Description
A foolproof recipe for soft, chewy cranberry orange cookies that are perfect for holidays, cookie exchanges, or any time you want to fill your kitchen with amazing aromas. Made with simple ingredients and ready in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients
Real ingredients that won’t break your budget:
- 1 cup butter, softened (leave it out for two hours or you’ll hate yourself later)
- 1 cup white sugar (regular sugar, nothing fancy)
- 1 large egg (room temperature if you remember, cold if you don’t)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the cheap stuff works fine)
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (squeeze it yourself or buy the carton)
- 2 teaspoons orange zest (use a cheese grater if that’s what you’ve got)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur if you’re feeling fancy, store brand if you’re like me)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins work, whatever’s on sale works better)
When you’re out of stuff:
- No fresh cranberries? Good, dried ones are easier anyway
- No orange? Lemon works but don’t tell Grandma Betty
- Out of vanilla? Skip it, these have enough flavor without it
- Want them less tart? Add some mini chocolate chips and call it fusion cooking
Instructions
Heat it to 350°F and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. I learned this the hard way after scraping burned cookie bottoms off my pans for an hour last Christmas Eve.
Cream them together for about four minutes until it looks fluffy and pale. My arm used to get tired doing this by hand, then my sister got me a $20 hand mixer that changed my life.
Beat in the egg, vanilla, orange juice, and zest. The smell alone will make your mouth water. If it doesn’t smell amazing, you probably forgot the zest.
Whisk your flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl, then slowly add it to your wet mixture. Don’t dump it all in at once unless you want flour everywhere including your hair.
Gently mix in those cranberries like you’re handling something precious. I used to stir too hard and ended up with purple cookie dough that looked like Play-Doh.
Scoop spoonfuls onto your pans with about two inches between each cookie. They spread out while baking, and merged cookies are sad cookies.
Ten to twelve minutes until the edges look golden but the centers still seem a little raw. Don’t overbake these or they’ll turn into cardboard. I set two timers because I have ADHD and forget things.
Let them sit on the hot pan for five minutes before moving them to cooling racks. Moving them too soon makes them fall apart, and nobody has time for broken cookie drama.
Notes
Don’t overbake these suckers – they keep cooking on the hot pan even after you take them out
Chill your dough if it’s too sticky to handle, about twenty minutes in the fridge
Use a cookie scoop if you want them all the same size, but honestly who cares
Rotate your pans halfway through if you have a crappy oven like mine that heats unevenly
Room temperature ingredients mix better, but I forget half the time and they still turn out fine
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes per batch
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American