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–+ servings

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Teresa Ambra
Cranberry Orange Cookies are fantastic for holiday baking. These festive and beautiful cookies include fresh cranberries, orange zest and vanilla chips for bang, bang flavor! They're a little bit sweet and a little bit tart. Perfect for tailgating or office parties, a Christmas Cookie Exchange for any holiday menu.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Cookies, Brownies and Bars, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 33
Calories 178 kcal

Equipment

  • 2 18x26" cookie sheet pans
  • 1 large mixing bowl
  • 1 small mixing bowl
  • 1 electric mixer
  • 2 wooden spoons
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • 1 grater or orange zester
  • 1 spatula

Ingredients
  

  • 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)
  • 3/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 cup salted butter softened (2 sticks)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. orange extract
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries washed (smaller cranberries preferred)
  • 2 tbsp. orange zest
  • 2 cups vanilla chips or premiere white baking chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Wash cranberries in colander.
  • Pat dry with paper towels and transfer to a small mixing bowl.
  • Add ¼ cup granulated sugar and stir to combine; set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, remaining ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and orange extracts, baking soda, salt, and orange zest until smooth and creamy.
  • Add flour, cranberry mixture and white chocolate chips and stir into batter with a wooden spoon.
  • Stir batter throughly, but it will still be very dry.
  • Scrunch and squeeze dough with hands until crumbs start adhering.
  • Form dough into a ball while squeezing dough; this will take 15-20 seconds for each ball of dough.
  • Place balls on cookie sheets that have been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown around edges.
  • Rotate cookie sheets on oven racks after ten minutes of baking time.
  • Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely.
  • Store in airtight container.

Notes

NOTE: My cookies took about 19 minutes to bake.
 
NOTE: This is a grainy, drier type of dough. You will need to “shape” and “squeeze” the dough into balls, rather than roll the dough into balls. I gathered a handful of dough, squeezed the dough in my hands, either squeezing several times in one hand or transferring the dough back and forth between hands so that the ingredients would clump together and adhere. I did this until I got a golf-ball sized ball of dough. (It took about 10 seconds for each ball of dough). I also made sure I had at least two cranberries in each dough ball.
 
NOTE: It is easier working with smaller cranberries rather than larger ones.
 
NOTE: This is traditionally a sweet and tart cookie. If your palate can’t handle both at the same time, I recommend substituting dried cranberries (which are sweetened) instead of using fresh cranberries.
 
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 178kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 117mgPotassium: 54mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 189IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg
Keyword cookies, cranberries, dessert, holiday baking, orange zest, vanilla chips
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