Slice n’ Bake Orange Cranberry Cookies (Day 7)

Name: Slice n’ Bake Orange Cranberry Cookies (Day 7)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 Vanilla spiced cookie dough recipe; 1/4 cup Dried cranberries (finely chopped); 1/4 cup White chocolate (finely chopped); 1 Orange zest; 2 tbsp White chocolate (melted)

These no slice n’ bake cookies are so simple and packed with all the Christmas flavors of dried cranberries, orange zest and white chocolate.

Welcome to day 7 of my 12 Days Of Christmas Cookie Series. We are keeping things no fuss today with these slice n’ bake orange cranberry white chocolate sugar cookies. They are filled with all the Christmas vibes and flavors. Very simple to make, festive and delicious. We don’t need to roll out the cookies but we do need to chill the dough in order to slice them and for them to hold their shape well.

What ingredients do we need to make these Slice n’ Bake Orange Cranberry Cookies?

Cookies –

The cookie dough used to make this recipe is my no fuss Vanilla Spiced Sugar Cookie, it was the foundation recipe for day 1 of my 12 Days Of Christmas Cookie Recipes. To the dough I add finely chopped dried cranberries, white chocolate and orange zest.

White chocolate –

You can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate instead of the white chocolate. I like the flavor of white chocolate in these cookies but it is your choice. I also use a little melted white chocolate to drizzle over the cookies once baked.

Dried cranberries –

You cannot use fresh here, it needs to be dried. You can use dried cherries or blueberries but cranberries have a festive vibe.

Orange zest –

Do not use orange extract, we need the real deal here. Freshly grated orange zest works best in this recipe.

What equipment do you need to make these Slice n’ Bake Orange Cranberry Cookies?

To mix the cookie dough together we need a bowl and spatula, you could just use your hands. We roll the dough into a log which is the sliced. Hence we need a sharp knife to slice the cookies and to finely chop the cranberries & white chocolate. A baking tray and baking paper would be needed to bake the cookies as well.

How to make these Slice n’ Bake Orange Cranberry Cookies?

We start by crumbling the prepared cookie dough into a bowl, add the finely chopped cranberries, white chocolate and orange zest. Using a rubber spatula mix everything together and roll into a little log. Wrap the log in cling wrap and let it chill in the fridge for 30 mins before you unwrap and slice it into discs, little less than 1/4th an inch. Preheat the oven to 170℃, line a baking tray with baking paper and place each piece on the baking tray. Bake for 8-10 mins until the top is dry and the bottom is lightly colored. Let them cool on a wire rack and melt the white chocolate. Drizzle the cookies with the melted chocolate and let them set. Serve with some milk or mulled wine.

How to store these Slice n’ Bake Orange Cranberry Cookies?

The cookie dough can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 1 month and in the fridge for 2 days. You can make this dough ahead and bake the cookies when needed. The baked cookies can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for 4 days and in the fridge for 1 week. I wouldn’t recommend storing the baked cookies in the freezer.

Pro Tips for the perfect Slice n’ Bake Orange Cranberry Cookie

Cookie dough –

The cookie dough must be fridge cold before you crumble and mix in the cranberries, white chocolate and orange zest. This will ensure that it doesn’t become greasy as you roll out the dough into a log.

Chilling the dough is as important as making it. This helps the cookies hold their shape while baking. It also means you get clean slices of the cookies when you slice through them.

Slicing the cookie dough –

Use a sharp knife, make sure the dough is cold and slice the dough a little lesser than 1/4th of an inch. If you slice them thicker, they will take longer to bake. If you slice them thinner they will bake very fast so make sure you stay consistent with the thickness.

Baking the cookies –

Do not over bake these cookies as they will dry out and become chalky to eat. Make sure to under bake them and let them firm up while cooling down.

Decorating the cookies –

Drizzle with melted white chocolate once they have cooled down completely. You can dip them in white chocolate too.

Now that we have covered how to make these Slice n’ bake cranberry orange cookies, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more holiday baking recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.