🍊 Vegan Orange Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

🍊 Vegan Orange Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

Yields: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 12–15 minutes

🥣 Ingredients
Dry Ingredients

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free 1:1 blend)

¼ cup powdered sugar

¼ tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

¾ cup vegan butter, softened

2–3 tbsp maple syrup or agave

1 tsp vanilla extract

Zest of 1 orange

Mix-Ins

½ cup dried cranberries, chopped

Optional: ¼ cup vegan white chocolate chips for extra sweetness

👩‍🍳 Instructions

  1. Prep

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  1. Make the dough

In a large bowl, cream vegan butter + maple syrup until smooth.

Stir in vanilla extract + orange zest.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, powdered sugar, and salt.

Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet until a soft dough forms.

Fold in cranberries (and white chocolate chips if using).

  1. Chill

Wrap dough and chill 30 minutes in the fridge. This helps keep the cookies from spreading too much.

  1. Shape and bake

Scoop or roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Gently flatten each cookie with the bottom of a glass or your fingers.

Bake 12–15 minutes, until edges are lightly golden.

Let cookies cool 5 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

💡 Tips

For extra citrus flavor, brush the tops lightly with a little orange juice after baking.

Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 5–7 days.

For crisper cookies, bake an extra 1–2 minutes and cool completely.

⭐ Optional Variations
Festive Winter Version

Add ½ tsp ground cinnamon or ground ginger to the dry ingredients.

Sprinkle sugar on top before baking.

Nutty Version

Fold in ¼ cup chopped pecans or almonds with cranberries.

Chocolate-Cranberry Version

Fold in ¼ cup vegan dark chocolate chunks.

Use orange zest as directed for a chocolate-orange twist.

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