These slice-and-bake cranberry almond shortbread cookies are a soft and buttery almond shortbread loaded with sweetened cranberries and dipped in white chocolate. They make the best Christmas cookies!
Who else is planning their Christmas cookies already? Try these coconut date balls and my perfect snickerdoodles, next!
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE gifting cookie platters during the holidays. It gives me an excuse to bake (as if I needed another one). Plus, nothing spreads holiday cheer better than a plate of sugar cookies and other treats. These cranberry shortbread cookies are super festive and easy to make. You’ll need pantry staples, chewy dried cranberries, and white chocolate. They won me over immediately. So much so that I made a cranberry orange version, too!
Why I Know You’ll Love These Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
- Soft and chewy. Shortbread is traditionally a crunchy butter cookie with a coarse crumb. But these cranberry cookies turned out soft and buttery in the middle. It was such a pleasant surprise that I didn’t bother adjusting the recipe.
- Only 6 ingredients. Shortbread is a classic, and you need so few ingredients that are almost always in the pantry.
- Festive flavors. Almond extract and cranberries amp up the holiday flavors in these shortbread cookies. They’re perfect for Christmas baking, cookie exchanges, and gifting.
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need just 6 easy ingredients for the cookies and some chocolate to dip them in. The full recipe card is at the bottom of this post.
- Butter and Sugar – Unsalted butter and white sugar form the base of the shortbread dough. You could also use light brown sugar.
- All-purpose flour – To avoid an overly dry, crumbly cookie, make sure to measure the flour correctly. Don’t scoop the flour directly from the bag. Instead, spoon the flour into the measuring cup before you level it off. Otherwise, a kitchen scale takes a lot of the guesswork out of accurate measuring.
- Almond Extract – You could use pure vanilla extract instead, or another flavor, like lemon or orange extract.
- Cranberries – Sweetened dried cranberries are my favorite. You can use fresh cranberries, but the flavor will be more tart.
- White Chocolate – For dipping and decorating. Choose a good-quality melting chocolate for the best results. I recommend Ghirardelli melting wafers, almond Bark, a white chocolate bar such as Lindt or Ghirardelli, or white baking chips.
How to Make Shortbread Cookies
You’ll notice there are no eggs in this recipe, so it’s especially important to cream the butter and sugar together, which helps all the ingredients stick together once the flour has been added.
- Combine butter and sugar. In a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients. Next, slowly add the flour ½ cup at a time until all the flour has been added. Mix at a low speed until the dough is crumbly
- Add the cranberries. Once added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat only until the dough starts to come off the sides of the bowl and stick together in a ball.
- Press and shape the dough. Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Divide the dough into two equal halves, press and shape into a log about 1 ½ inches thick and about 6-7 inches long.
- Chill. Tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Slice and bake. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Slice the cookies at least ¼”- 3/8″ thick. Place on the prepared baking sheet approximately 1 inch apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes or just until the edges start to brown.
Dipping the Cookies in White Chocolate
When it comes time to dip these cookies in white chocolate, I suggest using high-quality chocolate that is made for candy making so that it will set nicely. If you want to use a white chocolate bar or white chocolate chips, consider adding a teaspoon or two of coconut oil or Crisco to thin it out, but it’s not necessary. You can also use a melting wafer like Ghirardelli or an almond bark.
- Melt the chocolate: You’ll want to wait until the cookies have cooled completely. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate at 50% power in 30-second intervals; stir after each interval and continue until the chocolate is melted. Reduce microwave time as needed so the chocolate does not burn.
- Dip the cookies in the chocolate, tap off excess chocolate on the sides of the bowl, and then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and allow the chocolate to set completely.
Julianne’s Tip
These cookies can be crumbly on the edges, which can fall off into the chocolate. I suggest melting half at a time in case the melted chocolate gets messy with crumbs.
Tips for Perfect Homemade Slice & Bake Cookies
- Cut up the cranberries. Since these cookies are sliced, it’s important to slice the cranberries nice and small. I used a knife to chop them up before mixing them into the dough.
- Tightly roll the dough. Be sure to really press the loose crumbs together. If you have air pockets in the middle, you’ll see them when you slice the dough
- Cut them thick. They tend to spread less when the cookies are thicker, so I recommend slicing them at least 1/4 inch thick.
- Chill the dough. This is an essential step. The dough is much easier to cut through, and hold a shape when the dough is good and firm
- To get nice round cookies. When rolling the dough, try and roll the log as round as possible. Cookies will spread when baking, so right when they come out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter (or a couple of spoons) and press the edges of the cookies back towards the middle. You can also use the cookie cutter to trim off the browned edges. You have to do this while they are still hot from the oven.
Make-Ahead and Freezing
- Make the dough ahead of time. The dough can be prepared in advance and stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, but it is definitely freezer-friendly. They should last in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Freezing cookie dough. Once the dough has been rolled into the logs, tightly wrap them twice with plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
- Finished cookies can also be frozen. You may consider baking the cookies, then freezing them in an airtight container. If possible, dip them in chocolate once they have thawed.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24-32
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These cranberry shortbread cookies are a soft and buttery almond shortbread loaded with sweetened cranberries and dipped in white chocolate.
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, almond extract and salt. Beat until light and fluffy and well combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Next, slowly add the flour ½ cup at a time until all the flour has been added. Mix at a low speed until the dough is crumbly, add the cranberries then increase the speed to medium-high and beat only until the dough starts to come off the sides of the bowl and stick together in a ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a piece pf parchment paper. Divide the dough into two equal halves, press and shape into a log about 1 ½ inches thick and about 6-7 inches long. Tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and slice the cookies at least ¼” -3/8″ thick. Place on the prepared baking sheet approximately 1-inch apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes or just until the edges start to brown. Cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To dip in chocolate, wait until the cookies have cooled completely. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt half the chocolate wafers at 50% power in 30 second intervals; stir after each interval and continue until chocolate is melted. Reduce microwave time as needed so the chocolate does not burn.
- Dip the cookies in the chocolate, tap off excess chocolate on the sides of the bowl and then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and allow the chocolate to set completely.
Notes
- Bake the dough cold: Be sure to bake the dough cold.
- The thicker these are cut, the less they spread. Using a silicone baking mat helps prevent the bottoms from cooking too quickly and results if a softer cookie.
- If you do find these spread after baking, you can fix it. Right, when they come out of the oven use 2 spoons, knives or spatulas to press the edges of the cookie back towards the center. You can also use a round cookie cutter to trim off some of the crispier edges You have to do this right away.
- Dough can be prepared in advance and stored up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Otherwise, I recommend freezing. Double wrap in plastic wrap.
- White chocolate: You can use any of the following: Ghirardelli melting wafers, almond Bark, a white chocolate bar such as Lindt or Ghirardelli or white baking chips.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 266
- Sugar: 23.7 g
- Sodium: 45 mg
- Fat: 14.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.3 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 24.8 mg
How many cookies does this recipe make? Thank you.
24-32 as stated in the recipe card
OMGOODNESS these cookies are to die for!!! I just made a batch and my husband can’t stop eating them. I love how they are soft in the middle. Thank you for sharing this incredible recipe.
Amazing Sharon! Thank you so much!
Definately not shortbread. Too chewy. Unbaked in the middle after 11 minutes. Had to put them back in oven for an extra 5 minutes. So not a fan. No idea what I did wrong.
Hi Isabelle, perhaps you prefer a crispier shortbread? If there were undone by your standards, then baking for additional time is the best option. And also each oven is different, and unless you’re using an internal oven thermometer to verify the oven is at true temp before starting, it’s also possible it was not fully preheated. For instance, my oven preheat features beeps after about 10 minutes of time, but my internal thermometer is at less than HALF the temperature I need, and it take at least another 15 minutes to reach 350 degrees.
Thanks for the recipe. It ‘s very good, everyone loved it!
Hello from France ( I hope my english isn’t too bad)
Amazing, thank you so much!
I made 1/2 recipe of the Cranberry Almond Shortbread cookies because I was looking for a recipe with sweetened dried cranberries and the only spice I had was almond extract. We are moving and other spices were packed. Thankyou so much, my grandchildren, daughter and I enjoyed them! They are easy to make and not overly sweet!
How wonderful Hanna, thank you for sharing my recipe with you grandchildren!
Great recipe, ended up drizzling chocolate on top, definitely will be on my Christmas cookie rotation.
Love that!! thank you!
These are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made! Absolutely delicious and incredibly easy to make! And they look so fancy…just love them!
That is simply amazing! Thank you Darlene!
Mouthwatering cookies! Very easy to make. The combination of flavors is delicious. Everyone loved them. I’ll definitely keep this recipe on my Christmas cookies list.
Love that Adriana, thanks for adding this to your list!
Absolutely delicious! Made these for family Christmas and they were a hit!
Awesome Betsy!! Thank you so much!
My favorite new cookie this Christmas! They were so easy to mix and slice. I love the almond and cranberry flavors, really nice with the white chocolate dip.
That’s wonderful Lynda, thank you for sharing!
Hello!
We made these and dipped in dark chocolate, as it is what we had on hand. Super Delicious cookies!
Thank you!
Love the dark chocolate! Thank you for sharing, I am so happy you enjoyed them!
I made these just how the recipe stated and they were fantastic!! I will definitely make these again. I also added some sliced almonds onto the melted white chocolate.
That’s amazing Holly! Thank you so much!!
I was wondering how long the dough can be chilled. I want to bake 1 log now and the other in several days. Think it would be OK wrapped tightly for several days?
Yes, I would say if you’re planning to bake within 2-3 days, then refrigerate. If it’s any longer than that, freeze the dough.
These are delicious cookies! Easy dough to mix up! Mine did turn out a little flat – I sliced them on the thinner side. Ended up doing a drizzle with white chocolate instead of dipping them. This recipe is a keeper for me!
That’s wonderful! I am so happy you tried them!
This looks like a wonderful project! I am without a standing mixer but have a hand held with a whisk attachment, wondering if that would suffice?
Hi Tim, to be honest, I haven’t tried, but it’s worth try and then using your hands to get the dough to come together
Simple and delicious. Chopping the cranberries were the time consuming process but once that was done, it was a matter of minutes til your dough is ready to chill or freeze.
Thank you so much Lori!
Hi can you use raspberries instead?
Freeze dried raspberries? Sure. Fresh raspberries would not be a good idea.
Once baked, do they need refrigeration or can they be left out?? If they can be left out, how long? Thank you!!
These do not need to be refrigerated. They can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
LOVE CRANBERRIES . HOW LONG DOO you think I can freeze them for ?I want to make ahead for wedding cookies ,THANKS FOR SHARING
I would think these could be frozen up to 3 months!
I’ve made these several times. They always flatten out and are very thin. Chewy and good, but not a shortbread cookie
Hi Mary, I would recommend cutting them thicker, or refrigerating for longer. They should spread a little bit but if they are flat, then it seems you might be cutting them too thin.
Soooo good! Family ate these cookies up. Definitely a keeper for years to come!
Wonderful Jeannie, thank you so much! I am thrilled to hear that!