Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Cookies (Paleo + Vegan)
These Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Cookies are soft, chewy and bursting with flavor! They’re loaded with cinnamon, orange zest, fresh tart cranberries, and chewy dried cranberries. Perfect for the holidays!
Ah, the madness of Thanksgiving has passed! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and weekend, full of family, friends, and of course…it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without lots of delicious food.
I spent pretty much all day Wednesday and Thursday prepping for our feast, and my dad ended up having to come pick me up because I couldn’t get the two pies, apple cranberry crisp, pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies, four-layer birthday cake, brussels sprouts, and cranberry sauce safely over to his house in one piece by myself, especially with my huge dog lurking in the car.
With his help, my contributions made it safely to the our Thanksgiving table and it all got happily devoured…but not before a little kitchen disaster! As we reheated all the food in my dad’s teeny oven, we tried playing Tetris to fit in the pan of green bean casserole and shoved the pan in tightly with some other dishes.
A few minutes later as I stirred the gravy, I noticed a small plume of smoke coming from the oven. When I opened it up to check it out, imagine my horror when a giant flame roared out from the oven, and kept on burning.
Naturally, I started screaming that the oven was on fire and 15 of my family members tried to squeeze into the kitchen to see what was going on…and to watch me freak out. I had no idea what to do but for some reason, they were all looking to me for the solution to the flames coming out of the oven.
I turned it off and prayed the fire would go away on its own, and thankfully after opening the oven a few more frightening times to check on the fire and try to swat it with a wet towel (didn’t work), it finally went out on its own. Turns out, the crispy onions on top had gotten a little too close to the top heat bar. Oops. Thankfully, and magically, the rest of the food in the oven survived the ordeal.
It definitely made Thanksgiving a little more exciting! Despite the fire drama, one of my very favorite parts of the day had to be receiving Snapchats and getting tagged in Instagram pictures from all of you who made my recipes – nothing makes me happier! On Thanksgiving and every day, I’m thankful for each and everyone one of you ❤️
So, post-Thanksgiving and heading into the holiday cookie season, I had to start us off with a holiday cookie that uses one of my favorite winter flavor combos: cranberries and orange! Every year, I try to take full advantage of cranberry season because the burst of tartness that they add to everything they touch is irresistible.
These Cranberry Orange Cookies are unique, but they should definitely make their way into your kitchen before winter is over. The cookie dough bakes into a soft + chewy cookie with crisp edges and a gooey center.
Orange zest gives the dough a little zip of citrus flavor that pairs beautifully with the warmth of the vanilla and cinnamon, and both fresh and dried cranberries add texture to the cookies. I used fresh cranberries, sliced in half, for the brightness in both flavor and color, and the dried cranberries add a soft, sweet texture.
These Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Cookies will be the star of your cookie tray – they’ve got the soft and chewy texture of a chocolate chip cookie, with the most amazing bright flavors from the cranberries and orange zest. These are an irresistible cookie you won’t be able to get enough of! Enjoy :)
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Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 14 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut oil (room temperature)
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 egg (room temperature (can also use a flax egg – see Notes))
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2¼ cups (216g) blanched almond flour
- 1 cup fresh cranberries (halved)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner.
- In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil, sugar, and orange zest until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Add the almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon to the wet ingredients. Mix until well incorporated. Fold in the fresh and dried cranberries.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to form cookies and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or just beginning to turn golden brown around the edges and set in the center.
- Let cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
For the flax egg: whisk together 1 tablespoon ground flax meal and 2.5 tablespoons water. Let set for 10 minutes to gel before using.
Oh my goodness that sounds scary! I would have done the same as you. Scream & flare! But these cookies are truly amazing. My favorite combo is orange and cranberries! ‘Made them in pancake and sugar cookie form last year!
Haha it was nuts!! Thanks so much, Megan. Cranberry orange pancakes sound amazing!
You were busy for Thanksgiving!! I absolutely love cranberry and orange together, such a fabulous combo.
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Rachel! I can’t believe we’re onto the holiday season! These cookies look like they would make a fabulous addition to the dessert table. I love the cranberry and orange combo!
I’ve actually been getting sick of chocolate cookies, so this is a nice fruity change! Love cranberries and orange together!
Me too! Thanks so much, Bethany.
Oh I’m so glad that the rest of your food made it out safely! I would totally be freaking out too! I LOVE the cranberry orange combo — these look amazing!
Hi Rachel. I’m here again…I’d like to ask you if I can sub almond flour for another flour like oat flour, because here in Brazil almond products are expensive.
Thanks. :)
Can skip fresh cranberries and just add dried cranberries and what is the measurement of the dried cranberries? Can substitute coconut sugar with monk fruit sweetener?
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Hi Kuan, yes you can do dried cranberries instead. I would use about 1 cup total. I haven’t tried substituting the coconut sugar, but if you use a 1:1 monk fruit sugar replacement, that should work out well!
can totally omit sugar in this receipe?
Hi Kuan, it will change the texture and flavor of the cookies significantly – I wouldn’t recommend removing it entirely.
These cookies are divine. I decided to hold off with the cinnamon and add a drop of orange extract. They taste so good and are so light and chewy at the same time.
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That sounds fabulous!! Thanks for the feedback, Franzi!
We have a nut allergy and cannot use almond flour. Could you please suggest a substitute?
Oat flour works well (would recommend using 1 3/4 to 2 cups instead – it’s more absorbent) and so does AP gluten-free flour!