Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookies with Orange Icing

Soft and buttery cranberry pecan shortbread cookies, flecked with dried sweetened cranberries, pecans and candied orange peel, and drizzled with orange icing. The combination of flavors in these delicious cookies is so perfect for Christmas!

Looking for more holiday cookie recipes? Don’t miss these brown butter pecan biscotti, Christmas tree sugar cookies, and Linzer cookies with bourbon cherry jam.

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Why You’ll Love These Cookies

Easy to Make. This cookie dough comes together quickly and easily in a food processor. But if you don’t have one, you can still make it in a bowl with a pastry cutter.

Perfect for Gifting. Shortbread has a long shelf life, and freezes well, making it perfect for wrapping up to gift to friends, family and neighbors.

Versatile. Instead of pecans, try walnuts, macadamia nuts, or even pistachios. Dried apricots or cherries would be fantastic instead of the dried cranberries. And if you don’t want to roll out and cut your cookies, you can easily adapt the recipe for a slice-and-bake cookie.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Cookies

• Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cookies structure and strength.
• Sugar. Use powdered sugar, rather than granulated sugar. The finer texture makes a more tender cookie.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Spices. Nutmeg and cloves add warmth and complement the flavor of the dried fruit and nuts.
• Butter. Gives shortbread its signature soft, tender, crumbly texture.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Milk. Moistens the dough and binds it together.
• Add-ins. Dried sweetened cranberries, candied orange peel and raw pecans add texture, crunch, and so much flavor.

Icing

• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
• Orange Juice. Thins the icing to your desired consistency and adds flavor.
• Toppings. Finely chopped pecans, dried cranberries and candied orange peel add extra flavor, and make the cookies look so pretty sprinkled on top.

Instructions

Make the cookie dough.

• In your food processor, pulse the flour, powdered sugar, salt, nutmeg and cloves until combined.
• With the processor running, drop in the pieces of butter, one at at time, pulsing a few times until the butter is evenly distributed, and the dough is moistened and crumbly.
• Add the dried cranberries, pecans and candied orange peel. Drizzle with the vanilla and milk, then process until the dough starts to stick together.
• Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and use your hands to finish bringing the dough together, kneading in any stray bits of flour. The dough should be soft, smooth and supple.

TIP: If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the dough in a bowl with a pastry cutter to cut in the butter, then use your hands to work in the liquid. Using a food processor will chop the nuts and dried fruit more finely, as well, so if you want larger chunks in your cookies, you should finish the dough by hand.

Roll out the dough and cut the cookies.

• Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with sheets of parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, place the disk of dough, and dust the top of the dough with flour, too. Roll out to an even thickness of 1/4 inch thick.
• Use any size/shape cookie cutters to cut as many cookies as you can, placing the cut cookies 1-2 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheets. Using a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, you’ll get about 32 cookies from this recipe.
• Gather up the scraps of dough, roll them out again, and continue cutting as many cookies as you can.
• Place the baking sheets with the cut cookies in the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour. Chilling the cut cookies helps to ensure they don’t spread and hold their shape perfectly while baking.

Bake the cookies.

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for about 11 1/2 – 12 minutes. The tops should be a very pale golden with no dark browning, and you should see tiny flaky layers around the edges. If you (very carefully) turn a cookie over with a spatula, the bottom should have light golden browning, with no appearance of raw or wet dough.
• Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the pan, then very gently transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Shortbread cookies are delicate when warm, so handle with care.

Drizzle with icing.

• In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth and drizzly. You can dip one half of the cookies in the icing, scraping the excess off the bottom, or just use a spoon to drizzle or spread it on top of the cookies. Set the iced cookies on a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet to catch the drips.
• After icing the cookies, wait 30-60 seconds, then sprinkle with the chopped fruit and nuts, before the icing sets. The icing will dry to the touch in a few minutes, but won’t fully set for a few hours.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance can I make the dough?

After making the dough, wrap it well in plastic wrap. You can refrigerate it for up to 5 days, or freeze it for up to 3-6 months. Let thaw and come to room temperature so that it’s still cool, but pliable enough to roll out without difficulty.

How should I store the baked cookies?

Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks, or frozen for up to 3-6 months.

Can I use walnuts instead of pecans?

Yes, walnuts, macadamia nuts and pistachios are all good alternatives to the pecans. You can also substitute dried apricots, cherries, mango or another dried fruit for the cranberries.

Do I have to add the candied orange peel?

You don’t have to, but I hope you do. It really adds the most wonderful flavor to these cookies. You can buy candied orange peel here, but I also have a really easy recipe for candied orange peel. The last batch I made has been good for well over a year, stored in a glass jar in my pantry. It’s so good added to all kinds of baked goods.

What should I do if I want to slice and bake the cookies, instead of rolling and cutting the dough?

For slice-and-bake shortbread cookies, shape the dough into a circular log, measuring about 2 1/2 – 3 inches in diameter. Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours, until cold and firm. Unwrap the dough and use a sharp chef’s knife to slice the dough into 1/4 inch thick slices. Bake as instructed.

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