My Cranberry Orange Snowballs are an elegant cookie to add to your baking list.
A delicious holiday cookie starting with a snowball recipe and upgraded with frozen cranberries and orange zest.
This past week I began my holiday cookie baking and decided that I needed to try these cranberries in a cookie.
Cranberry Orange Snowballs were perfect and all of my taste testers loved them,
Frozen cranberries are perfect to use in homemade cookies. They are a beautiful, vibrant color and taste as good as they look.
For this cookie, I used Mexican Wedding Cookies as my inspiration.
How To Make Cranberry Orange Snowballs:
INGREDIENTS:
(Full list of ingredients and instructions in printable recipe card.)
- all purpose flour
- ground cinnamon
- kosher salt
- pecans (or almonds)
- butter
- granulated sugar
- confectioner sugar
- pure vanilla extract
- frozen cranberries, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons orange zest & 1 Tablespoon for garnish
- confectioner sugar for rolling the cookies in
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift flour into a medium size mixing bowl. Whisk in the cinnamon, salt, and pecans. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar, confectioner sugar, and vanilla and beat until well combined.
Gradually add the flour mixture in 3 parts, beating only until combined, after each addition. Stir in the cranberries and 2 Tablespoons of orange zest until well combined. (LOVE the color this added to the cookie dough.)
Using a small scoop, shape into 1-inch dough balls and press down slightly. Bake about 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are light golden brown. Allow to set on cookie sheet about 4-5 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes.
Cool for about 8 minutes then roll in confectioner sugar.
Cool another 15 minutes, then roll in the confectioner sugar again.
Place on serving platter and zest with remaining orange.
Why You Will Love these Cranberry Orange Snowballs
- They are so pretty and look great on holiday cookie trays.
- These cookies just melt in your mouth with the flavors of cranberry and orange. They are soft and buttery.
- Snowball cookies freeze well, so they can be made ahead of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of nuts should I use in these cookies?
I usually use pecans, chopped very fine, but almonds are perfect also. I have seen some recipes that use walnuts. If you are not able to have nuts, just leave them out. The cookies will be fine. I also use my mini food processor to chop the nuts.
Do I need to chill the dough?
YES. After you make the dough, roll it into a ball, or a semi flattened disc, wrap tightly in Cling Wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
How can I make them all the same size?
Use a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon to scoop out the dough. Roll them into a ball, and place on the baking tray. I slightly flatten mine before baking. Do not overwork the dough or the cookies will spread.
What is the best way to store these cookies?
Store them at room temperature is an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 3 days. They also freeze very well. I do this every year.
As above, place in airtight containers or Ziploc Freezer bags after they are baked and cool. Freeze for up to 2 months. Roll them again in confectioner sugar after they are thawed.
CRANBERRY ORANGE SNOWBALLS
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup confectioner sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup frozen cranberries finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons orange zest & 1 Tablespoon for garnish
- 1 cup confectioner sugar for rolling cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mat.
- Sift flour into a medium size mixing bowl. Stir in the cinnamon, salt, and pecans. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar, confectioner sugar, and vanilla and beat until well combined.
- Gradually add the flour mixture in 3 parts, beating only until combined, after each addition. Stir in the cranberries and 2 Tablespoons of orange zest until well combined.
- Using a small scoop or teaspoon, shape into a I-inch ball and then flatten slightly in hands. Place on baking sheet.
- Bake about 10 minutes or until bottoms are light golden brown. Allow to set on cookie sheet about 4-5 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes.
- Place remaining 1 cup of confectioner sugar in a small bowl. Roll each cookie in the bowl and return to cooling rack. When cookies are completely cool, roll each in the confectioner sugar again.
- Transfer to a serving tray and garnish with remaining orange zest.
- Makes 4 dozen.
Notes
Cranberry Orange Pecan Snickerdoodles.
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Do you think dried cranberries would work well in this recipe? Do you think these cookies could be frozen and served on Christmas Day? Would freezing affect the texture and flavor?Thank you!!! I love your blog!!!!!!!
Oh Lisa!!! You made my day. Thank you so much for your kind comments about my blog. I feel like I am such a loser! LOL…I am so computer illiterate. Anyway, yes these cookies freeze well. I always do mine ahead and have mine in the freezer now actually. Sometimes I dust a little more confectioner sugar on them and sometimes I don’t. The freezer doesn’t affect the texture at all. I think dried cranberries would work fine too, I haven’t used them but in other cookies I make, I have used dried when I didn’t have fresh and they worked the same. If you try this, please let me know how it works. I say go for it!!! Have a Merry Christmas.