The best cranberry cookies recipe uses fresh or frozen cranberries, orange zest, and chocolate chips for perfectly soft, chewy holiday cookies. Below, you’ll learn exactly how to make cranberry cookies, which ingredients work best, how to adjust the recipe for dried cranberries, and my expert baking tips from years of recipe development and testing.
Table of Contents
- A Little Story About These Cookies
- Why You Can Trust This Recipe
- Why I Love This Cranberry Cookies Recipe
- Ingredients (and What Makes Them Special)
- Substitutions & Variations
- Directions
- Expert Tips for Perfect Cranberry Cookies
- Storage Tips
- Other Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Final Thoughts
- Connect With Me
A Little Story About These Cookies
If you’ve been here a while, you already know that I love cranberry and orange muffins—a staple in my kitchen from November through December. One snowy afternoon, while I was testing a muffin batch, I wondered: What if I turned this into a cookie? Something soft and chewy with bright cranberry flavor and those little pops of tartness?
Well… one test turned into seven (yes, seven), and that’s how this cranberry cookies recipe came to be. And now they’re one of my most-requested Christmas cookies—right alongside classic chocolate chip cookies and shortbread.
These cranberry cookies taste like holiday magic: buttery, lightly sweet, studded with chocolate chips, and filled with fresh cranberries and orange zest. They’re festive, delicious, and so easy.
Why You Can Trust This Recipe
As a professional recipe developer, lifestyle expert, and someone who tests recipes for food brands all year long, I’ve made more cookie dough than I can count. These cranberry cookies have been tested with:
- fresh cranberries
- frozen cranberries
- dried cranberries
- chocolate chips vs chocolate chunks
- different bake times, baking sheets, and oven settings
My goal is always to bring you simple, elevated recipes that work every single time—whether you’re baking for cookie boxes, Christmas parties, or just craving something cozy on a winter night. This is the cranberry cookie recipe I’ve perfected and return to every year.
Why I Love This Cranberry Cookies Recipe
- Soft, chewy centers thanks to brown sugar
- Juicy, tart cranberries for the perfect sweet-tart balance
- Orange zest for a fresh, bright finish
- Chocolate chips (or chunks!) for richness
- Festive and colorful, ideal for Christmas cookies
- Ready in under 30 minutes total
- Works with fresh, frozen, or dried cranberries
Ingredients (and What Makes Them Special)
Butter (room temperature)
Creates that classic soft cookie texture. Creaming softened butter with sugar traps air and makes a chewier cookie.
White & brown sugar
The combination gives structure from granulated sugar and moisture + caramel notes from brown sugar.
Eggs
Bring richness and help bind the dough.
Vanilla extract
Enhances the sweetness and adds warmth—important for holiday cookies.
All-purpose flour
Provides the perfect structure for cookies that don’t spread too much.
Baking soda
Helps the cookies rise slightly while staying soft.
Salt
Balances sweetness and enhances the cranberry and chocolate notes.
Chocolate chips or chunks
White chocolate, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate all work beautifully.
Fresh or frozen cranberries
Fresh or frozen cranberries release moisture as they bake, creating little jammy pockets of cranberry flavor. (If using dried cranberries, see variations below.)
Orange zest
Adds brightness and complements the cranberries perfectly.
Substitutions & Variations
Using dried cranberries
Add 1 cup dried cranberries + 1 tbsp orange juice to soften them.
White chocolate cranberry cookies
Swap the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips for a sweeter, holiday-style cookie.
Cranberry oatmeal cookies
Replace ½ cup flour with ½ cup rolled oats.
Cranberry pecan cookies
Add ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts.
High-protein version
Replace ¼ cup flour with ¼ cup vanilla protein powder.
(Add 1 tsp extra milk if dough becomes too thick.)
Cranberry lemon cookies
Swap orange zest for lemon zest for a brighter, citrus-forward version.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla; mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix until a dough forms.
- Fold in chocolate chips, cranberries, and orange zest.
- Scoop cookie dough onto baking sheet, leaving space between each cookie.
- Bake 12–15 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
Expert Tips for Perfect Cranberry Cookies
- For less spread, chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Frozen cranberries work perfectly—no thawing needed.
- Chop large cranberries so they distribute evenly.
- Use a cookie scoop for even cooking.
- Add a sprinkle of sugar on top for sparkle.
Storage Tips
Room temperature:
Store in an airtight container for 3–4 days.
Freezer (dough):
Freeze scooped cookie dough balls on a baking sheet, then store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Bake from frozen: add 1–2 extra minutes.
Freezer (baked):
Freeze baked cookies for 2 months.
Other Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Spiced Banana and Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
- The Best Soft Apple and Salted Caramel Cookies
- Soft & Chewy Maple Cookies (With Cozy Holiday Spices)
- Easy Soft and Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies Recipe
FAQ
Final Thoughts
These cranberry cookies are everything wonderful about holiday baking—soft, sweet, tart, chocolatey, and beautifully festive. If you love cranberry and orange muffins, you will adore this cookie version. They’re simple, elevated, and made with ingredients you already have in your pantry.
I hope they become a new favorite in your home, just like they are in mine!
Connect With Me
Follow me on Instagram for more delicious recipes and food tips. And, join me over on Facebook where I share recipes daily!
Cranberry Cookies Recipe
These cranberry cookies are everything wonderful about holiday baking—soft, sweet, tart, chocolatey, and beautifully festive. If you love cranberry and orange muffins, you will adore this cookie version. They’re simple, elevated, and made with ingredients you already have in your pantry.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips or chunks
- 1 cup frozen or fresh cranberries
- Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla; mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix until a dough forms.
- Fold in chocolate chips, cranberries, and orange zest.
- Scoop cookie dough onto baking sheet, leaving space between each cookie.
- Bake 12–15 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 268Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 330mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 3g
Christopher is a food and lifestyle expert, recipe developer and the content creator behind May Eighty Five. With over 6 years of creating recipes for your favourite food brands, he also shares tips, tricks and how to’s that he has learnt over the years. Every week, he shares quick, simple and mostly healthy recipes along with some home and entertaining tips. You will find flavorful cocktails, delicious appetizers, tasty mains and some indulgent desserts.
