!! It is a privilege that she does so!
Don’t be so petty as to be asking for a recipe to be changed just to fit your dietary needs. If you need a dietary change then….you need to change the recipe yourself.
Thanks for sharing all your recipes with us! Quite often it is an old recipe of mine which I forgot…..you just shake up the ol’ rocks!
Keep on keeping on!!
Rose
Hi Marye I'm bothering you again, I wanted to suggest to show your measurements in grams as well--for instant,you can't really measure a cup of butter unless it's melted, anyway, I'm still waiting for a couple replies from you. I wish I could turn all your recipes in to gluten free, paleo and keto
Marye
Hi Rose. I know. I would except I am not proficient in measuring in grams and I would never want to mess up anyone by giving them the wrong measurements.
Marye
Also a cup of butter is 2 sticks, 16 tablespoons - no need to melt.
Elaine
You forgot the milk in your directions as to when it goes in.. I found that I had to add more milk in this,about 1/3.
Marye Audet
I am sorry. The recipe should not have called for milk. I've fixed it.