Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies are a wonderful sweet treat during the holidays! Fresh orange zest flavors granulated sugar to give these cookies a delicate orange essence in a buttery drop cookie full of dried cranberries, white chocolate chips and pecans that is sure to become a favorite! 

I'm a big fan of orange and cranberry together.  I use those flavors in my Apple Cranberry Sauce every Thanksgiving.  With that flavor profile on my brain, I thought why not bring it full circle and use it in a holiday cookie!?

How do you zest an orange? 

I use fresh orange zest in these cookies for the best orange flavor.  By taking a microplane grater and running it across the skin of an orange, you capture the oils. It's in these oils where the strongest orange flavor exists. You want to be careful to only capture the colored part of the orange. The white part (pith) tends to be a little bitter.

If you don't have a microplane, you can use the small grates in a box grater to zest the orange.

Although it's great in other recipes, I do not recommend using dehydrated orange peel you can buy in the spice aisle of your grocery store in this recipe.

How to make orange flavored sugar

When you use your fingers to rub the fresh zest into the sugar, those wonderful oils are released and you get the most beautiful orange flavored sugar. The orange isn't overpowering though. It's perfect for this cookie recipe. It's just there to give these cookies a little personality.

Orange sugar is not only great in this recipe, but it's great in all sorts of things like when it's used to sweeten tea and sprinkled on your toast with butter!

With the holidays in full swing, I have to admit, I haven't made as many cookies as I usually do by this time of the season!  But that doesn't mean I won't get cracking. These Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies are just the tip of the iceberg!

Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Renee Paj

Buttery drop cookies full of sweet dried cranberries and pecans and flavored with fresh orange sugar.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• zest from one orange
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the sugar and the zest. Work the zest into the sugar with your fingertips to create a fragrant orange sugar. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
3. In large bowl, combine the butter and the orange sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla and egg and beat until combined.
4. In small bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture and beat until combined.
5. Mix in dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pecan. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 min. (For thicker cookies, refrigerate longer.)
6. Using a cookie scoop, drop onto prepared baking sheets about 2" apart.
7. Bake for about 8 - 9 minutes or until cookies are browned on the edges, and puffy in the centers. Do Not overbake!  Allow to cool on baking sheet for 2 min, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 40 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 09 mins.
Total time: 49 mins.

Printable Recipe 

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