This festive fresh cranberry shortbread cookie recipe uses fresh cranberries instead of dried. I promise you won’t miss the extra sugar.
More Festive Cookie Recipes: Cranberry Pistachio Cake Cookies, Thumbprint Cookies, Sugar Cookie Cups
This is the best time of year to make fresh cranberry shortbread cookies. You may be able to find frozen cranberries any time of year, but why not buy a couple of extra bags now, and toss them into the freezer, while they are still in season.
There are many cranberry shortbread recipes out there, and they are all very similar. Heavy on butter, usually no baking soda or baking powder, making them dense and delicious. However, most use dried cranberries.
I wanted to use the fresh cranberries that I had bought for some other recent projects like the wood, candle, cranberry, and fresh evergreen centerpiece, and the cranberry garland in the rustic tree decoration post.
The result was amazing, and I felt good about using the fresh cranberries because it cut down on the sugar content. I promise you will not miss the extra sugar.
Once you mix up the dough you need to refrigerate it in logs.
I like this because you can make the dough in a short time, and then whip up the cookies later or even the next day. Since all you have to do is slice them, and place on a cookie sheet, they come together pretty quickly.
They’re so pretty too. A great festive color for the holidays.
Added Bonus: They freeze really well, so you can make them ahead.
Fresh Cranberry Shortbread Cookie Recipe
Fresh Cranberry Shortbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup fresh cranberries finely chopped
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Instructions
- Combine butter and sugar and mix together on medium speed until well blended.
- Add flour about 1/2 at a time and mix until combined.
- Add cranberries and lemon zest, mix well.
- Transfer about 1/2 of the dough onto plastic wrap and roll into a log.
- Continue with the remaining dough.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cut dough into 1/4 inch rounds and bake for 10 minutes.
- Switch pans by moving top pan to the bottom and the bottom pan to the top, then bake for an addition 10 minute or until the cookies start to brown.
- Makes about 2.5 dozen.
Pat says
December 20, 2018 at 5:06 pmHi,
I doubled the sugar to 1 cup and it was not too sweet. I used frozen cranberries
and chopped by hand to give 1 full cup.
The dough was pink after mixing, pretty!
Patti Estep says
December 21, 2018 at 8:52 amThey sound pretty and yummy Pat.
I might have to make this version for Valentine’s Day.
Thanks for sharing!
Gretchen says
December 10, 2018 at 1:53 pmtrying these this week… thoughts about adding dark chocolate to them?
Patti Estep says
December 10, 2018 at 3:14 pmGretchen I love chocolate so I would probably love that combination but I haven’t tried it. Maybe mini chips or shavings would work better than regular dark chocolate chips just because of the size. Just a gut feeling. Let me know how they turn out.
Rachel says
December 7, 2018 at 10:59 amThese look amazing! Do you usually freeze the uncooked dough or the baked cookies?
Patti Estep says
December 7, 2018 at 11:00 amRachel, I have not done either with this new recipe. Although I think you could freeze the cookies, I’m less confident about freezing the dough.
Claudia says
November 27, 2018 at 4:54 pmI picked up extra cranberries at Aldi, now I know just how I will use some. Think I may roll log in sugar for a bit of sparkle. I will let you know how they turn out. Thank you for the great recipe!
Patti Estep says
November 28, 2018 at 6:35 amYour very welcome Claudia. Please do let me know how you like them and how the sugar roll works out. That sounds like a great idea.
Kim says
November 27, 2018 at 12:44 amI am excited to make these cookies. The only cranberries I could find were frozen ones. Any tips on using frozen instead of fresh? I am letting them thaw in the fridge but I am thinking I should squeeze the extra liquid out of them….
Patti Estep says
November 27, 2018 at 6:22 amI do think this recipe would work fine with frozen cranberries but I haven’t tried it yet. Letting them drain first is exactly what I would do. Let me know how they turn out.
Amber says
December 18, 2018 at 1:32 amI used frozen cranberries- it turns the dough pink- which I found fun and festive!!
Patti Estep says
December 18, 2018 at 6:45 amAmber, that does sound fun and festive. I’m going to try them too. Thanks for sharing.
Jesse's Mom says
November 23, 2018 at 11:41 amVery nice cookie that is quite pretty and not too sweet. Definitely rotate the cookie sheets for even baking and watch closely around the 18 minute mark (at least in my very old gas oven!) as they can over-brown quickly. Once cool mine will get a nice lemon icing drizzle using fresh lemon juice. Thank you for this great recipe, Patti 🙂
Patti Estep says
November 24, 2018 at 6:12 amJesse, that’s for the update and I love your idea of topping the cookie with a lemon icing drizzle. I do love the flavor of lemon.
Peggy cruse says
November 14, 2018 at 10:42 amI always used dried cranberries so do I need to cook fresh ones first…?
Patti Estep says
November 14, 2018 at 11:27 amPeggy, you do not need to cook the fresh cranberries. Just give them a rinse and use them fresh from the bag. They taste great and there is already plenty of sugar in the cookie so you won’t miss it.
T says
March 6, 2018 at 9:50 amGreat cookies! I’m putting the recipe on my Christmas cookie rotation! Yummy!
P.S. These are so good I caught my elderly parents eating the cookie dough out of the freezer!
Patti Estep says
March 6, 2018 at 10:33 amLove that! Thanks for sharing it with me.
Shanese says
December 23, 2017 at 10:18 pmMaking these right now and just took the first tray out of the oven! These are delicious and easy to make! I also added a splash of lemon extract.
Patti Estep says
December 24, 2017 at 9:49 amHi Shanese,
So glad you like the cookie recipe and I love the idea of adding lemon extract. Sometime you just don’t have fresh lemons on hand but extract is a good staple for the pantry. Thanks for sharing.
Karen says
December 23, 2017 at 7:06 pmMy goodness these cookies are the best ever! Loved them so much I made three batches this weekend. For a twist, the third batch I used orange rind rather than lemon and added 1/4 cup chopped almonds. These were tasty too but I do love the lemon ones best!
Patti Estep says
December 24, 2017 at 9:50 amHi Karen,
So glad to hear you are enjoying these cookies. I also tried them with orange zest because I did not have fresh lemons and agree that the turned out pretty well. Now I want to try them with chopped almonds. Thanks for the great suggestion.
Laura says
November 23, 2018 at 11:34 amFunny you should mention using orange zest when you were out of fresh lemons…I had some left over Key Limes from a cheesecake last weekend and no lemons or oranges so I’m going to give that a try! Wish me luck!!
Patti Estep says
November 24, 2018 at 6:10 amLaura, I’m sure key limes will be great. In fact, if I see some at the market I just might try it too.
Kellie says
December 12, 2017 at 3:49 pmI’d like to make these, but my AP flour is mixed 50-50 with white whole wheat flour. Do you have any idea whether I would need to adjust any ingredients to accommodate? Concerned about moisture from WW flour, plus I live in the desert. Thanks!
Patti Estep says
December 12, 2017 at 4:03 pmHi Kellie,
I really have no idea as I have never worked with 50/50 flour. I did find this article which may help you. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/guides/white-whole-wheat/
Experimenting in the kitchen is always fun. Good luck and let me know how it turns out.
Anne says
November 12, 2017 at 1:43 pmLovely cookies that I will definitely be making–I adore cranberries. One question though: Are they good keepers? I’d love to add them to packages of baked goods I mail to out-of-state family members for the holidays. In any case, thanks for the recipe.
Patti Estep says
November 13, 2017 at 6:28 amHi Anne,
What a wonderful gift to give friends and family from far away. The cookies do freeze well, but as far as the normal length of time that they stay fresh, I can’t say that they are any different than other baked goods.
Anne says
November 13, 2017 at 9:32 amThanks for the quick response, Patti! I found the first cranberries of the season in stores a few days ago, so I may just have to make a test batch to find out, which means more cookies for me. 🙂
AJ says
October 9, 2017 at 12:06 pmCan I freeze the dough for future use?
And any thoughts on adding white chocolate or nuts to dough?
Patti Estep says
October 9, 2017 at 2:55 pmHi AJ,
I definitely think you could freeze this dough and adding white chocolate or nuts would be a great idea too.
Beth says
January 8, 2017 at 5:25 pmI am planning to make these tonight because they will be perfect for our National Championship viewing party tomorrow night (red and white). But I have one question. Do you use self rising flour or plain?
Thanks
Patti Estep says
January 8, 2017 at 7:28 pmHi Beth,
I used all purpose regular flour for the cookies.
Have fun tomorrow,
Patti
Linda Nelson says
January 5, 2017 at 9:44 pmJust wanted to mention that I made a batch of these cookies for Christmas, and they were delicious. I happen to love a sweet/tart relationship in a dessert anyway, but these were exceptionally amazing.
Heidi says
January 3, 2017 at 8:45 pmThese look and sound delish! Featuring you as a host pick on Funtastic Friday this week!
Miz Helen says
January 2, 2017 at 3:20 pmYour Cranberry Shortbread Cookie’s look delicious, we will love these cookies! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday. Wishing you a fantastic 2017!
Miz Helen
Kimm at Reinvented says
January 1, 2017 at 6:32 pmOh my goodness, these cookies look delicious! I will definitely grab some fresh cranberries and give them a try! Thanks for linking up to Funtastic Friday!
Christine says
December 29, 2016 at 8:56 amLove this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing this with us at the DI & DI Link Party.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
December 26, 2016 at 12:07 pmI love the idea of the fresh cranberries in this cookie! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner Link up!
Deborah says
December 22, 2016 at 8:31 pmThe cookies sound delicious and I want to give them a try. I do have a question, do you need to use a piece of parchment paper or apply anything to the baking sheet to keep them from sticking?
Patti Estep says
December 23, 2016 at 7:54 amHi Deborah,
I don’t use parchment because the cookie sheets I have usually do not stick. That being said I see no reason why you could not use it, especially if that is what you are used to doing.
Hope this helps,
Patti
Carole @ Garden Up Green says
December 22, 2016 at 9:20 amThese sound tasty, I use Oat flour now so I may have to give this a try. Trying to keep the sweets at a distance but I love cranberries, especially fresh. I’ve also started adding less sugar to my cookie recipes and found them to be better because the other ingredients stand. Thanks for sharing – this one is a keeper!
Patti Estep says
December 22, 2016 at 10:48 amHi Carole,
So glad you like the recipe. In addition to using fresh cranberries I think you could get away with reducing the sugar by at least 1/3 or 1/2, especially if you are used to doing that kind of thing.
Merry Christmas friend!
Patti
Sandra Ll says
December 22, 2016 at 8:06 amThese look yummy and simple to make and I love cranberries. Have a few bags in the frig and ready to get baking.
I think all us ladies are juggling too much this week. But I wasn’t confused. Cream was taught to me by my grandmother and she did the same thing as you she switched the pans. I’m not sure if would make much difference but I still do all these decades later.
Merry Christmas
Sandra
Patti Estep says
December 22, 2016 at 8:27 amHi Sandra,
I’m so glad I didn’t confuse everybody and I hope you like the recipe.
Merry Christmas to you and yours,
Patti
Rose says
December 22, 2016 at 7:22 amHi Patti – looks like a great recipe – thank you for sharing! Can you explain what you mean by changing pans?
Patti Estep says
December 22, 2016 at 7:31 amHi Rose,
Can you tell I’m juggling?
I’m so sorry that this post was confusing.
When I first learned to bake chocolate chip cookies my mother told me to bake them half way then switch the cookie trays in the oven by moving the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom to make sure that they cook evenly.
I’m not sure that you really need to do this but it’s a habit that I have gotten used to.
Have a great holiday,
Patti
Wilma says
December 22, 2016 at 6:55 amIn the cranberry shortbread recipe instructions you say add cream but you don’t list it in the recipe.
Patti Estep says
December 22, 2016 at 7:04 amHi Wilma,
I’m sorry. That is just a cooking term that means to mix the butter and sugars together. I’m going to edit the recipe to clarify this.
I hope you like the cookies and thanks for your great question.
Patti