No matter which version you bake, the best part of making Cranberry Pecan Cookies is how surprisingly wonderful they taste! Fresh cranberries give these cookies a bright tartness that is a welcome contrast to the spicy richness of other treats on my holiday cookie plate.

Cranberry Pecan Cookies with White Chocolate Drizzle and Cranberry Bits beside Cranberry Pecan Bars with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting served on white plates and displayed on a woven mat.

Cookie Swap Memories

Last year, while we were snowed in during the weeks before Christmas, my good friend Alanna from Kitchen Parade called. She wanted to check on the ingredients in a recipe from a cookie swap I hosted many years ago. The recipe was for a drop cookie made with cranberries and nuts.

Cookies with fruit in them are generally not my favorites. Instead I gravitate toward the rich and buttery, cookies flavored with nuts and brown sugar, something chocolaty or fragrant with spice. Still, somehow I remembered the cookies she was asking about, though I had never tried making them myself. I went to my files, pulled out the one marked “Cookie Swap Brunch” and started thumbing through the recipes. Sure enough, there it was, a recipe for Cranberry Pecan Drop Cookies.

Cranberry Pecan Drop Cookies piled on a glass plate.

Bright Surprises

By then we had already been snowed in for days. Stuck at home, I did a lot of baking using whatever I happened to have on hand before the storm. It was pleasant in the kitchen. While the snow piled up outside, my oven was warm and productive. With my family at home and my children’s friends coming and going as they slid from house to house, I had tasters for any and every thing that came out of the oven.

I had already baked many of our favorite Christmas cookies: Ginger Cookie Sticks, Russian Teacakes and of course I made some of Aunt Hen’s Peanut Butter Fudge. By the time Alanna called, I was ready to try something different, and now those Cranberry Pecan Drops were on my mind. Though I wasn’t sure I would like them I did happen to have all of the ingredients needed to make them. I decided to give the recipe a try.

I can’t say these are the prettiest Christmas cookies ever. Still the red flecks of cranberry give Cranberry Pecan Drops a certain festive appeal. And, all in all they are easy to make; just mix, drop and bake.

The best part of making these cookies, however, is how surprisingly wonderful they taste! Despite the quantity of sugar, the fresh cranberries give these cookies a bright tartness that is a welcome contrast to the spicy richness of many of the other treats on my holiday cookie plate. I love Alanna’s idea to use orange juice concentrate instead of regular orange juice. That adds even more punch to the fruity tang.

Cranberry Pecan Cookies Baked in a 13 x 9-inch pan.

Leaving Well Enough Alone

Seldom one to leave well enough alone, when I made Cranberry Pecan Cookies again I changed things up a bit. Drawn to admire the beautiful case of holiday sweets at my local Starbucks, I began to wonder if their Cranberry Bliss Bars were similar to these cranberry cookies. I can’t remember ever tasting the Starbucks version but I really like the festive look of their cream cheese frosting sprinkled with tiny bits of dried cranberries.

Gazing at those pretty coffeehouse confections I decided to adapt the Cranberry Pecan Drop Cookies I recently rediscovered to a bar cookie I could dress up in a similar way. I made the batter just as in the original recipe but stirred in some white chocolate chips. Then I spread the batter in a 9 x 13-inch pan, baked it and let it cool before topping it with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cranberry Pecan Bars with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting displayed on a tray with Snickerdoodle Blondies cut into stars. — Cranberry Pecan Bars with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting surrounded by Snickerdoodle Blondies cut into stars.

Cranberry Pecan Bars with White Chocolate and Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

The result was very pretty and the bars got good reviews from my tasters. To me, however, they were overly sweet and, while there was still a flavor note that was bright and tangy, the fresh flavor of the cranberries was no longer the dominant impression. The white chocolate morsels and the cream cheese frosting looked pretty and tasted good but they mellowed the flavor and caused these Cranberry Bars to forfeit their sharp tangy edge.

On the other hand, making bar cookies from the batter of those tasty Cranberry Pecan Drops did work out well. Spreading the batter in a pan was even easier than dropping the cookie dough on cookie sheets and baking them individually. And, even cut into plain squares, the bars were every bit as pretty as the drop cookie version.

Cranberry Pecan Cookies with White Chocolate Drizzle and Cranberry Bits served on a white plate displayed on a woven mat.

Simply Cranberry Pecan Bars

The third time I made Cranberry Pecan Cookies, I tried one more variation. This time I made the batter just as directed in the original recipe for Cranberry Pecan Drop Cookies. Then I spread it in a 9 x 13-inch pan. When it had baked and cooled, I melted some of the white chocolate chips I decided not to add to the batter before baking. Next, I drizzled the white chocolate over the Cranberry Pecan Bars. Then I scattered those pretty little dried cranberry bits over the warm white chocolate so they would adhere to the top.

This time I was happy with the flavor of the finished Cranberry Pecan Bars. The cranberries in the batter were still flavor-forward in this version. The fresh tangy fruit flavor popped while the pecans added a nice texture and depth. The drizzled white chocolate was pretty and welcome without dominating the overall taste. Even better, it gave those lovely little flecks of dried cranberries something to hang onto. That said, if I were short on time, I think skipping the white chocolate drizzle with cranberries and simply dusting the top of the bars with powdered sugar before serving would be a fine alternative.

Sometimes I think I just make things overly complicated. While the version of Cranberry Pecan Cookies I bake next time probably depends on the kind of time I have available and the qualities of the other cookies they may be served with, all of these variations are good choices. However you decide to dress your Cranberry Pecan Cookies they are sure to add a fresh festive note to your holiday celebration.