Fresh Cranberry Orange Cookies

Fresh cranberries are only here for a short while each year and when they start appearing in late fall, I always grab a bag or three for some fresh baking and preserving. These cranberry orange cookies are a straightforward drop cookie, tart from the cranberries and bright from the orange zest, and they hold up well enough to pack into tins or mail to people. The frosting is optional but worth it if you’re making them for a dessert table.

Simple Pantry Ingredients

These cookies use simple ingredients that are likely already in your pantry. There’s no need to get too fancy but here are few tips.

Butter

The recipe as written uses unsalted butter. If you want to use salted butter, go a bit lighter or skip the additional salt completely.

Orange Zest

Don’t skimp here. The zest is what gives the best orange flavor to the cookie and the frosting. Grate it fresh using a microplane zester just before adding it to the bowl for mixing in both the cookie dough and the frosting.

Chopped Cranberries

I used fresh cranberries in this recipe and simply gave them a rough chop with a chef’s knife on a cutting board. You could likely do the chopping in a food processor by just pulsing a few times – I didn’t test that but imagine it could be done.

You might be able to use frozen cranberries that have been thawed and then chopped but I haven’t tried so I can’t guarantee that would work.

Other Optional Ingredients

These cookies are quite delicious just the way they are in my opinion, however you could add some other bits to make them even heartier. Consider adding:

• 1 cup of chopped nuts
• 1 cup of chocolate chips (white, semi-sweet, milk, etc.)
• Up to 1 teaspoon of spice as desired (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.)

To Frost or Not?

The cookies are quite good and plenty sweet without the frosting. However, if you want something a bit fancier for a dessert table or bake sale, the frosting is a wonderful touch.

If you’re tucking the cookies into a care package, I would skip the frosting and mail the cookies plain for a wonderful, completely shippable food gift.

Mounded or Flat Cookies

When baking these, I tested them in a couple of different way.

First, I just used a cookie scoop and dropped dough onto the baking sheet and baked just like that. The cookies don’t spread or flatten much and the result is a slightly fluffier cookie with a bit of a mound shape. Delightful and tasty.

I also tested them by dropping them and then using the palm of my hand to flatten them slightly before baking. This resulted in a flatter cookie that baked up a few minutes quicker than the mounded shape. It still resulted in a wonderful cookie.

You could choose to do it either way. The flatter cookies might be easier for stacking into tins or packing into bags for shipping but honestly either way is great. Do what works for you.

Cookie Size

The recipe as written makes approximately 40 large cookies. You could easily make them smaller for more cookies if you’re adding them to tins or packages with other things. Watch the baking time if you go smaller.

Freeze Extras

The baked cookies freeze delightfully well. Make a double or triple batch if desired and freeze any leftovers.

Simply put baked and cooled cookies into freezer containers or plastic bags.

Use up any frozen cookies within 6 months for best flavor and to prevent freezer burn. Thaw frozen cookies on the counter prior to serving. We’ve been known to eat them straight from the freezer in our house.

You can freeze them frosted or unfrosted. You can always add the frosting to thawed cookies prior to serving, if desired.