Orange Cranberry Bliss Cookies | Gluten Free Option

Deliciously light orange zest and sweet, chewy cranberries make these cookies the perfect festive treat for the holidays! I love a simple recipe that looks so fun, making this Orange Cranberry Cookie the perfect one to include for teachers, neighbors and friends (and obviously plenty for yourself)!

Ingredients - only a handful!

• Unsalted butter - room temperature
• Large egg - room temperature
• Granulated white sugar
• Orange zest
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour - or gluten free flour blend

Topping

• White or dark chocolate chips
• Dried cranberries, like Craisins or sugar-free dried cranberries - diced
• Zest of 2 oranges - about 2 tablespoons

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix room temperature butter, egg, sugar, orange zest and vanilla very well (about 1 minute), scraping the sides at least once.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until just combined.

Sprinkle a large clean surface with flour and roll out dough to about ¼" thickness. Use a cookie cutter or the top of a glass to cut out cookies. (I just use one of our everyday glasses to make circles.)

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until just set, but not browned.

Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Finely chop cranberries and mix well with orange zest. Set aside.

While cookies are cooling, pour white or dark chocolate chips into a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring after each interval, until fully melted. (It always takes me 3 30 second intervals.)

Holding one cookie at a time use a spoon to spread chocolate over half of the cookie and scrape the side to keep the chocolate from pouring down the edge. Sprinkle with cranberry mixture and press gently so the cranberries and zest hang on to the chocolate.

Allow chocolate to fully set (about 10 minutes). Enjoy!!

Baking Supplies for Cookie Success

Here is a linked list of my favorite cookie baking supplies. I've used these for years, so they've been tried and tested and been found ... perfect!

• Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer - the best hands-off baking buddy ever
  
• All Clad Measuring Cups and Spoons - these will last you FOREVER
  
• Nordic Ware Cookie Sheets - I use these along with the Gold Touch baking sheet from Williams Sonoma.
  
• Reynolds Pre-Cut Parchment Paper - These are my go-to for quick clean-up.
  
• OXO Cookie Scoop - This is VITAL to getting that gooey center and crisp edge.

Tell me all about these Orange Cranberry Cookies

Texture - These cookies are tender, soft and lightly crisp. The white or dark chocolate hardens for a perfect layer of structure. Then topped with chewy cranberries gives it a perfect texture trifecta.

Flavor - I am such a nut for orange zest, especially in sweets. So this Orange Cranberry Bliss cookie is the perfect combination of lightly sweet, bright citrus and deep chocolate flavors. The cranberries on top add the perfect tang and pair so well with orange.

Difficulty Level - I'd categorize this recipe between simple and moderate difficulty. This is only because there is the additional steps of rolling and cutting out, as well as spreading chocolate. So it's more involved than your typical drop cookies, but still fail-proof.

Time - Be sure your butter and egg is room temperature before starting. Other than that, these cookies do not require any chilling and are baked and ready for topping in less than 25 minutes start to finish.

It takes about 15 minutes to prep the toppings and spread the chocolate and cranberry mixture on top. These Orange Cranberry Bliss Cookies will need about 10 minutes for the chocolate to set and then they're ready for devouring!

Making simple swaps

• Gluten Free - The cookies in these pictures were made with King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour Blend, and they're amazing. You seriously cannot even tell they're gluten free (just ask my husband). Want to know why I use King Arthur's Flour? Check out this post.
  
• Dairy Free - The butter in this recipe can be swapped out for a dairy free butter substitute, such as Country Crock Plant Butter (my personal go-to). My only trick is to keep that butter more chilled than normal, because it tends to soften and melt faster than regular butter. So let it sit out for about 15 minutes before using.
  
• Vegan - To replace the egg, check out this handy chart on Vegan Vanilla Donut Recipe. My favorite swap is the flax egg, although I haven't tried it yet for this recipe.

Got any other great cookie recipes? I'm so glad you asked!

• Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Almond Lemon Iced Cookies
• Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips (perfect for holidays)
• Simple Chocolate Marble Cookies
• Chewy Chocolate Cookies (3 ways)
• Perfect Texture Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Storage

Storing these cookies is really simple. Place fully cooled and dried cookies in a zip top bag and store at cool room temperature for up to 7 days, but they're freshest before 3 days.

If you'd like to freeze these cookies, they freeze best before dipping into chocolate. Store cooled cookies in a zip top bag for up to 3 months. Be sure to label and date the bag.

To consume after freezing, remove cookies from freezer and allow them to sit at room temperature for about an hour. Then dip in chocolate and add cranberries and orange zest.