38 Cranberry Desserts That Deserve a Spot on Your Holiday Table
With the holidays on the horizon, odds are you’re already dreaming about all the pumpkin, apple, caramel and cinnamon treats you’re going to bake. But there’s one fruit that always gets overlooked, despite its sweet-tart flavor and striking color: the cranberry. Believe it or not, it can do so much more than cranberry sauce. Make this the year that you let this underrated produce in on the fun with 38 cranberry desserts that are bound to impress.
RELATED: The 50 Best Cranberry Recipes You Could Possibly Try This Holiday Season
1. Easy Cranberry-Pecan Sandwich Cookies
Whether you’re serving a crowd, participating in a cookie swap or looking for a weekend baking project, these nutty handhelds are sure to be a hit. Save time by using store-bought jam (although the homemade version will make your house smell like Christmas).
2. Mini Cranberry Potpies
One bite will have you saying, “chicken who?” This decidedly sweet twist on a savory classic pairs best with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream.
3. Cranberry-Brie Puff Pastry Pops
Cheese is always invited to dessert at our house—especially when it’s melted in a pocket of flaky pastry dough and covered in cranberry jam.
4. Cranberry Apple Danish
They taste just as good first thing in the morning as they do after a hearty dinner. Might we suggest washing it down with a frothy chai latte?
5. Cranberry-Orange Pie
Cranberries and citrus go together like PB&J. Because cranberries are naturally high in pectin, the filling will thicken like a charm on the stovetop.
6. Mini Cranberry, Pistachio and Chocolate Panettone
You only *think* brioche-like panettone is doomed to be bone dry, but shrinking its size helps maintain its moisture.
7. Matcha-Cranberry Linzer Cookies
These red-and-green cuties are fated to be the star (see what we did there?) of your holiday spread. Feel free to use a tree- or candy cane-shaped cookie cutter instead for extra seasonal flair.
8. Cranberry-Brie Pie Crust Bites
Want to up the dessert ante? Dust the pie dough with cinnamon sugar instead of salt and pepper.
9. Cranberry Sauce Cheesecake Brownies
Aka the best way to use up leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving.
10. Cranberry Christmas Cake with Butter Sauce
Helloooo, decadence. Despite its rich texture and the indulgent, warm butter sauce, this masterpiece is gluten-free and low-carb.
11. Cranberry Trifle
Dig into layers of crimson cranberry filling, homemade vanilla custard and chunks of white cake, all topped with fresh whipped cream and sugared cranberries.
12. Cranberry Lemon Pound Cake
This breakfast delicacy comes together in under 50 minutes. Whether you finish it off with three-ingredient lemon glaze or not, it’ll be moist, tart and sweet.
13. Cranberry White Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Nut Cookies
Chewy dried cranberries + creamy white chocolate + crunchy macadamia nuts = an epically balanced bite.
14. Cinnamon Spiced Dutch Baby with Cranberry Butter
Wanna see a magic trick? Plop this beauty in the center of your holiday table and watch it vanish before your eyes in ten seconds flat.
15. Cranberry Orange Custard Pie
We love the idea of leaving the cranberries whole because they’ll burst with sweet-tart juice with every bite. Bonus points for topping the pie with a cranberry-shaped pie crust cutout.
16. Orange-Cranberry Patties
BRB, gifting these to everyone on our holiday list. Think a simple chewy filling studded with candied orange peels and dried cranberries, all enrobed in dark chocolate.
17. Cranberry Cheesecake Galette
Rich, creamy cheesecake filling is just the tangy-sweet match for tart, two-ingredient cranberry sauce. And since it’s a galette made with store-bought pie crust, you won’t have to fuss with any fancy crimping.
18. Cranberry Orange Cake
Sour cream in the cake batter ensures an impossibly moist crumb. (BTW, the two-ingredient citrus icing on top is a breeze to prepare.)
19. Cranberry Cobbler Bars
For when your heart cries out for pie but your patience says, “not today.” Think shortbread crust layered with brown sugar-cinnamon cranberry filling and crumb topping.
20. Cranberry Bliss Cookies
Save yourself a trip to Starbucks and bake this copycat recipe instead. The cream cheese-white chocolate frosting is revelatory.
21. 5-Ingredient Cranberry Brie Cinnamon Puff Pastry Swirls
They taste even more divine with a fall latte. Serve them warm so the cheese stays gooey and the dough stays soft.
22. Dessert Board with Cranberry Chocolate Truffles
When in doubt, an over-the-top charcuterie spread is an easy win. The main event here is the chocolate truffles, filled with graham cracker-spiked cream cheese and cranberry-cinnamon goat cheese.
23. Cranberry Crisp
These individual sweets are finished with crispy oatmeal-brown sugar topping and take just over a half-hour to make. If that’s not a Christmas miracle, we don’t know what is.
24. Leftover Cranberry Sauce Parfaits
Have three minutes? Then this four-ingredient treat is within reach. Just choose your favorite crunchy granola or cereal and get to layering. (We’re betting vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would work just as well as Greek yogurt.)
25. White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
You bring the cookies, we’ll make the coffee. They’ll taste divine dipped in hot chocolate too, if that’s more your speed.
26. Cranberry Swirl Buns
PSA: They smell *amazing*, thanks to a few dashes of almond extract in the dough.
27. Cranberry Shortbread Bars
Not only are these bars Paleo-friendly, but they’re also totally vegan. You can thank plant-based butter, almond flour and coconut flour for that.
28. Cranberry Spice Cookies with Eggnog Icing
Confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and warm spices transform store-bought eggnog into something spectacular that you’ll want to drizzle on just about everything.
29. Healthy Cranberry Coffee Cake
Dairy-free? Check. Refined sugar- and flour-free? Check. All the honey-oat crumble? You bet.
30. Cranberry Chocolate Chip Blondies
Name a better collab than this cranberry bar-chocolate chip cookie hybrid. We’ll wait.
31. Melt-in-Your-Mouth Orange Cookies with Cranberries
These minis have a secret ingredient that not only enhances their flavor, but also gives them a soft, dense texture. (OK, we’ll spill—it’s carrots.)
32. Cranberry-Almond Apple Pie
Thanks to a layer of almond paste that’s pressed atop the pie crust, this pie boasts sweet, nutty flavor in every bite.
33. Brown Butter Cranberry-Pumpkin Cornbread Skillet
Brown butter makes everything taste a million times better. A few minutes of heating on the stovetop transforms it into caramelized liquid gold.
34. Creamy Cranberry Bars
This recipe is especially for those who are diehard cranberry stans. The cranberry curd spiked with fresh lemon juice doesn’t shy away from its signature sour flavor.
35. Cranberry Cream Cheese Banana Bread
Even without the cream cheese-white chocolate frosting, this bread is a crowd-pleaser…though you’d really be missing out by nixing it.
36. Cranberry Crumble Pie Bars
These babies are prime for both transporting and freezing, so feel free to prepare them a few days ahead of serving.
37. Cranberry Chocolate Nut Pie
Soaking the dried cranberries in brandy for an hour makes this recipe all the more Christmas-appropriate and fruitcake-inspired.
38. White Christmas Cranberry Layer Cake
Your guests will be totally wowed by this centerpiece-worthy confection, from the homemade jam to the white chocolate buttercream to the sugared rosemary garnish.
RELATED: 48 Christmas Dessert Recipes That Can Get Anyone in the Holiday Spirit
For even more great recipes, check out our first cookbook, Only the Good Stuff.
