Frosted Cranberry Cookies

Frosted Cranberry Cookies made with fresh cranberries and a creamy brown butter frosting!

These frosted cranberry cookies are perfect for Christmas! This time of year I love cookies and other sorts of treats that make use of seasonal fresh cranberries. And you can never go wrong with a cookie with a big mound of frosting on top. 🙂

These cookies are so good! The cookie part is good even without the frosting. It has just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the fresh cranberries, and the cranberries give the cookie a little bit of crunch. The cookies have a great texture and flavor, and you could even add in some chopped walnuts if you want more of a nutty flavor.

As I mentioned, you could eat the cookies without the frosting, but they are even better with the frosting! It is a brown butter frosting which has tons of flavor, and it complements the tart cookies perfectly. I may have eaten a spoonful right out of the bowl before I frosted the cookies. 🙂

The icing is smooth and creamy when you make it, but work quickly because it hardens up a little as it cools. If that happens, just add a tiny bit of extra hot water and re-mix the frosting and you should be good to go.

Thanks to the fresh cranberries, these cookies look nice and festive on a cookie platter. And they taste even better than they look. They are sure to be a hit this Christmas season – I hope you try them!

Print Recipe

Frosted Cranberry Cookies

Yield: 5 dozen

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Frosted Cranberry Cookies made with fresh cranberries and a creamy brown butter frosting!

Ingredients:

Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

Frosting:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 to 4 tablespoons hot water

Directions:

1. In a bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add milk, egg and orange juice; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in cranberries and nuts.
2. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
3. For frosting, heat the butter in a saucepan over low heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes; transfer to a small bowl. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting reaches desired consistency. Frost the cookies. Yield: about 5 dozen.

from Taste of Home