• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
In Fine Taste
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » All Desserts

    Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

    Published: Dec 16, 2019 · Modified: Aug 24, 2023 by In Fine Taste · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    cranberry orange shortbread cookies on cooling rack

    These cranberry orange shortbread cookies are sweet and flavorful, dense and just melt in your mouth! Our shortbread has dried cranberries, fresh orange zest and juice, and just a hint of almond for the most delicious shortbread cookie around!

    dried cranberries and zested orange

    So what is shortbread?

    Shortbread is actually a traditional Scottish cookie or biscuit as they like to say! Shortbread gets it name from they crumbly texture of the dough. As you see when you’re making these cranberry orange shortbread cookies, the dough is quite crumbly and really has to be pushed together to get it into shape. Shortbread is a very dense cookie, you’ll notice we don’t have any eggs or leavening agents (baking soda or baking powder) that would make these cookies rise or spread.

    Traditional Scottish shortbread had one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. We have obviously delved away from these traditional ratios and upped our sugar, because being American we like our desserts SWEET!

    stack of shortbread

    Crispy or Soft?

    Now, most Brits would bite into my shortbread and say ughh, it’s soft! Yep. I like my shortbread soft, what can I say? I love the soft and buttery texture of them soft. If, you however, are Team Crispy Shortbread (to each his own) simply up the bake time! For soft shortbread I bake these for 12-15 minutes, if you want a crispier shortbread try 15-20 minutes, let them get a bit more golden color too them, but watch them, you don’t want them to burn!

    Making this Shortbread

    Do I really need to cream it for 5+ minutes?

    creamed shortbread dough

    Your first step to making this shortbread is VERY important one: Creaming the butter and sugars together. In the directions I instruct you to cream them together for 3-5 minutes if you’re using a stand mixer or 6-8 minutes if using a hand mixer.

    Now, I know what you’re thinking: Does it really make a difference? YES! Check out this picture below, the butter and sugar on the left was creamed together for 1 minute, the one on the right was creamed together for 4 minutes. Do you see the difference? The one on the right is much smoother, creamier, and even paler in color. This is what you want! It makes such a difference in the cookies!

    Don’t over mix the flour!

    After creaming it all together you’ll add in your flavorings—in this case your chopped dried cranberries, orange zest, and orange juice. Once this is mixed in add in your flour. Now be really careful here when adding in your flour. It’s tempting to just keep beating the dough with your mixer until the flour is fully incorporated, but exercise restraint! I usually mix in my flour by hand—you don’t want to over mix the flour in there or it will start to develop gluten making your cookies tough, and we want our shortbread nice and tender. So mix it until just barely combined and then move on to dividing and wrapping your dough.

    how to wrap and chill the shortbread dough

    Divide, Wrap, Chill

    At this point you should have a very crumbly dough. Divide your dough approximately in half and place each on a large piece of plastic wrap. Using your hands and with the assistance of your piece of plastic wrap, shape your dough into a log approximately 1 ½-2 inches in diameter. Really push that dough together, remember it’s supposed to be dense! Wrap your dough log up completely in plastic and chill for about 2 hours.

    how to slice the cranberry orange shortbread cookies

    Slice and Bake

    After your dough is chilled, slice your dough into slices ¼-½” thick. Coat them in granulated sugar for some extra crunch and sparkle and then bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Feel free to place these cookies close together, because they have chilled and don’t have any eggs or leavening agents they won’t spread much! Cool completely and then eat!

    cranberry orange shortbread cookies stacked in a pile

    I love the cranberry and orange flavors in these shortbread cookies—they always remind me of Christmas, but honestly I will eat these any time of year!

    Enjoy!

    Alyssa

    Check out these other Tasty Recipes!

    • Cranberry Orange Brown Sugar Cake
    • Cranberry Almond Baked French Toast
    • Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
    • How to Make a Hot Chocolate Bar

    Don't forget to pin this recipe for later! You can also follow us on Pinterest here!

    Tried this recipe and loved it? Comment and Rate it! Also send us a picture, WE WANT TO SEE!

    cranberry orange shortbread cookies

    Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

    Our Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies have dried cranberries, fresh orange zest and juice, and just a hint of almond for the most delicious shortbread cookie around
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cookies
    Cuisine: British
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes
    Additional Time: 2 hours hours
    Total Time: 2 hours hours 27 minutes minutes
    Servings: 24
    Calories: 165kcal
    Author: Alyssa--In Fine Taste

    Ingredients

    • 2 ½ cups/326 grams all purpose flour
    • 10 tablespoons granulated sugar plus extra for rolling cookies in
    • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
    • 1 cup salted butter room temperature (if you only have unsalted butter, add ¾ teaspoon of salt
    • 1 teaspoon almond extract
    • Zest of 1 orange
    • 1 tablespoon orange juice
    • ½ cup dried cranberries chopped
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, sugars, and almond extract on medium-high till it’s super light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes for a stand mixer; 6 to 8 for a hand mixer). This is really important, don't skimp on the time! Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl every minute or so.
    • Mix in chopped dried cranberries, orange juice, and orange zest until thoroughly combined. Then add in the flour is just incorporated, you do not want to over mix the dough. If necessary, knead the dough with your hands to make sure the flour is totally incorporated.
    • Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic over so that it covers the dough to protect your hands from getting all sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a log shape with a 1 ½-2 inch diameter; rolling it on the counter will help you smooth it out, but don’t worry about getting it totally perfect. Really push the dough together, shortbread is supposed to be dense. Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours.
    • Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper. Using a large knife slice the log in to ¼ -½ inch slices and dip the cookie slice in granulated sugar. You can skip this part if you’d like, but it gives them a bit sparkle and crunch. If the slices fall apart when cutting, just push the dough back together. Place them on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart (they won’t spread much). Bake 12 to 15 minutes—do not over bake them. Cool completely before enjoying.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 132mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g
    Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
    Tried this recipe? Leave a review below, then take a picture and tag us @InFineTaste on Instagram so we can see!

    Share it on Instagram and tag us and tag #infinetasterecipes so we can see it!

    Are you part of our Facebook Page? Follow along with what's new on In Fine Taste, share YOUR favorite recipes, ask questions, post pictures of what your making, and more! Like our page HERE

    Originally posted December 19, 2018

    More All Dessert Recipes

    • slice of turtle pie on white plate.
      Turtle Pie
    • cookie on cooling rack with bite out of it.
      Cocoa Blossom Cookies
    • cinnamon roll on white plate.
      Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
    • cheesecake square with pumpkin in the background.
      No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kathy

      January 07, 2023 at 10:04 pm

      5 stars
      Everybody loved them- perfect for the a holiday cookie both in flavor and appearance

      Reply
    2. Gauri Madan

      January 05, 2022 at 11:46 pm

      Hi Alyssa,
      If I use frozen cranberries for this recipe , what modifications will be required?

      Reply
      • In Fine Taste

        January 18, 2022 at 7:33 pm

        Hi Gauri, I do not think frozen cranberries would work well in this recipe. The moisture from using fresh/frozen cranberries would completely change the texture of these shortbread cookie by adding quite a bit of extra moisture. Dried cranberries are recommended instead!
        - Alyssa

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Meet Dianna & Alyssa

    two women, Dianna and Alyssa, standing with their arms around each other.

    We are Dianna & Alyssa, a mother-daughter duo, and food lovers! We are the stomachs behind all the recipes we share here on In Fine Taste.

    Read more about us

    Subscribe to our Newsletter

    Holiday Recipes You Won't Want to Miss!

    • three squares of peppermint bark fudge stack on top of each other.
      Peppermint Bark Fudge
    • sugar cookies in metal tray.
      Soft, No Spread Sugar Cookies
    • slice of gingerbread cake with bite out of it on plate
      Gingerbread Sheet Cake w/ Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
    • truffle with bite out of it with truffles around her.
      Chocolate Orange Truffles

    Popular Posts

    • blue monster cookie with bite out of it stacked.
      Cookie Monster Cookies
    • soup in bowl with basil around and croutons on side.
      Roasted Red Pepper Gouda Soup
    • bowl of tzatziki with cucumbers on top
      Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Sauce)
    • slices of pizza.
      The Best Pizza Dough
    logos displaying where In Fine Taste has been featured.

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Have a question? Or want to work with us? Send us a message!
    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.