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    Home » Cookies

    Cranberry Hazelnut Holiday Cookies

    Published: Dec 2, 2023 · Updated: Jun 27, 2024 · by Barbara · This post may contain links on which I could make a small commission if an item is purchased · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    So, it is time for holiday cookies! I sat down to think about how to create a delicious holiday cookie using cranberries and came up with some good ideas. This cookie is the first, which is using hazelnuts and cranberries. But how can I dress up my cranberry cookies that says Christmas as soon as you look at them?

    Single cranberry hazelnut cookie on a wooden board.

    I reserved some chopped-up cranberries to add to the top of the icing, which looks great against white icing. So, I also added a small amount of the white shimmer sugar to add a little sweetness against the tartness of fresh chopped cranberries.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients for Cookies and Icing
    • Harvesting Cranberries
    • Making Cranberry Cookies
    • Prepping the Ingredients
    • Mixing the Cranberry Cookie Dough
    • Baking Your Cookies
    • Icing and Assembling
    • FAQ's
    • Try More Cranberry Cookies
    • Recipe

    Ingredients for Cookies and Icing

    Ingredients for Cranberry Hazelnut Holiday Cookies.
    Jump to Recipe for Amounts

    COOKIE DOUGH

    • Butter unsalted 
    • Cream Cheese
    •  Sugar white
    • Vanilla Extract
    • Lemon zest
    • Maple syrup (Escuminac Maple Syrup Great Harvest)
    • All-purpose flour
    • Kosher Salt
    • Cinnamon
    • Baking powder
    • Baking soda
    • Fresh cranberries
    • Hazelnuts
    Ingredients for icing that goes onto Cranberry Hazelnut Holiday Cookies.
    Jump to Recipe for Amounts

    ICING

    • Powdered sugar
    • Butter unsalted
    • Maple syrup (Escuminac Maple Syrup Great Harvest)
    • Lemon juice
    • Fresh cranberries
    • White shimmer sugar sprinkle

    Harvesting Cranberries

    I was looking at a TV commercial on cranberry harvesting, but I wanted to see more about how they harvest these little red gems, so you can visit the Ocean Spray website to see more. Ocean Spray Cranberry Harvest.

    Another site I found which tells you how to plant, grow and harvest cranberry plants is Harvest to Table. This site is very informative for any questions you might have about cranberries.

    Making Cranberry Cookies

    As I always do, I weigh, measure, chop, zest, and juice my ingredients before I start. This is so I do not miss anything. As many cookies as I have baked, it always happens that if I skip this step, I will surely miss something.

    Prepping the Ingredients

    I start by chopping the cranberries in a food processor ( mine is a Breville). I purchased a 12 oz. bag of fresh whole cranberries and used about half a bag. This made enough for the 1 cup in the cookies and about ⅓ to ½ cup for the topping on the icing.

    Chopped fresh cranberries in a food processor bowl.

    Adding the whole cranberries to the food processor, I pulse about four times. You want small pieces, but you don't want chopped cranberries the size of sand.

    A bowl and a measuring cup of chopped cranberries. One for the cookie and the other for the topping on on the icing.

    From the food processor, I add 1 cup for the cookies into a measuring cup and place them into a bowl. I put the remaining chopped cranberries into the measuring cup for the topping. This is when I search for large pieces and pull them out.

    It's time to juice and zest a lemon. This kind of lemon or orange juicer works extremely well to get all the fruit juice. I put the lemon juice into the refrigerator until I need it for the icing.

    Using a cutting board to zest and juice a lemon.

    Next, I weigh the white sugar for the cookies into a bowl and set that aside. Next, I weigh the flour and add the kosher salt, baking powder, and baking soda, using a whisk to blend the dry ingredients

    I gather the remaining ingredients and set them by my mixer, and I am ready to start my cookies.

    Mixing the Cranberry Cookie Dough

    Once I am ready to start, it will not take long to pull this together. My unsalted butter and the cream cheese have been sitting out for about an hour. If yours is still really cold, it may take a long to blend them together.

    Butter and cream cheese blended after 2 minutes.

    Add the butter and cream cheese to a mixer bowl, start the mixer on the one setting, and gradually increase the speed to a medium. Since there is a little more cream cheese than butter, it is a little lumpy, but the sugar will even things out.

    Creamy and smooth after 3 minutes blending the sugar into the butter cream cheese mixture.

    All the sugar for the cookies and turn the mixer to a medium speed. Mix for 3 minutes. Then, add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and maple syrup. Mix until blended into the butter, cream cheese, and sugar mixture.

    Now is the time to scrape the sides down and turn the mixer on a low speed. For me, "gradually add the flour mixture" means adding about ⅓ of the flour. Mix for 10 to 15 seconds. Then add another ⅓, mix for 10 to 15 seconds, and finally add the rest of the flour and mix for 10 to 15 seconds.

    The hardest part of making cookies is not to over-mix the flour. If only a little bit of flour is still in the bottom of the mixer bowl under the cookie dough, take the bowl off the stand and finish incorporating the remaining flour into the dough with a nice spatula or your hand.

    Finally, add the chopped cranberries and hazelnuts and mix for about 5 to 10 seconds.

    Adding chopped cranberries and hazelnuts to the cookie dough.

    Cover lightly and chill in the fridge. If you go and run errands and leave the cookie dough in the fridge for a couple of hours take it out of the refrigerator and let the dough warm up before you use a cookie scoop. Your cookie scooper will thank you!

    Baking Your Cookies

    Take the cookie dough from the fridge and turn the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C). I line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper sheets.

    Scooped chilled cranberry cookie dough that is placed onto a parchment lined sheet pan.

    Using a medium cookie scooper, scoop, and space out 12 cookie mounds onto the prepared sheet pan and bake for 10-12 minutes. Once out of the oven, move them to a cooling rack to finish. Make sure they have cooled before starting the icing.

    Icing and Assembling

    Weigh the powdered sugar into a bowl and set it aside. Grab the lemon juice that you squeezed out earlier from the refrigerator.

    Creaming the butter in a mixer bowl for the icing.

    Cream the butter first to make sure it is smooth in texture, about 2 minutes on a medium mixer speed. Then, add the maple syrup and lemon juice. Then, add the powdered sugar right on top.

    Creamy icing on the edge of a butter knife.

    Turn the mixer to the lowest setting and mix until the powdered sugar has incorporated into the butter. I increase the mixer speed to a medium-high and let it mix for 3 minutes. I stop and scrape down the bowl and turn it back to a medium-high speed for another minute.

    You want the icing to be on the stiff side. Take a butter knife and add icing to all the cookies.

    I am using a ¼ teaspoon to measure the chopped cranberries to put on top of the icing.

    I take a ¼ teaspoon measuring spoon, fill the end with the reserved chopped cranberries, and place it in the middle on top of the icing.

    Sprinkling the white sparkling sugar on top of the cranberries.

    Take a pinch of the white shimmer sugar and sprinkle some on top of the cranberries.

    A square piece of parchment paper to lay on top of the finished cookies to lightly press the cranberries into the icing.

    To secure the cranberries and sugar sprinkles, lay a square of parchment paper on top of the cranberries. Gently press the cranberries down into the icing so they stay put.

    Everyone will love the holiday colors, and they are full of cranberry flavor.

    Five Cranberry Hazelnut Holiday Cookies sitting on 2 wooden boards.

    Enjoy!

    FAQ's

    Can I use another nut besides hazelnuts?

    Yes, you can! Almonds and walnuts are popular nuts that go well with cranberries and lemon.

    Can I use frozen cranberries instead of fresh?

    Frozen cranberries when they thaw will have more water in them than fresh cranberries. This can lead to a soggy cookie after a day or two. A work around would be to chop them in the food processor while frozen, then lay them on a paper towel and let it absorb most of the liquid. This could take a day or two and change the paper towel a couple of times.

    Would I be able to use dried cranberries?

    I use the fresh cranberries to balance the sweetness with the tartness of the cranberries for the cookie and the icing. But if you use the dried, be careful that the dried cranberries do not have added sugar; this could alter the taste of the cookies.

    How can I store my cookies?

    I store them in a container with a lid. If you stack them, I would only go two layers high with parchment paper between the layers. These cookies last for 5-7 days.

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    Recipe

    Single cranberry hazelnut cookie on a wooden board.
    QR Code

    Cranberry Hazelnut Holiday Cookies

    Barbara Hall
    These cookies combine the tartness of cranberries with the nutty richness of hazelnuts, creating a perfect balance of flavors and textures.
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    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Bake Time 30 minutes mins
    Chill 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
    Course Cookies, Holiday, Nuts
    Cuisine American
    Servings 29 cookies
    Calories 115 kcal

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    Ingredients
     

    COOKIE DOUGH

    • ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
    • 5 ounces (5 ounces) Cream Cheese room temperature
    • 1 ¼ cup (250 g) Sugar white
    • ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
    • 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon zest
    • 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Maple syrup
    • 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) All-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
    • ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Baking soda
    • 1 cup (100 g) Fresh cranberries chopped
    • ½ cup (60 g) Hazelnuts chopped

    ICING

    • 1 ½ cup (180 g) Powdered sugar
    • ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
    • 2 Tablespoon (2 Tablespoon) Maple syrup
    • ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Lemon juice
    • ⅓ cup (33.33 g) Fresh cranberries chopped
    • White shimmer sugar sprinkle on top of the chopped cranberries

    Instructions
     

    COOKIE DOUGH

    • In a food processor, chop about half a bag of 12 oz. whole cranberries until they are small pieces. Zest and juice one lemon, reserving the lemon juice for the icing. Weigh or measure your sugar and set it aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, running a whisk through to blend.
    • In a stand or handheld mixer, add the cream cheese and butter to the bowl and blend on medium speed for a couple of minutes. Add the sugar and mix for another 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Next, add the lemon zest, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and mix for about another minute. Turn the mixer to low, slowly add the flour mixture, and blend until incorporated. Stop the mixer, add the chopped cranberries and hazelnut pieces to the bowl, and mix.
    • Cover the cookie dough bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour. If you go longer let the dough sit on the counter for about 15 minutes to soften. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C). Line your cookie pan with parchment paper, and place 12 scoops onto the cookie pan using a medium cookie scoop. Bake for 10-12 minutes; leave the cookies on the pan for about 1 minute before moving them to a cooling rack.

    ICING WITH TOPPINGS

    • Add the butter into a mixer bowl and cream the butter for 2 minutes Add the maple syrup and lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Start on a very low mixer speed until the powdered sugar has been incorporated. Then increase the mixer speed to a medium-high and mix for 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure your cookies are cooled before you start icing them. I take a knife and spread the icing around the tops of the cookies.
    • After icing all the cookies I take the reserved ⅓ cup of the chopped cranberries and add a small amount to the top of the icing. I then add some of the White Shimmer Sugar on top of the chopped cranberries. To help keep the sparkling sugar and the chopped cranberries on top of the cookie, I take a small square of parchment paper, lay it on top of the cranberries, and lightly press down. This will push the chopped cranberries into the icing.

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    NUTRITION DISCLAIMER

    I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 115kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 49mgPotassium: 26mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 160IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 0.4mg
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    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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    Hi, I'm Barbara Hall, the baker and photographer behind My Cookie Journey, a blog devoted to creating and sharing unique cookie recipes. A retired IT pro, I now spend my day's baking, styling, and snapping photos of cookies that have been featured in multiple regional magazines.

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