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!
These cranberry orange cookies are a delicious little cookie that I make every year during the holidays!
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 at least two medium sized oranges for the zest. There is zest in the dough and in the filling
- All purpose flour - Just regular flour, nothing fancy
- Granulated sugar - Added to the dough and the cranberry filling
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
- Shortbread Christmas 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.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in December 2016.
Valentina says
Such a fun holiday cookie. I a big fan of cranberry with orange and these are so pretty! 🙂 Valentina
Kathy says
Cranberry and orange are such a great pairing!
Nicole says
Hi, I have made these before and are delicious. This time I have lots of frozen cranberries. Can I use them instead of fresh?
Kathy says
Hi Nicole,
Yes, you can use frozen cranberries. Puree them while they are still frozen. If the mixture seems really liquidy, just drain it off.
Enjoy! 🙂
Anissa says
These are so yummy , living in idaho I pick huckleberries in the summer and freezes them , today I used frozen huckleberries and lemon zest and they were to die for !! Thank you for your inspiration ❤️
Kathy says
Hi Anissa,
What a great idea! I have a freezer full of huckleberries, so I am definitely going to have to try that.
Thank you for your inspiration!!! 🙂
Kathy
Tiffany Hoover says
Can the dough be frozen before baking?
Kathy says
Yes! You can freeze this dough before baking. 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.
Enjoy!
Katelyn says
I see you can fill the dough and then freeze, but can you fill and leave in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours, or will the dough get soggy from the filling after two hours?
I look forward to making these this week!
Kathy says
Hi Katelyn,
You can refrigerate 24-48 hours before baking. It's a great way to make ahead of time and then have freshly baked cookies!
Enjoy,
Kathy 🙂
Mandy says
This recipe has become our new favorite! I make them weekly & share them with friends.i don't have fresh cranberries so I used 1/2 cup of dry cranberries & covered them with boiling water. I leave them to soak for about 30mins or longer then drain. I also added 1/2c of defrosted, drained blueberries with the cranberries. Soo good!
Kathy says
Hi Mandy,
Thanks so much! I appreciate your tips for using dried cranberries! Great idea. The addition of blueberries sounds delicious too!
Kathy 🙂
Carolyn H. says
These turned out great! My husband said they were his new favorite cookie :0)
Kathy says
Yay!!! Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
Jolie says
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this wonderful recipe. I discovered it last year and every time I made these cookies, everyone was left wanting more. I even sent them overseas to friends and relatives! Kicked myself all year for not purchasing and freezing cranberries to be able to enjoy these cookies year-round. Didn't make that mistake this year 😉 Thanks again for sharing.
Kathy says
Thanks, Jolie!!! I love hearing how much everyone loves them and I also think it's so great that you share them with so many people!
~Kathy 🙂
MJ Morrison says
My third year making these for Christmas. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe, it’s a keeper!
Kathy says
Wow!!! This just made my whole day! Thanks so much for your lovely comment! 🙂 It's a recipe I make year after year and I love knowing that others love it too!
Mart Jane Loehrke says
I put down 2 strips of plastic wrap on my roll out sheet. After I rolled out the cookie dough and spread the cranberries, I was able to use the plastic wrap to roll them easily, then wrapped them in the wrap to refrigerate. It made the roll to form cookies pretty easy. I also put about 3/4 cup dried cranberries into the spread to give it more body. I used Karen’s idea and sprinkled sugar on while the cookies were hot. Turned out nice. Would make these again. Thank you
Kathy says
Thanks for your tips!!! 🙂
Karen says
These are very good. Next time I will pull back on orange zest (probably half) as I thought it overwhelmed the cranberry flavor. I added about 1/4 cup more of cranberry spread on each roll, but next time will increase amount even more. Added sprinkle sugar to tops of cookies after baking which gave them a festive touch. Although the dough torn here and there when rolling they turned out beautifully. And even tho the orange was more prominent they are very tasty!! Will definitely make again & give as gifts.
Kathy says
Thank you for your comment! 🙂
karen wilson says
Made these again for gifts. Absolutely fabulous!!! Perfect holiday cookies gifts. My experience: One roll I took out and left over night in frig to cut/cook next day. The swirls ran together a bit more. The other I pulled right from the freezer to cut and they were beautiful. Ate the first roll, gave away the beauties!
Kathy says
Hi Karen,
Thank you!!! I also appreciate your insights. 🙂
Kathy