These buttery Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookies are a must make this holiday season! Super easy to make with just a handful of ingredients, they are a great make-ahead recipe for the holidays. Simply make the dough up to 3 days in advance of baking or bake and store in the freezer.
Baking this weekend? Add these favorites to your baking list: Sugar Cookie Recipe, Gingerbread Cookies, and Cranberry Orange Cookies!
Shortbread Cookies
Shortbread cookies are an important part of our holiday celebrations. Not only are they seriously simple and quick to make, there is just something incredibly nostalgic about these buttery, crumbly cookies that friends and family find irresistible.
Shortbread cookies are interesting because they don’t use a leavening agent such as baking powder or baking soda. What that means is, the shape they go into the oven in is the shape they come out. I love to make my dough into logs so I can just slice off however many cookies I want to bake but shaping the log into a square shape always makes for a beautiful presentation as well.
I’ve left these cookies plain today but they are so fun and easy to dress up. Consider drizzling with white chocolate or dark chocolate and maybe sprinkling with festive sprinkles for the holidays. No matter what you do, just make these cookies, you’re going to love them!
More Cranberry Recipes
Cranberry recipes are perfect for this time of year! They can be used for desserts, breakfast, brunch and more! Take a look at some of our favorites:
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
- Moist Cranberry Orange Bread
- Classic Cranberry Almond Scones
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
What You’ll Need
Shortbread cookies are a go-to of mine because I always have what I need on hand. As always, you can find the full printable recipe in the recipe card at the end of this post. Let’s take a quick look at what you’ll need to make this recipe:
- unsalted butter: at room temperature
- powdered sugar
- brown sugar
- vanilla extract: you can use store bought or try my homemade vanilla extract recipe!
- orange zest: you’ll need about 2 tablespoons for this recipe.
- all-purpose flour: this provides the structure for the cookies.
- salt
- cranberries: dried and chopped
- pecans: chopped
How to Make Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookies
All you need is about 10 minutes of prep and then off to the fridge for a couple hours to chill. These cookies are a breeze to make! Let’s take a look:
Make the Cookie Dough
- Beat butter until soft and creamy. Next, add the powdered sugar and brown sugar and mix until creamy and combined.
- Finally, mix in the vanilla extract and orange zest.
- Whisk together the flour and salt in a separate bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture and stir just until combined.
- Fold in the chopped cranberries and pecans.
Form Into a Log and Chill
- Place a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Transfer half of the dough to the plastic wrap and roll into a log shape, about 1.5 inches in diameter and 7 to 8 inches long.
- Repeat with a new piece of plastic wrap and the remaining cookie dough.
- Refrigerate both logs for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Bake Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Cut into ¼ inch to ⅓ inch thick slices trying to keep the cookies the same thickness.
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes.
- Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before carefully transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool.
The baking time will depend on how thick you cut the cookies. Take a peek at the cookies in the oven after about 8 minutes. You’re looking for lightly golden edges.
How to Store Shortbread Cookies
These cranberry pecan shortbread cookies are easy to store!
- Room Temperature: Place cookies in an airtight container and keep them on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: Allow the cookies to cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Allow the cookies to cool completely and then place in an airtight freezer safe container. Place parchment paper between each layer of cookies for best results. Let defrost at room temperature. Cookies can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookie Tips
- Don’t skip the step where you chill the dough. This will help the cookies maintain their shape while in the oven.
- Use real vanilla extract! If you don’t use a homemade vanilla extract, make sure your store bought vanilla extract is the real stuff.
- Use unsalted butter. This will allow you to control the saltiness of the cookies.
- You can dress up these shortbread cookies by melting some white chocolate and drizzle them with it. A great way to take these cookies to the next level! You could even add some sprinkles.
- Make sure the butter is already at room temperature before you start mixing it. This results in less work on your part and ensures a better consistency in your cookies after baking them.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Looking for more holiday cookies? Here are some of our favorites.
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
- Winter Wonderland Cookies
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
- Decorated Christmas Cookies
- Watercolor Snowflake Cookies
How To Make Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
- orange zest 1 orange
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries chopped
- ⅓ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until soft and creamy. Beat in powdered sugar and brown sugar and mix until creamy and combined.
- Beat in vanilla extract and orange zest just until combined.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped cranberries and pecans.
- Place a 15 inch square piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap on a flat surface. Transfer half of the dough to the plastic wrap and roll into a log shape, about 1.5 inches in diameter and 7 to 8 inches long. Repeat with a new piece of plastic wrap and the remaining cookie dough. Refrigerate both logs for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
- Remove one log from the fridge and unwrap. Cut into ¼ inch to ⅓ inch thick slices trying to keep the cookies the same thickness. Place cookies onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until very lightly golden around the edges.
- Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before carefully transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool. They will be soft just after baking but will firm up within minutes. Let cookies cool completely before storing or decorating. See post for ideas and information.
Notes
Storage Information
- Room Temperature: Place cookies in an airtight container and keep them on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: Allow the cookies to cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Allow the cookies to cool completely and then place in an airtight freezer safe container. Place parchment paper between each layer of cookies for best results. Let defrost at room temperature. Cookies can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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