These cranberry orange icebox cookies deliver big flavor from surprisingly simple ingredients. Enjoy a buttery shortbread-like cookie flecked with chewy dried cranberries and fragrant orange zest. For a sparkly edge and sweet crunch, roll the logs of dough in coarse sugar before slicing and baking. And drizzle on an easy 2-ingredient orange glaze for a flavorful finishing touch.
One reader, Maryn, commented: “These are wonderful! I made them last year, and they are as delicious and beautiful as shown in the recipe! Take the time to roll the logs in the coarse sugar and make the glaze with the orange zest on top… so gorgeous! Can’t wait to make them again this year! ★★★★★“
These bejeweled-looking cranberry orange cookies are surprisingly simple to make. You need very basic baking ingredients, and the dough comes together in just 1 bowl. (Is that music to your ears!?)
The juice and zest of a fresh orange gives these buttery shortbread-like cookies a bright and cheery flavor, complemented by the sweet-tart dried cranberries. I love this flavor combo, as evidenced by recipes like cranberry orange scones and orange cranberry bread.
And you’ll love the convenience of these icebox cookies! Make the dough ahead of time, pop it in the refrigerator, then just slice and bake when you’re ready. With so many Christmas cookies to make, I know we all appreciate a great make-ahead recipe.
Why You’ll Love These Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookies
- Simple, basic ingredients
- Easy-to-follow 1-bowl recipe
- Buttery shortbread flavored with fresh orange and studded with chewy dried cranberries
- Soft and thick in the centers, crispy around the edges
- Cranberry + orange combo is flavorful and colorful—so festive!
- A great make-ahead cookie recipe
- No rolling individual dough balls—just slice and bake
- Easy 2-ingredient icing
They’re called icebox cookies for a reason: chilling the cookie dough logs is essential. Like pinwheel cookies (another slice-and-bake style cookie), the cookie dough is very buttery and, without time in the refrigerator, will bake into greasy puddles. Let’s save the puddles for chocolate lava cakes.
It may seem like an exercise in delayed gratification, but I prefer to think of it as a great make-ahead recipe! The cookie dough logs can hang out in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or you can freeze them for even longer. Simply thaw in the refrigerator for an hour or two before slicing and baking. Having some cookie dough in the freezer is such a time-saver during the busy holiday season!
Simple Ingredients
The base dough for these slice-and-bake cookies is just like reader-favorite dark chocolate orange slice-and-bake cookies. Which, honestly, is sort of like my shortbread cookie dough and classic roll-out dough for sugar cookies combined. Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, salt… Cookie Crew, assemble!
The only other ingredients you need are a navel orange (zest and juice), dried cranberries, some coarse sugar for rolling, and confectioners’ sugar for the icing.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookies
This is all very easy! I love the slice-and-bake style (aka icebox) method and you can find more variations on my website and in my cookbook, including coconut-y Santa’s whiskers cookies, colorful sprinkle slice-and-bakes, brown sugar shortbread cookies, and toasted hazelnut slice-and-bake cookies.
Make the cookie dough all in 1 bowl, and then divide in half. It’s quite creamy, so have a little extra flour on hand.
Shape each portion into a log (just roll it), and then wrap up tightly and chill for 3 hours. After that, roll the dough logs in coarse sugar. I always use these sparkling sugar sprinkles or something like Sugar in the Raw. It provides a little extra sparkle and crunch, but it’s an optional step.
Slice the dough logs. They’re about 7 or 8 inches, so each cookie is a bit more than 1/2 inch thick.
Arrange on your lined baking sheet and bake.
2-Ingredient Icing
Once your cookies have fully cooled, make the easy icing by whisking together sifted confectioners’ sugar and a little orange juice. Honestly, this might be even easier than the topping for Andes mint chocolate cookies! For extra control over the drizzling, I pour the icing into a squeeze bottle, but you certainly don’t have to do this. (The same squeeze bottles I use for decorating Christmas sugar cookies with easy cookie icing!)
Or you simply can dip a fork in the icing and drizzle it over the cooled cookies. You can also just dip the tops of the cookies in the icing like we do with lemon shortbread cookies.
Can I use white or dark chocolate instead? YES! See recipe Note for details.
The icing sets after 30–60 minutes, so you can easily store, stack, and transport the cookies. They may seem really simple, but these cranberry-speckled cookies were the first to go from a cookie tray I put together the other week… which also included crowd-favorites peanut butter blossoms and chocolate crinkle cookies. That says something!!!!
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
- Almond Butter Sparkle Cookies
- Cinnamon Palmiers
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Peppermint White Chocolate Cookies
- Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies
and here are my top 10 cookie baking tools if you’re looking for recommendations!
Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookies
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes (includes dough chilling)
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Enjoy a buttery shortbread-like cookie flecked with chewy dried cranberries and fragrant orange zest. Drizzle on an easy 2-ingredient orange glaze for a flavorful finishing touch. Make sure you have a citrus juicer and zester.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3/4 cup (100g) very finely chopped dried cranberries (such as Craisins)
- optional: coarse sugar for rolling, such as this sparkling sugar
Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) orange juice
- optional: more orange zest
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Beat in the egg and vanilla extract on high speed. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed, and continue to beat until fully combined. Add the flour and salt and beat on low speed until combined. Finally, beat in the orange juice, orange zest, and dried cranberries until just combined. The cookie dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and, with floured hands, divide or cut in half. Roll/shape each half into a 7- or 8-inch log, about 2.5 inches in diameter. The measurements don’t have to be exact. Tightly wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 5 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I prefer to chill mine overnight; the orange flavor really comes through the longer this dough sits!
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Optional rolling in sugar: Pour enough coarse sugar on an 8-inch or larger plate to cover it. Roll the logs in the sugar. You may need to really press the dough logs down into the sugar if it’s not really sticking. (I find coating the dough logs in sugar after chilling much easier, as the dough is too sticky to neatly roll in sugar right after mixing.)
- Slice each dough log into 12 equally thick cookies and arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 13–15 minutes or until very lightly brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Icing: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice together. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Feel free to top each with more orange zest while icing is still wet. The icing sets after 30–60 minutes, so you can easily store, stack, and transport the cookies.
- Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Baked cookies, with or without icing, freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. You can make/assemble the cookie dough logs and chill in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (see step 2). Cookie dough logs freeze well too, up to 3 months. Allow the logs to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 3.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Rolling Pin | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Coarse Sugar | Cooling Rack
- Can I dip in white or dark chocolate instead? Yes! Cranberries, orange, and white or dark chocolate are a great trio of flavors! Feel free to skip the icing and dip the cookies in (or drizzle the cookies with) melted white or dark chocolate, just like these sprinkle slice-and-bake cookies or these dark chocolate orange slice-and-bake cookies.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I am so excited to make these but want to ask which sugar is better for rolling the log in: sparkling or sanding? Does the size of the granule matter?
Hi Kathleen, we typically use sparkling sugar (the larger granules), but you could use sanding sugar if you prefer. The granules will not be as visible once baked.
Hello! I am planning on making these cookies around thanksgiving this year! Is it more beneficial to use freshly squeezed orange juice or bottled? Thanks! I love all of the recipes I’ve tried from you so far and am so excited to try these!
Hi Nicole, either will work just fine here! We’d love to know how they turn out for you.
This is a delicious cookie. I live in an area that has an annual Cranberry Festival and I made these for a bake sale. Sold out fast! Easy to prep early, bake later, very attractive This will be one of my standby recipes
These cookies came out great gluten free and stored well at room temperature while my wife and I ate them over a week period. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking flour and decreased butter to 9 Tbsp (this is because gluten free flour does not absorb as much fat as regular four). Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly and they came out just as good as a regular cookie.
I have looked at the recipes for the Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookie and Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookie; how do they differ in taste/texture? Thank you.
Hi Elaine, these are shortbread-like cookies in terms of texture. I call them icebox cookies because that is the style/category of cookie. I don’t have a recipe titled “Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies” on my site or in my books.
Thank you very much – and I apologize, the cranberry orange shortbread cookie recipe was from another site, my error. Thanks again for your response! Can’t wait to try these.
This recipe made 2 pregnant women very happy! Not to mention everyone else who I shared with! I added about 1/3 C white chocolate chips and still did the icing. Turned out perfecto!
Hi Sally! What is the difference between this recipe and the shortbread wedges recipe? Are the wedges more softer/crumblier because of the cornstarch? Would love to hear your thoughts, or from any bakers reading this! Thanks!!
Hi MaryAnn! Yes, the shortbread wedge cookies are extra tender and crumbly – we can get away with it there because that dough is baked in a pan.
Good to know! Thanks so much, Trina!!
Really great cookies. I made a half recipe, but kept the zest amount at 1 tsp. I also added mini white chocolate chips. Very easy, so good, and pretty. I will add these to my Christmas baking! Thanks for the recipe. Definitely a repeat for me.
I did try this recipe using dried blueberries and lemon. They were fabulous!! Everyone loved them. The flavors really come thru in this recipe, and the texture of the cookie is perfect. Thank you again, Sally and staff for all your hard work and for sharing with the rest of us. I say, once more, you have single-handedly made me a much better baker.
While I haven’t met a recipe of yours that I don’t love, this one is my new favorite. Followed the recipe exactly, the result was perfect! I bake something each week (usually your recipe) for our Bible study class, these wonderful cookies got rave reviews. You were right about letting the dough sit overnight, the flavors really come thru. This time, I’m using dried blueberries and lemon. I can’t wait to try these. Thank you, Sally and staff, for all the time and attention you give to all these recipes. I love the way you expIain the how and the whys of each step. I have referred so many friends to your site. I tell them all that you have made me a much better baker. Thank you so much.
Fabulous! However I think the instructions are in error. They say “Roll/shape each half into a 7- or 8-inch log, about 2.5 inches in diameter. ” … however there is never enough dough for those measurements. I think it should be 1.75-2″ diameter. Note: the BAKED cookies do end up being about 2.5″ in diameter. That said, the cookies are so delicious that my daughter-in-law requested them as part of her birthday gift. (Bonus: the house smells divine while baking!)
If I have medium sized eggs then what should be the quantity that I should take?
Hi Su, Do you have a kitchen scale? Egg weights can vary but usually large eggs in the shell are about 57g, and 50g out of the shell. If needed, you can combine two medium eggs and measure out 50g to use.
I recently made your Cranberry Orange icebox cookies. They are delicious. However, mine turned out flat. I used the scale method of weighing my ingredients only to find out after the fact that 265g of flour is not equal to 2cups + 2 Tblsp. of flour, it actually equals 300g. So for those of us bakers that use grams instead of cups please make the adjust or make sure to check that ingredients are in fact equal.
Really tasty cookies! I whipped these up last week and threw them in the freezer and just baked them today and they are really good! Highly recommend! Would totally make these again.
Can this dough be rolled out and cut into shapes
Hi Dinaz, this dough is not ideal for rolling out and cutting into shapes—the cookies will spread a bit too much and lose shape.
These are fabulous!! Thank you for sharing the recipe. I’d like to know how many calories per cookie, if you could please let me know
Hi Elisabeth, we’re so glad you enjoyed these cookies! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This was a WINNER, I made them twice! Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfectly both times, just as described. Perfectly sweet and melt in your mouth. Yum!
Decided to try all new recipes this year for the holidays and this was the fan favorite! I enjoy your easy-to-follow recipes and helpful instructions.
Hi, these looks good! I’m planning to make this for Chinese New Year, do you have any suggestions for making this cookies smaller? Thank you
Hi Sophia, you can certainly try smaller cookies but rolling the dough into longer, thinner logs. As written, the logs are about 2.5 inches in diameter, so you can roll them to a smaller diameter to your liking. Bake time may be slightly shorter. Hope you enjoy them!
Just made these for the first time! Easy and turned out perfect. My husband won’t stop eating them!
Making these right now. I divided dough in half rolled them out to 7 and it’s just over 1 3/4 diameter. No way could you get 2.5 unless you kept the dough together. I know “measurements don’t have to be exact”, but that a pretty big difference in cookie size.
Wow I love these cookies! They remind me of my favorite flavor scone so I thought I would like these in cookie form. I was not wrong! I did not ice them. They were sweet enough for me without icing. Easy to make and delicious! Great combination! This will be made often. Thank you for sharing!
My new favorite cookie ! Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe! I’m making my third batch this morning.
Would sucanat work as the “rolling in” sugar sprinkles?
Hi Paula, It should work for that. Enjoy!
I just took these out of the oven, they’re not even iced yet, and they’re already the favorite thing I will bake this season. With kids grown & flown and family far away, I don’t have a need for batches and batches of cookies, so only an amazing few make the cut each year. This one will probably have a permanent spot in the rotation.
Thank you so much for your kind review, Liz!
The cookies look delicious! Can you replace vegan butter for the regular butter?
Hi Laurie, We haven’t tested this recipe with vegan butter but let us know if you give it a try.
Hey there. I’m about to try my hand at making these cookies, (wish me luck)!
Question, with the amount of orange you have there, are you able to taste the orange? I’m just worried we may not be able to taste it. The measurements seem small.
Hi Brian! We can certainly taste the orange in testing, but feel free to add extra zest to your taste.
Love, love, love these cookies. Followed the recipe exactly. The orange jest in the icing is perfect I had trouble getting the sugar to stick to the cold dough, so I brushed a tiny bit of water on the sides and sugar stuck perfectly.
I have made this recipe many times and these cookies were a favorite in the treat boxes I did last holiday season. They are PERFECTION as is… but eek, I want to change the flavor profile to another of my fav flavor combinations, raspberry and chocolate. I’ve used freeze-dried fruit in recipes for cake batter, frosting, and even caramel, but with the low moisture content in cookies, I fear the freeze-dried berries might make these cookies crumble. I realize that this very site has a recipe for Raspberry Sugar Cookies using freeze-dried berries, but I’m really hoping to do a shortbread recipe and I particularly love the ease of slicing a log and that sparkly sugar edge that these have. How would you recommend I proceed? Thanks!
Hi Melissa, we’re so glad you loved these cookies! You can certainly try adding some freeze-dried raspberries to this dough. It would take some tinkering with the amount of flour, and perhaps the wet ingredients, to ensure they don’t dry out as you mention. If you decide to do any experimenting, please do let us know how it goes!
Can you add nuts and how much would you recommend? Thanks!
Hi Sophie! You could try replacing some of the cranberries with nuts. We’d keep the total amount of add-ins the same. Hope you enjoy the cookies!