My soft and chewy orange cranberry cookies are infused with real orange zest and juice (no extracts or flavors!). They’re punctuated with pops of fresh cranberries and are so festive. No chilling required!
A Festive Flavor Combination
Following closely on the heels of my cranberry orange muffins, today I have another fun & festive cranberry-infused recipe to share. While the cookies themselves are quite easy to make, the recipe itself was a bit tricky to master.
To get an authentic orange flavor without any extracts, I incorporated orange juice and orange zest into the batter. These added amazing flavor; however, they were very wet and created cakey cookies–something that needed to be fixed as I’m team soft and chewy cookie.
To remedy this, I knew I had to cut the liquid elsewhere. In this case, that meant omitting the egg whites and using just 2 egg yolks instead (a tip I picked up from my lemon poppy seed cookies).
The end result? Soft, chewy, and brightly flavored orange cookies punctuated with pops of tart cranberries. We’ll roll them in a little orange sugar before baking, too, which adds the final extra punch of orange flavor to balance that strong, tart flavor of the cranberries. These are seriously SO good, brightly flavored and perfectly festive, and I can’t wait for you to try them!
What You Need
Before we begin, let’s briefly go over the ingredients you need to make this cookie recipe a success:
- Fresh Oranges. How many oranges you need will depend on their size. I can often get away with one large one, but I’d recommend grabbing two just to be safe!
- Cranberries. Make sure to wash, dry, and inspect your cranberries before adding them to the cookie dough. I talk about making these cookies with dried cranberries in the FAQ section below.
- Unsalted butter. We’ll start with softened butter and cream it with our sugars and orange zest. This step draws out the oils in the orange zest and infuses that flavor throughout the dough. If you only have salted butter, you can reduce the salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.
- Egg yolks. As I mentioned above, we will only need egg yolks in this recipe. You can discard your egg whites or use them to make coconut macaroons (my recipe uses exactly two egg whites!), meringue cookies, or French macarons.
- Cornstarch. A tablespoon of cornstarch here ensures our orange cranberry cookies will stay tender and chewy, but NOT cakey.
Just like with my cranberry orange muffins, we are intentionally leaving out the vanilla extract in this recipe, as I found it conceals the orange flavor too much.
SAM’S TIP: Spruce up your orange cranberry cookies with white chocolate! You can either add white chocolate chips to the batter or drizzle the tops with melted white chocolate after they cool.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Orange Cranberry Cookies
- Beat the butter, sugar, and orange zest in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolks and orange juice, then mix until fully incorporated.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Fold in the cranberries until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Make the orange sugar – rub the orange zest and granulated sugar together with your fingers, making sure to fully infuse the sugar with orange zest.
- Scoop and roll 1 ½ tablespoon balls of dough between your palms before rolling the orange sugar topping. Place 2″ apart on parchment lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes at 350F (175C) and let cool for 5-10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
SAM’S TIP: For soft and chewy results, take the cookies out of the oven when the edges are just starting to turn a light golden brown. We’ll let them cook a little longer on their baking sheets outside the oven, then remove them to a cooling rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven’t tried this myself with this recipe. While I think you could, it would change the texture of the cookie as the fresh cranberries actually add some moisture to the dough. I do worry the cookie dough will be a bit drier than it is when made as written (or too sweet, as sugar is often added to dried cranberries), but feel free to experiment. You could also consider plumping the cranberries with boiling water or liquor before adding them to the dough.
Sure! My vanilla glaze would work well here. You could even substitute the vanilla extract and milk with orange juice to make an orange glaze.
I supposed you could add some, but I don’t find it necessary here with the orange zest and juice. I don’t recommend substituting the orange zest and juice with orange extract, though–this dough was specifically designed to accommodate those ingredients and will not turn out properly otherwise.
Love cranberry cookies? Try my white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies!
Enjoy!
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Orange Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter softened (226g)
- 1 ⅓ cups (267 g) granulated sugar 267g
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- 2 large egg yolk
- 3 Tablespoons orange juice
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour 375g
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 2 cups (200 g) fresh cranberries 190g
Sugar Topping
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar 100g
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and orange zest and beat until light and fluffy.1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, 1 ⅓ cups (267 g) granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- Add egg yolks and orange juice and mix until well combined.2 large egg yolk, 3 Tablespoons orange juice
- In a separate, medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt
- Gradually add dry mixture to wet, stirring until completely combined. Gently fold in cranberries, folding dough with a spatula until evenly distributed.2 cups (200 g) fresh cranberries
- Make the sugar topping by combining sugar and orange zest in a small dish and using your fingers to rub the sugar and zest together until all the sugar has been infused with orange.½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons orange zest
- Scoop dough by level 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized scoop and roll gently between your palms to make a smooth ball. Roll cookie dough through orange-sugar topping, thoroughly coating all sides. Place on baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2” apart.
- Bake in center rack of 350F (175C) oven for 11-13 minutes, until edges of cookies begin to turn light golden.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on baking sheet before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Deb
Cookies were delicious and had perfect chewiness but mine turned too soft (like breaking apart); even after baking it longer. Any idea why it turned that soft?
Sam
Hi Deb! I’m so sorry to hear this happened! Did you make any substitutions to the recipe? If not you may have needed a touch more flour in the dough. Or was your butter really soft when you started? I’m glad you ultimately enjoyed the cookies. 🙂
Rach
I was able to tweak this to make it vegan with dried cranberries! I used only one stick (1/2 cup) of vegan butter + 2 flax eggs (1 tbsp flax : 3 tbsp water per “egg”), and I had to add a little extra flour — maybe 2 tbsp. I only had dried cranberries, so I poured boiling water over 1 1/2 cups craisins and soaked them for a bit before draining and adding them to the dough. I didn’t do 2 cups because I didn’t want it to be too sweet. I also reduced the sugar to 250 g but probably could have reduced it even more because of the craisins. I refrigerated the dough for 30 minutes before baking to firm it up, and they turned out pretty great! They puffed up in the oven a lot, so I patted them down around minute 11 with the back of a silicone spatula. I think they took about 15 minutes to bake total.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how it went for you with those alterations, Rach! 🩷
Daniel
these are the best cookies i’ve ever made
i don’t think ill find a better cookie
this is a blessing
what the heck
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
🤣 We are so happy you enjoyed them, Daniel!
Kirsten
OMG! so so so good! I followed the recipe exactly. Just added a little extra orange juice. SO yummy!
Amelia Pyrenees Mom
Oh my Goodness I made them last night! Hands down one of the best cookie recipes ever, they were insanely delicious, My husband loved them,
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy they were such a hit, Amelia! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🥰
Heather
I made these earlier tonight for a cookie swap tomorrow. I followed the recipe exactly and they came out so, so good! I’m excited to share these tomorrow and I’ll definitely be making them again.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Heather! 🙂
Heather
They went over really well at the cookie swap and I passed along your recipe. Thank you!!!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks for using my recipe, Heather, I really appreciate it!
Mickie
I made these with Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 gluten free flour. They turned out really good. A bit of advice for anyone baking with GF flour, you need more liquid than with AP flour, because the GF flour absorbs more moisture than AP flour. I made this exactly as written, and my dough was very dry and crumbly. So, I added the two egg whites, and it was perfect. I did have to bake mine for 16 minutes. Just watch them closely, because of the sugar coating, they do tend to burn, even if on parchment paper.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Mickie! Thank you for the feedback using gluten free flour. 🙂
Carol
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Sam
It will make about 33 cookies. 🙂
Evelyn
The cookies taste good but the texture is a bit coarse and dry for my preference. At least on the outside, the inside is ok. Followed the recipe to the letter, added a bit more orange juice. The cookies I think need more juice, because it was difficult balling these up. They easily fell apart, had to squeeze them hard to hold their shape. Then 3 of the cookies crumbled apart in the oven and had to be tossed. The cookies didn’t spread much in oven, and so I wonder if both egg yolk and cornstarch is necessary. Makes the dough too dry? Just think the recipe needs to be reworked.
Sam
Hi Evelyn! I’m sorry to hear you experienced this! It sounds like too much flour was accidentally used. Are you measuring your flour properly?
Waltzing Kathy
A you make the dough the night before you bake them??
Sam
I think that will work just fine. 🙂
Heather
Can you freeze the cookie dough or cookies? If yes as dough or baked?
Sam
Hi Heather! You should be able to freeze this at either stage. 🙂
Lori Murphy
Can the cookies be frozen once baked, or would you recommend freezing the dough and then rolling/baking? Trying to prep in advance. Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Lori! Either will work fine, but freezing the dough will give you that freshly baked cookie taste. We have a whole post on how to freeze cookie dough that should be helpful for you!
Gina
These cookies are delicious. I have arthritic hands and found that I could incorporate the orange zest into the sugar by stirring and mashing it with the back of a spoon until the sugar becomes a brilliant gold color.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Gina! Thank you for your feedback. 🙂
Gina
This is the perfect Thanksgiving time cookie. I follow your recipes exactly because they never need a tweak! The tart cranberries compliments the sweet citrus. Such a nice cold weather treat! I love your recipes because they are never too sweet. The instructions are perfect, because each step tells you how much of each ingredient is needed. It eliminates scrolling up with sticky fingers! Again this recipe is a winner! Thanks, Sam!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Gina! 🙂
C Anthony
These cookies are delicious! The only thing I did different is I roughly chopped the cranberries. My cookies turned out delicate and beautiful. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Laurie
Can these cookies be frozen?
Sam
Hi Laurie! You shouldn’t have any issues freezing these. 🙂
Babs
These look delicious. I absolutely love cranberry and orange together. Unfortunately I’m allergic to eggs and I don’t know how to substitute for just egg yolks. Do you have any suggestions?
Sam
Unfortunately I am not familiar with an egg substitute here so I can’t say for sure what you would be able to use. 🙁 I hope someone else in the comments can chime in with some assistance.
Joyce Collins
A common substitute for eggs is one Tbs of flax meal and 2Tbs of water. Combine them and let it sit for a few minutes. Wah-la! Egg substitute!
P.S. I love your recipes and videos. 😍