Published: Last Updated: by Marye 1232 words. | About 7 minutes to read this article.
Tangy, sweet cranberry cookies are packed with holiday flavors. These holiday cookies are full of fresh red cranberries, orange zest and pecans. They freeze well and travel like the champs they are - which makes them the perfect cookie for sharing with friends and family.
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Jump to Recipe
These old-fashioned drop cookies are soft and full of tangy cranberry flavor!
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
Table of Contents
- ...this definitely fits the bill.
- 🗝️ Key takeaways
- 🧾 Ingredients
- 📖Variations
- 🔪 Instructions
- 🍴 Equipment
- 🥫 How to store cranberry cookies
- 💭 Things to know
- 👩🍳 FAQs
- 📚 Related recipes
- 📞 The last word
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
...this definitely fits the bill.
Just made these. They are great. Just the right amount of sweetness and just the right amount of tartness. I love cranberries and pecans and this definitely fits the bill. Have cranberries in the freezer so I can make these anytime.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Maureen
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Old-fashioned fresh cranberry cookies are the perfect addition to Christmas-time cookie exchanges and dessert tables.
- This recipe is full of tangy cranberries and crunchy pecans which is the perfect snack all winter long.
- Cranberries freeze well, and so does this cookie dough so indulge in some holiday goodness anytime you want by freezing extra bags of cranberries.
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
📖Variations
- Walnuts are traditional in these - we just like pecans better.
- Macadamia nuts are also good.
- Add in a cup of white chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Use lemon zest instead of orange or leave it out altogether.
🔪 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 prepared baking sheets and bake according the the recipe below. Cool on a wire rack.
🍴 Equipment
- hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment
- mixing bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
- cookie scoop
🥫 How to store cranberry cookies
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 in an airtight container 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. Substitute dried cranberries for overseas shipping.
- Baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: These orange cranberry cookies freeze beautifully! I like to drop them by spoonfuls on the cookie sheet then put the in the freezer. When they're completely frozen add the frozen cookie dough into a freezer container. I can have fresh cookies in minutes with no mess!
- You 'could' mix these by hand but it's really hard. I suggest an electric mixer.
- 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.
👩🍳 FAQs
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this cookie recipe.
What makes cookies soft and chewy?
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!
How can I keep cookies from spreading too much?
Start with chilled dough, for one thing. Using a vegetable shortening like Crisco rather than butter can help, too.
Here are plenty of Christmas cookie recipes plus lots of information on storing, shipping and more! Make an assortment for your holiday cookie tray.
- Cranberry Moscow Mule: Delicious Holiday Drink is for you if you love a festive co*cktail.
- Cranberry Daiquiri co*cktail is another perfect co*cktail for holiday parties.
- Cranberry Bliss Bar so good! I love this Starbuck's Copycat.
- Condensed Milk Cookies
- Gingerbread Snowball Cookies (No Nuts)
- Santa's Whiskers Cookies Recipe
- Christmas Cookies: One Dough - Five Kinds
📞 The last word
Keep in mind that shipping times are notoriously slow during the busy holiday season. If you'll be mailing these to loved ones send them early!
Another favorite for the holidays is this gingerbread snowball cookie recipe. Try it and let me know what you think!
You'll also want to make some of my favorite cranberry oatmeal cookies.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
4.71 from 27 votes
Cranberry Nut Cookies
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Tangy, sweet cranberry cookies are packed with holiday flavors. These holiday cookies are full of fresh red cranberries, orange zest and pecans. They freeze well and travel like the champs they are - which makes them the perfect cookie for sharing with friends and family.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Amercian Heritage
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
Servings:36
Calories:153
Author:Marye Audet-White
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
I earn a commission from Instacart from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
Cookies
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Grease baking sheets or cover with parchment paper.
Beat together room-temperature butter and sugars until creamy.
Stir in orange juice and egg. Set aside.
Stir together dry ingredients.
Mix flour mixture into the butter mixture.
Stir in nuts and cranberries.
Drop dough by tablespoons about 2" apart on prepared cookie sheets.
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
Expert Tip: These 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 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.
You'll find more helpful tips and variations in the body of the post.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 96mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 172IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
First published November 2008. Last updated December 16, 2023 to improve readability and add more tips.
More Homemade Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Cookies with Ganache
- How to Freeze Cookie Dough (and Baked Cookies)
- Chocolate Butter Cookies
- Quaker Famous Oatmeal Cookies (Original 1950s Recipe)
About Marye
Meet Marye Audet, a wizard in the kitchen and a storyteller at heart. Marye is like your eccentric but fun aunt who knows all the secret recipes and isn't afraid to spill them. She's been around the culinary block more than once, turning simple ingredients into mouthwatering masterpieces. With a sprinkle of humor and a dash of wit, she makes cooking feel like a piece of cake (which she can also teach you to bake perfectly). When she's not conjuring up delicious dishes, you might find her sharing laughs with her family, reading by the fire, or scribbling down her next big recipe idea. Marye believes that a good meal and a hearty laugh are the best parts of life. Marye's a NY Times Bestselling author with 10 cookbooks under her belt and her recipes have been featured in Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Today, House Beautiful, Texas Living, Food & Wine, and many more.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Judy
Found your recipe and was glad to see that it uses whole fresh cranberries. Noticed that using freeze dried cranberries also would work. My Mom's Cranberry Orange Nut Bread is do good and I just discovered why not make cookies too. Will be giving them a try really soon. Thanks for sharing. **
Reply
Marye
Let me know what you think! Using dried cranberries makes these cookies a little chewier and sweeter.
Reply
Linda Furby
I just made them they are so good .
Reply
Maureen Foster
Just made these. They are great. Just the right amount of sweetness and just the right amount of tartness. I love cranberries and pecans and this definitely fits the bill. Have cranberries in the freezer so I can make these anytime.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.Reply
Diahn Carroll-Szafran
I made these Amazing cookies tonight to take to take on my weekend trip to Houston Texas. I hope that my friends enjoy them!!!Reply
Kitty
Love your site! I have made a whole lot of your recipes! Can you use dried cranberries in the Cranberry Nut Cookies recipe?
Reply
Marye
yes!
Reply
