Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

The most festive Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies with White Chocolate Frosting. Rich, melt in your mouth, perfectly sweetened shortbread cookies flavored with vanilla and orange, studded with dried cranberries and walnuts and topped with white chocolate frosting.

Made with orange zest AND rich white chocolate frosting, these Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies with White Chocolate Frosting have something for every cookie fan! They’re rich and at the same time fresh tasting thanks to the orange! Bonus! They couldn’t be easier to make!

THE BEST SHORTBREAD COOKIE RECIPE

I’m that person who has bought a shirt in two colors if I like it! I’m also the person who will make multiple recipes out of one VERY good shortbread recipe…enter this shortbread cookie recipe.

It started a year ago when I made these Lemon Pistachio Shortbread Cookies. Not only did I love the add ins, I became obsessed with the dough itself. How could something so easy be so delicious?!

Naturally I had to try the recipe with chocolate. These Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Almond Toffee Slice and Bake Cookies prove that this recipe also works well with chocolate!

WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED TO MAKE THESE COOKIES?

This recipe can’t not taste good since it starts with two sticks of butter and some powdered sugar. Here’s what else is in it:

• Unsalted Butter: two sticks!
• Powdered Sugar
• Orange Zest
• Orange Juice
• Vanilla Extract
• 1 Egg Yolk
• Flour
• Salt
• Dried Cranberries: Finely chopped. This makes it easier to slice or cut the cookies out. Also, more bits means there’s more cranberry throughout!
• Walnuts: Also finely chopped.

HOW TO PREPARE THE DOUGH

1. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy. Add the orange zest, juice, and vanilla, followed by the egg yolk. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. 
2. Turn the dough out onto the counter top and form the dough. The dough will feel like play dough and will be very easy to shape!

HOW TO SHAPE THE DOUGH

There are two options for shaping the dough/cutting out the cookies. The first option is to roll the dough into a log, chill it then slice it. The other option is to roll the dough out, chill it then cut it out in shapes.

SLICE THEM

For my other shortbread cookie recipes, I shaped into a 10 inch log, chilled it, then sliced it. This is probably the simplest way to make them.

ROLL THEM OUT

Since it’s the holidays, I rolled my dough out so I could use cookie cutters. To do this, divide the dough in half once it’s mixed. The dough is soft and almost feels like play dough. I find it easier to roll it out before chilling it. The only challenge is to try not to add too much flour when rolling it out.

Roll out each half on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. (Only add as little flour as needed to prevent it from sticking). Roll each half out to a 1/4 inch thickness. Place each half on a tray and cover each tray with plastic wrap. Chill for two hours.

Once the dough has chilled, run a bench scraper or a large knife gently under the cookie dough to help unstick it from the parchment paper. This will help you lift the cookies off the paper once you cut them out.

After cutting your cookies out, place them all on a baking sheet and chill them again. This second chilling will help the cookies firm up and keep them from spreading too much while baking.

WHAT COOKIE CUTTERS DO I USE

Use any cookie cutter you want to use! I was in the mood for wreaths and trees when I made these, but they would be sweet with any type of cookie cutter, for any holiday or any time of the year!

ADD A FILLING IF YOU LIKE

The natural filling for these cranberry cookies was, of course, cranberry sauce! I used my cranberry sauce recipe from my Orange Cranberry Pound Cake. You can also use store bought cranberry sauce. You can also choose not to add any filling.

WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

For my Lemon Pistachio Shortbreads, I dredged the cookies in melted white chocolate. If you want a super simple topping, melted white chocolate works perfectly! If you have about five minutes to spare, however and want a real treat of a topping, I recommend white chocolate frosting.

You can pipe it on with a piping bag and small round tip. If you don’t have a piping tip, you can just fill up a zip lock sandwich bag and snip off a little bit of a corner. Twist the top to make sure the frosting doesn’t spill out.

Pipe the frosting anyway you like! You can outline the cookies, draw on them, or just grab a spoon or a knife and spread it on.

PIPE IT ON OR FROST THEM?

Both are great options! These cookies are so pretty, so I decided to pipe mine on. Piping it on meant my cookies got some yummy white chocolate frosting but you could still see the cranberries and orange zest in the dough!

Beyond excited for you to make these Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies with White Chocolate Frosting. They’re easy and fun to make and are incredibly delicious! and bursting with flavor! Perfect for Christmas or anytime of the year! 

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