Cranberry Shortbread Cookies (Slice and Bake Recipe)
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Light, buttery, and much softer than traditional shortbread, this cranberry shortbread cookie recipe is a favorite on my holiday cookie trays and a hit at cookie exchanges.
I’m definitely NOT a baking blogger, but I do love a good cookie. These cranberry shortbreads are one of the few cookie recipes I’ve ever created. They’ve been on my holiday baking list for well over a decade and are my most requested holiday cookie. They freeze perfectly, making them one of the first cookies I make every December.
Cranberry shortbread cookies are perfect for: cookie exchanges, hostess gifts, cookie boxes, and any holiday dessert table. You can’t go wrong with these easy, buttery Christmas cookies.
Enjoy them with a cup of hot chocolate made with my classic hot cocoa mix or peppermint hot cocoa mix for the ultimate Christmas cookie experience.
Ingredients
- Butter – Use real dairy butter. No butter substitutes. It’s the main flavor in this recipe so only use real, dairy butter. Do not use vegan butter or butter substitutes. If you don’t eat dairy butter, this is not the recipe for you.
- Sugar – Use white granulated sugar – either beet sugar or cane sugar.
- Flour – Plain all purpose flour works well here.
- Egg – I’ve made these with room temperature eggs and straight-from-the-fridge eggs with no noticeable difference.
- Vanilla – Choose a good quality, pure vanilla extract for this recipe.
- Baking powder – For a little rise in your cookies. Make sure yours hasn’t expired.
- Dried cranberries – Sweetened, dried cranberries are best. Toasted chopped pecans, diced dried cherries, chopped chocolate, or toffee bits are all great substitutions for the dried cranberries.
Do not use fresh cranberries in this recipe. They add too much moisture and tartness. You don’t want to add moisture and need the sugar that the dried cranberries provide. With fresh cranberries the cookies will be too tart and fall apart.
How to Make Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy.
Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until blended. Add flour and baking powder to the butter mixture. Stir until incorporated.
Stir in dried cranberries and form dough into logs aprox 2 ½” inches diameter. Wrap in parchment paper or wax paper and refrigerate until dough is firm, at least 2 hrs. (I often leave mine overnight.)
Note: You absolutely MUST chill the cookie dough for at least 2 hours before you slice and bake it. Feel free to chill it longer, or even overnight if desired.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from the paper. Place on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut into slices aprox ¼ inch thick.
Place dough about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set, but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. Enjoy!
Cranberry Shortbread Cookie Recipe (Slice and Bake)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy.1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar
- Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until blended.1 tsp vanilla, 1 egg
- Add flour and baking powder to the butter mixture.2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Stir until incorporated.
- Stir in dried cranberries.1/2 cup dried cranberries
- Form dough into logs aprox 2 ½” inches diameter.
- Wrap in parchment paper or wax paper and refrigerate until dough is firm, at least 2 hrs. (I often leave mine overnight.)
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove dough from wax paper.
- Place on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut into slices aprox ¼ inch thick.
- Place dough about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set, but not brown.
- Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.
- Enjoy!
Notes
How to Freeze Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
One of my favorite things about these cookies is that they’re very freezer friendly. You can freeze as dough in logs – slice it first! – then thaw overnight in the fridge and bake. Or you can bake the entire batch and freeze the baked cookies. (This is what I do.) Thaw the baked cookies at room temperature, or place the frozen cookies into cookie boxes for shipping or gifting. They’ll thaw en route.
Easy Options for Gifting Cookies
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Christmas Cocktail Pairings
These buttery shortbread cookies go well with a sweet holiday cocktail like my Christmas Spiced Martini or Pumpkin Spice Martini. Or lean into the cranberry flavor and enjoy them with a Cranberry Orange Sour or Cranberry Gin Cocktail.
These cookies were a HIT with my family and friends this past Holiday Season. I can only describe them as a cookie that you can have for breakfast, a side a lunch, dessert with dinner, and a compliment with a cocktail, glass of wine or beer.
The recipe is simple, real ingredients. I did substitute Michigan dried cherries for the cranberries. The tart, sweetness of both berries is what makes this cookie so good!
Dried cherries would definitely be delicious in these! 🙂
Making this recipe for the 3rd or 4th year in a row! The freeze so well, getting some holiday baking done ahead of time saves so much stress later on!
I do the same thing with these cookies! So happy to hear they’ve become an annual tradition! 🙂
My in-laws are huge Christmas cookie people, and I’ve always looked for my own recipe to bring to the table to no avail until I tried Katy’s recipe. Now not only is it a staple at Christmas, but I get requests to make them year-round. I added Trader Joe’s orange-infused cranberries, which is *chef’s kiss*. Thank you, Katy!
I’m so happy to hear this, Ashley! Using orange-infused cranberries sounds delicious. I’m going to have to try that! 🙂
I made these cookies at Christmas. They were a huge hit with my family and looked so pretty in our Christmas gift baskets alongside my homemade jams and jellies. They will definitely be a holiday staple along with my mom’s Spritz Cookie recipe. 😋
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂
We LOVE this recipe for a not too sweet, just right addition to our Christmas cookie trays. I added a bit of dried orange peel. Thank you Katy for a keeper!
Adding some orange sounds delicious! So happy you like the recipe. 🙂
What do you think of adding finely chopped crystallized ginger to this recipe?
Cranberry and ginger pair well together, so I bet that would be delicious. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Can I substitute fresh cranberries – halved or large chopped?
Nope. You need the sugar from the dried cranberries to keep the cookies from being sour. If you want a substitution for the cranberries, tried another dried fruit like chopped dried cherries or finely diced apricots. Mini chocolate chips or walnuts are also delicious swaps for the dried cranberries.
Have you tried it with fresh cranberries in a food processor?
Fresh cranberries add too much moisture and tartness. You need no additional moisture along with the sugar that the dried cranberries provide. Otherwise the cookies will be too tart and fall apart.
Fantastic recipe!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked it!!