These gluten free Orange Cranberry Shortbread Cookies are the perfect balance of buttery, citrusy, and sweet. The fresh orange zest scents the dough beautifully, giving each bite a bright, clean flavour, while the dried cranberries add a pop of chewy sweetness. The dough comes together quickly, slices cleanly, and bakes into perfectly tender shortbread with crisp edges. Whether you’re filling holiday cookie boxes or craving something simple and elegant with a cup of tea, these cookies always feel special — without the extra fuss.
These are one of those classic cookies, that getting the gluten free texture is just right. I have tried these cookies with Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Gluten Free Flour and Ardent Mills 1-1 Gluten Free Flour. Both had great results without the grittiness that you are expecting. They taste very much like the shortbread that you grew up eating, buttery, and delicious.

What flavours can i do?
If you are not a fan of orange and cranberry, that is okay. This recipe works well for other flavour combinations. Just make sure you keep the ratios in the recipe the same weight and you shouldn’t run into any issues. Some flavour ideas you could try:
- Chocolate Orange: Orange zest (just add more) dip the cookies in chocolate after they have cooled.
- White Chocolate Cranberry: A classic flavour combinations with either white chocolate chips, or drizzled with white chocolate.
- Anything with a nut such as chopped almonds, hazelnuts, pecans.
- I have some other flavours on my slice and bake cookies – here, such as a double chocolate, espresso chocolate, cinnamon pecan or white chocolate macadamia nut.
ingredients
- Butter – Room Temperature
- Light Brown Sugar
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Gluten Free 1-1 Flour
- Salt
- Orange – Zest and Juice of 1 orange
- Dried Cranberries

Storing
What makes shortbreads so amazing is also the shelf life. You can leave them at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 5 days to taste as fresh as possible.
Or you can freeze them, however I always eat them too quickly to be able to freeze some.

Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 225 Grams Room Temperature Butter
- 72 Grams Light Brown Sugar
- 65 Grams Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 3 Grams Vanilla
- 250 Grams Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Gluten Free Flour
- 1 Orange Zested
- 1 Orange Juiced
- 150 Grams Dried Cranberries
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the sugars and butter. Cream together until light and fluffy.225 Grams Room Temperature Butter, 72 Grams Light Brown Sugar, 65 Grams Sugar
- Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix until blended together.1 Egg, 3 Grams Vanilla
- Next add in the orange zest, orange juice and mix until blended together.1 Orange Zested, 1 Orange Juiced
- Add in the flour until almost mixed together.250 Grams Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Gluten Free Flour
- Add in the cranberries and mix until the flour is now combined. Do not over mix it as you want the cookie as soft as possible.150 Grams Dried Cranberries
- Pour the dough out on plastic wrap. Cover it and roll it into a log. Continue rolling the log until you are happy with the shape. Place it into the fridge for atleast 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Remove the dough from fridge. Slice the cookies using a sharp knife. If you break any, just push them back together.
- Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 16 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a couple minutes before moving them to a wire rack. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
Lovely. Now let me know how you liked it and how easy it was to bake. Tag @laurabakesglutenfree on Instagram and hashtag it #laurabakesglutenfree.
While I have you here, may I suggest few you try next:
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