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Cranberry Orange Swirl Cookies are a tasty sugar cookie that are perfect for the holidays. Made with fresh cranberries and orange zest in the cookie dough and in the filling, these cookies are bursting with flavor.
I started baking these cookies several years ago and they make it on my baking list every holiday season. There are so many things to love about these cookies!
- First, they look great and often get oohs and aahs!
- There is orange peel added in the dough and in the filling. Talk about flavor!
- You can make the dough and freeze it and then bake when you need fresh cookies!
- Finally, these may look complicated, but they are fairly easy to make!
Are you ready for holiday baking? For me, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is baking season. I love to bake and I love to bake holiday cookies!!!
Key ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and measurements can be found below. Just scroll to the bottom!
- Cranberries – For these cookies, I use fresh cranberries. You could also use frozen cranberries.
- Orange – You’ll need a t least two medium sized oranges for the zest. There is zest in the dough and in the filling
- All purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
Instructions
A complete list of instructions is available below! Just scroll to the bottom!
- Make dough by first combining butter and sugar.
- Mix in vanilla, eggs and orange peel
- Add flour, salt and baking powder and combine
- Divide dough in two and shape each half into a flat round.
- Cover each half with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour
- Just before you are ready to roll out the cookie dough, place cranberries, sugar and remaining orange peel in food processor. Process until finely chopped
- Roll out one disk at a time into a rectangle
- Spoon half the cranberry mixture on the rolled cookie dough
- Roll dough up forming a log – roll beginning with long edge so the log is longer rather than wide
- Wrap each log with plastic wrap and place on a baking sheet
- Refrigerate for at least two hours
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Remove logs from refrigerator and unwrap
- Slice each log into 1/4″ – 1/2″ slices
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes
Make ahead before baking
You can completely prepare these cookie ahead of time and bake just when you’re ready for freshly baked cookies
Store in refrigerator
Store rolled and wrapped cookie dough logs in the refrigerator for up to three days before baking. Make certain dough is on a flat surface while being refrigerated.
Store in freezer
Once the cookie dough is filled and rolled, it can be stored in the freezer. Double wrap logs with plastic wrap. Place on a baking sheet or a flat surface and place in freezer for up to four weeks.
To bake, pull dough from freezer 12 hours ahead of time. Place dough in refrigerator to thaw. Dough need to thaw, but still be well chilled before cutting. Slice and bake according to directions.
My tips for baking these cookies
- Plan ahead – these cookies need to be fully chilled twice. The dough will be too sticky without proper chilling
- Prepare the cranberry filling just before using. If you make too early, the cranberries mixture will become too juicy. If this happens, try to strain off the excess liquid prior to adding to dough.
- No need to pinch the seam of the logs. Just roll into plastic wrap and chill. The dough will hold its shape once fully chilled.
- Bake in a preheated oven
- Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to five days.
- Cookies can be frozen once baked and cooled.
More delicious cookie recipes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my holiday recipes!
Cranberry Orange Swirl Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (at room temperature)
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 tablespoon orange peel (fresh)
- 3 cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Filling
- 1 cup cranberries (fresh)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon orange peel (fresh)
Instructions
For the Dough
- In a mixing bowl add butter and sugar and mix until fluffy.
- Mix in vanilla, eggs, and orange peel.
- Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix.
- When dough is well mixed, remove from bowl and form into two rounds.
- Wrap each round in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
For the Filling
- In a food processor add cranberries, sugar and orange peel. Process until finely chopped.
Rolling the Dough
- Working with one disc of dough at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 10 x 14″ rectangle.
- Add half the filling mixture on top of the dough leaving a 1/2″ border.
- Carefully roll dough into a log.
- Place log on a piece of plastic wrap wrap tightly. Place log on a baking sheet.
- Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Slicing and Baking
- Remove logs from refrigerator and remove plastic wrap.
- Slice dough into 1/4 – 1/2 inch slices and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from baking sheet and cool on a baking rack.
Notes
- Plan ahead – these cookies need to be fully chilled twice. The dough will be too sticky without proper chilling
- Prepare the cranberry filling just before using. If you make too early, the cranberries mixture will become too juicy. If this happens, try to strain off the excess liquid prior to adding to dough.
- No need to pinch the seam of the logs. Just roll into plastic wrap and chill. The dough will hold its shape once fully chilled.
- Bake in a preheated oven
- Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to five days.
- Cookies can be frozen once baked and cooled.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in December 2016.
119 Comments
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December 12, 2016 at 10:26 amOh boy – this is a perfect holiday cookie! Love the combination of flavors here, Kathy!
Kathy
December 16, 2016 at 6:41 amThanks, Annie!
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry
December 12, 2016 at 10:16 amI can’t ever resist the combination of orange and cranberry folded into buttery dough!
Kathy
December 16, 2016 at 6:40 amI just can’t resist any sort of cookie!
Geraldine | Green Valley Kitchen
December 12, 2016 at 8:20 amYum, these look so great. I love cookies with swirls in them – cranberry and orange are delicious together!
Kathy
December 16, 2016 at 6:40 amThey are a great combination!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
December 12, 2016 at 7:36 amI have been baking like crazy, and I have no plans of slowing down! The combination of cranberries and oranges is absolutely one of my favs, so I love that you used it in cookies!!! These swirl cookies are just gorgeous! I could easily eat a few dozen! Cheers, friend!
Kathy
December 12, 2016 at 7:41 pmNo need to slow down the baking! Christmas is just a few days away…in fact, I think I need to bake more!
David @ Spiced
December 12, 2016 at 5:44 amHow fun are these cookies!? I love the orange + cranberry combo during the holidays…and the swirl just takes these to a whole new level. I definitely need to add these to my holiday baking lineup! 🙂
Kathy
December 12, 2016 at 7:40 pmOh yeah!!! These are a must for holiday baking!
Dawn
December 12, 2016 at 4:46 amYes, I definitely have my baking on 😉 I was baking a lot this past weekend too and with each batch I had to sample…you know, for quality control 🙂 These look so beautiful! Love the combination of cranberry and orange. Sounds wonderful! I bet the extra effort is worth it! Pinned! Happy Monday!
Kathy
December 12, 2016 at 7:39 pmQuality control is an important step with cooking. Don’t be tempted to abandon the tasting! Taste on!!!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass
December 11, 2016 at 2:29 pmHi Kathy – I love these cranberry swirl cookies. So festive and pretty! I haven’t started my Christmas cookie baking yet. I’ve only made sugared pecans and sugared cranberries so far. I would love to add these these cookies to my baking list! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Kathy
December 11, 2016 at 3:42 pmMy problem is I keep baking and eating them all! I need to bake again just so I can have a wonderful variety of holiday cookies to serve!
Sues
December 11, 2016 at 1:21 pmLoving the cranberry orange flavor combination and these cookies are just so pretty!!
Kathy
December 11, 2016 at 3:43 pmThey make a great presentation and they are truly bursting with orange!
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks
December 11, 2016 at 6:09 amOh my goodness! If these gorgeous cookies don’t say holiday baking, I don’t know what does! Pinned!
Kathy
December 11, 2016 at 3:43 pmThanks, Rachelle! They are indeed a perfect holiday cookie!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
December 10, 2016 at 6:49 pmI love the cranberry orange combo Kathy. I’ve been sampling way too many cookies this season too. It’ll be the gym all January long for me! But for now, I’ll just enjoy these cookies!
Kathy
December 10, 2016 at 7:25 pmI just can’t resist all these yummy treats now!