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
- 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
- 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 ¼" - ½" 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.
- 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.
- Bow Tie Cookies
- Coconut Macaroons
- Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Toffee Chip Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Chocolate Cherry Cookies
- Pecan Snowball Cookies
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, zested)
- 3 cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Filling
- 1 cup cranberries (fresh)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon orange peel (fresh, zested)
Instructions
For the Dough
- In a mixing bowl add butter and sugar and mix until fluffy.1 cup butter, 1 ½ cup sugar
- Mix in vanilla, eggs, and orange peel.½ teaspoon vanilla, 2 whole eggs, 1 tablespoon orange peel
- Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix.3 cups flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 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.1 cup cranberries, ¼ cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon orange peel
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 ½" 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 ¼ - ½ 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.
Katie says
These turned out perfectly! The taste is amazing and everyone loved them!
Shelby says
Hi! I am hoping to make these for the holidays. I am a bit confused by the orange peel part? Do you slice the peel and blend it or are you referring to using a zester?
Kathy says
Hi Shelby,
The orange peel is zested.
Enjoy! 🙂
Taylor says
I also had a difficult time with the dough being sticky even after chilling for over an hour. Possibly too much zest? I ended up converting to a drop cookie with the cranberry as a topping and they were delicious! I’ll be eager to try again to see if I have different luck with the dough!
Elizabeth says
I had the worst time rolling and putting the rolled lights onto plastic wrap. I will not make these again . The worst time… rolling the dough was sticky, recipe said lightly flour- no way, after first roll I placed lots and lots of flour to roll the second disc.. still didn’t help. It split when attempting to roll into log.. YeS I placed in fridge to chill the allotted time. Worse thing I had to double the recipe because it’s for my cookie exchange this year. I literally sobbed and cursed rolling the dough out and rolling into logs. NEVER again! I just hope there is a prize for ugly.cookies, I’m sure to win.
Kathy says
Hi Elizabeth,
I'm sorry these cookies didn't work out for you. I'm not certain what happened that caused the dough to be too sticky. These cookies have been tested numerous times by me and by several others with successful results. I'm wondering if the proportions were mixed up when you doubled the recipe.
Kathy
Jolie says
These cookies are amazing and in my humble opinion so worth a second try. A trick I picked up from another recipe is to place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and then roll it out between the paper. This avoids having to use flour (throwing off the recipe) and keeps your surface and roller clean. Once rolled out to your desired size, remove the top piece of paper, add the filling and roll the log with the bottom piece of parchment paper. Good luck if you try again!
Kathy says
Thank you for your tip!
Christine Atterberry says
I enjoyed the recipe.
Kathy says
Thank you! 🙂
Dolores Ybarra says
I would like to make these cookies as they look delicious. My problem is my daughter is allergic to Oranges. Is there something else I can use in place of the orange zest?
Kathy says
Hi Dolores,
Feel free to omit the orange zest. You could try lemon zest, if that works for your daughter.
Kathy
Whitney says
These are amazing! I used Country Crock plant butter to accommodate for a dairy allergy and it worked perfectly.
Kathy says
Thanks, Whitney!!! So glad it all worked for you!
Enjoy,
Kathy 🙂
Debbie says
do you cook the cranberries or just use them fresh. Looking forward to making them.
Kathy says
Hi Debbie,
I use the cranberries fresh.
Enjoy!!!
Kathy 🙂
Lea says
Just made these and they are wonderful ! Even my picky 8year old granddaughter loves them. They are a big hit !
Kathy says
Thank you! And hooray to find something a picky eater loves 🙂
Rosemarie says
Absolutely love the ease of these cookies and the flavour - Amazing! A keeper..
Kathy says
Thanks, Rosemarie! 🙂