Jazz up classic shortbread cookies by adding cranberries and orange zest. These easy Cranberry Orange Shortbread cookies are great for the holidays and look great dressed up or dressed down.
Here are a few more shortbread cookies we think you’ll enjoy – Shortbread Christmas Cookies, Lemon Shortbread Cookies, and Valentine Shortbread Cookies.

The combination of orange and cranberry just screams Christmas to me. The crisp, bright flavors are a nice contrast to your typical holiday cookies. These Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies are not only pretty, but they’re also so delicious and super easy to make!
A lot of cranberry shortbread cookies use dried cranberries in their recipe. This recipe calls for fresh cranberries, which not only taste amazing, but the color they add to the dough is so pretty!
Here’s how to make them –
How to Make Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
INGREDIENTS –
for the cookies:
- butter
- sugar
- orange zest
- fresh cranberries
- all purpose flour
- vanilla
for the glaze:
- butter
- powdered sugar
- almond extract
- vanilla extract
- half-and-half
variation:
- Instead of the glaze, drizzle melted white chocolate chips over the cookies!
INSTRUCTIONS –
Finely chop your cranberries in a food processor, then put the cranberries in a small bowl and set them aside.
Add the butter, sugar, and orange zest to the food processor and cream together until well combined.
Add the flour and vanilla to the butter mixture and pulse just until the ingredients are incorporated. The texture will be crumbly.
Add the butter + flour mixture to the cranberries and gently stir until they are distributed.
Place the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it with your hands until no longer crumbly.
Form the dough into a 10-12 inch log. Wrap the log tightly in plastic wrap.
Chill the dough for 2 hours, up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie tray with parchment paper.
Slice the dough into slices (I cut mine to be about 1/3″ thick) and place each slice on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. The cookies will be soft and tender but will firm up as they cool on the wire racks.
Meanwhile, make the glaze by mixing all the glaze ingredients together by hand until smooth, adding more half-and-half if a thinner glaze is desired.
Drizzle the glaze over the cookies, serve and ENJOY!
These cranberry cookies are melt-in-your-mouth amazing!!
Cook’s Notes:
- Be careful not to over-beat the butter. When making shortbread cookies you do not want to beat a lot of air into the butter, you want more of a dense cookie than a fluffy one!
- Frosted cookies will keep, in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving.
- I like to eat these cookies while still warm, but they taste fantastic at room temperature, too!
MORE FAVORITE COOKIE RECIPES –
- Christmas Blossom Cookies
- Eggnog Cookies
- Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Homemade Oreo Cakesters
- Jack Jack Num Num Cookies
HERE’S A PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE –
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
for the cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- zest of one orange
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
for the glaze:
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons half-and-half
Instructions
- Finely chop your cranberries in a food processor, then put the cranberries in a small bowl and set aside.
- Add the butter, sugar and orange zest to the food processor and cream together until well combined.
- Add the flour and vanilla to the food processor and pulse just until the ingredients are incorporated. The dough will be crumbly.
- Add the dough to the cranberries and gently fold them in until they are distributed.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it with your hands until no longer crumbly.
- Form the dough into a 10-12 inch log. Wrap the log tightly in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 2 hours, up to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Slice the dough into slices (I cut mine to be about 1/3" thick) and place each slice on the cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze by mixing all the glaze ingredients together by hand until smooth, adding more half-and-half if a thinner glaze is desired.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies, add 2-3 sugared cranberries, serve and ENJOY!
Notes
- Be careful not to over-beat the butter. When making shortbread cookies you do not want to beat a lot of air into the butter, you want more of a dense cookie than a fluffy one!
- Frosted cookies will keep, in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving.