Cranberry Pecan Filled Cookies are soft, pillows of brown sugar cookie with a wonderful tart-sweet cranberry and pecan filling. This is ALMOST not a new recipe for you guys. Earlier in our 12 days I made a date walnut version of this cookie, so I almost opted not to share this one. But Cranberry Pecan Filled Cookies end up being a completely different cookie, because of their very vibrant color and flavor.

So, the “different” part of this recipe is the jam. The cookie is exactly the same. The process is exactly the same. The two cookies couldn’t be more different, though. And that’s because of the filling. In both cases, I would happily eat the jam filling out of a bowl with a spoon! Yum! This one is definitely worth sharing.

Cranberry Pecan Filled Cookies

Author: Glenda Embree
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 10 min
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 3 dozen 1x

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Ingredients

For the Cookie Dough:

3/4 cup butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the Cranberry Filling:

2 (12 oz) bags fresh cranberries (about 6 cups)
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3 cups chopped pecans

Instructions

For the Cookies:

Cream the butter and brown sugar together. I used my *Bosch stand mixer, but these are easily made by hand, too.)
Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until completely incorporated.
Divide the dough in half and place each half of the dough in a gallon zip-top bag, press it down flat and refrigerate for 1 hour. You want the dough to be chilled enough that you will be able to roll it out.
While the dough is chilling make the cranberry pecan jam.

For the Jam:

Place cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, allspice, orange juice and orange zest in a medium saucepan.
Stir together and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.
Once mixture begins boiling, reduce the heat to medium and continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries pop and the mixture thickens to the consistency of jam. (Start counting seconds as you drag a spoon through the jam to the other side of your pan. The trail you leave will begin to fill in, but you should be able to count 5 seconds before it closes completely.)
Remove from the heat, stir in the pecans, and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before using it to fill the pinwheel dough.

Shaping the Cookies:

When the dough is fully chilled, roll each half out into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle, (each rectangle will be 9×12) on a sheet of parchment paper.
Spread one half of the cooled jam across each of the rectangles of cookie dough, spreading it to the edges.
Working from the long edge, use the parchment paper to help you roll the dough and filling into a log. The log will be fairly big around, 3 -3.5 inches in diameter. Because the filling layer is thick, it will not be tight swirls like pinwheel cookies. Work from the long edge and tuck the dough into the jam as you get the roll started. Keep rolling, using the parchment to help you, tucking as you go to keep the roll being formed. In the end the roll will have a swirl of dough at the center, surrounded by jam and then dough encasing it all. It won’t form the tight pinwheel like the cookies from the past that had just a tiny thin ribbon of filling.
Wrap and chill the logs for at least 6 hours.
To bake, cut the logs into 1/3″ slices and place on a cookie sheet leaving at least 2 inches in between, for spreading. (If you rotate the log a quarter turn after each slice you make, it will help the cookies stay round instead of going flat on one side.)
Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes. The cookie will be lightly browned around the edges, but still soft and tender.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the *baking sheet for 3 minutes, before removing to cooling racks.

Category: Desserts, Cookies

How to Make the Filling for Cranberry Pecan Filled Cookies

Start with fresh cranberries. Put them in a medium sauce pan and add sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, allspice, orange juice and orange zest.

Stir everything together and bring the entire mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.

Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries pop and the mixture thickens to the consistency of jam.

To see if the jam is done, start counting seconds as you drag a spoon through the jam to the other side of your pan. The trail you leave will begin to fill in, but you should be able to count 5 seconds before it closes completely, at the other end.

Remove the cranberry jam from the heat, stir in the pecans, and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before using it to fill the pinwheel dough.

Create the Roll for Cranberry Pecan Filled Cookies

Now, divide your chilled dough into two halves. Roll each of them into a 9×12 rectangle on top of a sheet of parchment paper.

Spread each rectangle with 1/2 of the jam.

Work from the long edge, of each rectangle. Use the parchment paper to help you roll the dough and filling into a log. The log will be fairly big around, 3 -3.5 inches in diameter. Because the filling layer is thick, it will not be tight swirls like pinwheel cookies.

In the end the roll will have a swirl of dough at the center, surrounded by jam and then dough encasing it all. It won’t form the tight pinwheel like the cookies from the past that had just a tiny thin ribbon of filling.

Wrap and chill the logs for at least 6 hours.

To bake the cookies, cut the logs into 1/3″ slices and place the slices on a cookie sheet leaving at least 2 inches in between. (If you rotate the log a quarter turn after each slice you make, it will help the cookies stay round instead of going flat on one side.)

Bake. The cookies will be lightly browned around the edges, but still soft and tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the *baking sheet for 3 minutes, before removing to cooling racks.

Enjoy, my friend! These are going to be gorgeous on your Christmas dessert table!

More Cookie Recipes from the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Event

Here are three more DELISH cookie recipes from our 12 Days of Christmas Cookies blogger event.

Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies, from Arlene, at Flour on My Face
Double Chocolate Chip Cookie s, from Lois, at Walking on Sunshine Recipes
Chocolate Chip Kiss Cookies, from Lenny, at Fat Dad Foodie

And, if you’re looking for even more cookie recipes to add to your holiday repertoire, check out my recipe for these yummy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Orange Shortbread Cookies.

THE GIVEAWAY

ENTER THE 12 Days of Christmas Cookies

KITCHENAID MIXER GIVEAWAY

One lucky winner will receive a KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Qt Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield!

FEATURES OF THE KITCHENAID ARTISAN SERIES STAND MIXER

10-speed slide control ranges from a very fast whip to a very slow stir
Includes Flat Beater, Dough Hook and Wire Whip
Power Hub for Additional Attachments
Unique Mixing Action
Assembled with Pride in Greenville, Ohio.Electrical: 60 Hz
Choose from all the color options to find the one that best matches your style and personality.
The power hub turns your stand mixer into a culinary center with more than 15 optional attachments available.
5-Qt. stainless steel bowl with comfortable handle offers enough capacity to mix dough for 9 dozen cookies or 4 loaves of bread in a single batch.
59-Point Planetary Mixing Action means 59 touch points per rotation around the bowl for thorough ingredient incorporation.
The tilt-head design allows clear access to the bowl and attached beater or accessory so you can easily add ingredients for a recipe.
Powerful enough for nearly any task or recipe, whether you’re stirring wet and dry ingredients together, kneading bread dough or whipping cream.
Includes coated flat beater, coated dough hook, 6-wire whip and 1-piece pouring shield. The flat beater and dough hook are dishwasher-safe.

Official Rules and Conditions for the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Giveaway:

One winner will be receive a KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Qt. Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield (Value $279.00 USD).
Open to US residents adults 18+.
One (1) winner will be chosen.
Prize must be claimed within 48 hours of announcement or a new winner will be drawn.
Prize will be delivered via Amazon.
All entries will be verified.
This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Rafflecopter, Amazon, KitchenAid or any other entity unless otherwise specified.
Giveaway ends December 12th, 2019 at midnight.
Bloggers are not responsible for the delivery of the prize.

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