Oh my goodness, friends! Let me tell you about these Orange Cranberry Ricotta Cookies that have completely transformed my holiday baking game. These pillowy-soft, cake-like cookies are bursting with bright orange flavor and studded with tart cranberries that pop in your mouth. Trust me, these aren’t your average cookies – the secret ingredient is RICOTTA cheese, which gives them the most incredible melt-in-your-mouth texture you’ve ever experienced!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Incredibly soft and tender texture that stays fresh for days (if they last that long!) thanks to the magic of ricotta cheese.
- Perfect balance of flavors – the bright citrus, tart cranberries, and sweet glaze create an irresistible combination that’s not too sweet.
- Show-stopping appearance with minimal effort – the orange glaze and cranberries make these gorgeous enough for gift-giving or holiday cookie exchanges.
- Make-ahead friendly – these actually taste even better the next day when the flavors have melded together!
Ingredients For Orange Cranberry Ricotta Cookies
- Ricotta cheese – the star ingredient that creates that incredibly soft, tender crumb. Full-fat works best here for the richest texture.
- Butter – adds rich flavor and helps create that perfect cookie structure. Make sure it’s softened to room temperature for proper creaming!
- Granulated sugar – sweetens the dough without overpowering the delicate flavors of orange and cranberry.
- Eggs – provide structure and richness to these cake-like cookies.
- Vanilla extract – enhances all the other flavors with its warm, aromatic notes.
- Orange zest – packed with essential oils that provide that gorgeous citrus flavor. Don’t skip this – it’s what makes these cookies special!
- Orange juice – reinforces the orange flavor and adds moisture to the dough.
- All-purpose flour – the foundation of our cookies. Measure correctly by spooning into measuring cups and leveling off for best results.
- Baking powder – gives these cookies their characteristic soft rise and tender texture.
- Salt – enhances all the flavors and balances the sweetness.
- Dried cranberries – add tangy bursts of flavor and festive color. Chopping them helps distribute the flavor throughout the cookie.
- Powdered sugar – creates a sweet glaze that adds the perfect finishing touch.
The full ingredient list with measurements will be available in the recipe card below.
How to Make the Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Trust me, the parchment is worth it – these delicate cookies need it!
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Don’t rush this step – it’s creating the base texture for your cookies!
- Add the ricotta cheese and beat until smooth and creamy. The mixture might look a little curdled at first, but keep beating and it will come together beautifully.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract, orange zest, and orange juice. Your kitchen will start to smell amazing at this point!
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until combined. Overmixing leads to tough cookies!
- Fold in the chopped cranberries gently until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. These spread just a bit.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops are set but not browned. They’ll look slightly underdone in the centers, but that’s perfect!
- Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- While the cookies cool, make the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth.
- Drizzle or spread the glaze over the cooled cookies and sprinkle with a little extra orange zest for that “wow” factor.
- Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes before stacking or storing. Though honestly, good luck not eating them all before that happens!
Pro Tips for Making the Recipe
- Room temperature ingredients are crucial for the perfect texture. Set out your butter, eggs, and even the ricotta about an hour before baking.
- Don’t overmix the dough once you add the flour – this keeps the cookies tender and soft.
- For extra orange flavor, add 1/4 teaspoon of orange extract to both the cookie dough and the glaze.
- Fresh cranberries work too! If using fresh, chop them a bit finer and toss with 1 tablespoon of flour before folding into the dough to prevent bleeding.
- For a festive twist, add 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips along with the cranberries.
- The cookies will look slightly underbaked when you take them out – that’s perfect! They’ll finish setting up as they cool and stay wonderfully soft.
How to Serve
These cookies are absolutely beautiful on a holiday cookie platter – the orange glaze and red cranberries look so festive! Serve them alongside a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea or a frothy cappuccino for the perfect afternoon treat.
For a special holiday dessert, sandwich a small scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies for the most incredible ice cream sandwiches you’ve ever tasted. The orange and cranberry flavors pair beautifully with the creamy vanilla.
If you’re packaging these as gifts, stack them in cellophane bags tied with a pretty ribbon, or in a tin lined with parchment paper. Include a little note card with the recipe – because trust me, everyone will ask for it!
Make Ahead and Storage
Make Ahead
The cookie dough can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated. Let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before scooping and baking. You can also freeze the scooped cookie dough on a baking sheet, then transfer the frozen dough balls to a zip-top bag for longer storage.
Storage
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Place parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking if you’ve already glazed them.
Freezing
These cookies freeze beautifully! Freeze unglazed cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and add the glaze fresh before serving. If you want to freeze glazed cookies, freeze them in a single layer until the glaze is solid, then stack between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container.
Make Them Last
To keep these cookies soft for days, add a piece of bread to the storage container. The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread, keeping them tender and fresh longer. It’s an old baker’s trick that works like magic!
FAQs
Can I use low-fat ricotta cheese in this recipe?
You can, but the cookies won’t be quite as rich and tender. If using low-fat ricotta, drain it in a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth for about an hour before using to remove excess moisture. I’ve made them both ways, and while the full-fat version is my favorite, the low-fat version is still delicious if you’re watching calories during the holiday season!
My cookies didn’t flatten out like regular cookies. Did I do something wrong?
Not at all! These ricotta cookies are supposed to stay relatively domed and cake-like in texture. They won’t spread and flatten like traditional chocolate chip cookies, for example. Their pillowy texture is what makes them special. If you’d like them flatter, you can gently press the dough balls down slightly with the bottom of a glass before baking.
Can I make these cookies without the orange flavor?
Absolutely! You can easily transform these into lemon cranberry cookies by substituting lemon zest and juice. Or go for a more classic vanilla flavor by omitting the citrus and increasing the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon. You could even add a bit of almond extract for a different flavor profile. The ricotta base is incredibly versatile!
How do I know when these cookies are done baking?
These cookies can be tricky because they won’t brown much on top. Look for slightly golden edges on the bottom, and the tops should be set but still look a bit moist. If you press gently on the top, it should spring back slightly. Remember that they’ll continue to set up as they cool, so it’s better to underbake them slightly than overbake, which can dry them out.
Orange Cranberry Ricotta Cookies
Equipment
- Baking Sheets
- Mixing bowls
- Electric mixer
- Parchment paper
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup ricotta cheese full-fat preferred
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dried cranberries chopped
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons orange juice to desired consistency
- 1 teaspoon orange zest for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add ricotta cheese and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract, orange zest, and orange juice.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually mix dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.
- Fold in chopped dried cranberries.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.
- Bake 12–14 minutes, until bottoms are lightly golden and tops are just set.
- Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.
- Make glaze by whisking powdered sugar with orange juice until smooth.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies and sprinkle with orange zest. Let set before serving.