Best Cranberry Orange Sandwich Cookies Recipes

CRANBERRY SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Pulse the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup dried cranberries in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt; pulse to combine. Add the cut-up butter and shortening; pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Whisk the egg, cranberry juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the food coloring in a small bowl; add to the food processor and pulse to form a dough. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough 1 1/2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are just set, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat the cream cheese, room-temperature butter and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar; beat on low speed until incorporated, then increase the speed to high and beat until fluffy, 2 more minutes. Chop the remaining 1/4 cup dried cranberries; stir into the filling along with a pinch of salt. Sandwich between the cookies.

ORANGE SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), mix the butter, orange zest and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt and mix. Add the sifted flour and mix until smooth. Refrigerate 30 minutes. On ungreased cookie sheets, working in batches if necessary, drop level teaspoons of the chilled dough 2 1/2 inches apart. One by one, pick up the dough balls, roll into a smooth ball, and replace on the cookie sheet. Spread about 3 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar on a plate. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into the sugar and use it to press the dough balls flat, into 1 1/4-inch circles. Repeatedly dip the glass into the sugar as needed to keep the bottom dry and coated. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
• To assemble the cookies, liberally spread half of the orange cookies with cocoa filling, keeping the filling a little bit away from the edges. Cover with a plain cookie and press together gently to create a sandwich. Store in an airtight container.
• Filling: In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and sugar. In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the cocoa mixture and the cream and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool; the mixture will thicken as it cools.

CRANBERRY ORANGE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in 1 teaspoon orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and if using, walnuts, until evenly distributed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
• In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

CRANBERRY-ORANGE SAUCE

Steps:

• In nonreactive 4-quart saucepan, mix cranberries, sugar, orange peel, water and lemon juice. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until juices start to flow and sugar is dissolved.
• Increase heat to medium; simmer 6 to 8 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries pop. Stir in liqueur. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until completely cooled.

ORANGE CRANBERRY COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla until well blended. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into sugar mixture. Stir in baking chips, cranberries, pecans and orange zest., Spread into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18-22 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack., For frosting, in a large bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, butter, 1 tablespoon zest and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over bars. Combine dried cranberries and remaining 2 tablespoons zest; sprinkle over frosting. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into triangles. Store in the refrigerator.

CRANBERRY ORANGE SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, orange juice concentrate and orange zest. In another bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in cranberries., Shape level tablespoons of dough into balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Coat bottom of a glass with cooking spray, then dip in flour. Press cookies with bottom of glass to flatten, redipping in flour as needed. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a small bowl, beat butter, orange juice concentrate, orange zest and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Spread filling on bottoms of half of the cookies; cover with remaining cookies., Freeze option: Freeze shaped balls of dough on baking sheets until firm. Transfer to resealable plastic freezer bags; return to freezer. Prepare, bake and fill cookies as directed.