These Chocolate Cranberry Pastries are soft and tender with a unique filling of cranberry jelly, dulce de leche, and butter. They are absolutely worth the effort to make.
These Chocolate Cranberry Pastries are a little bite of heaven! With a soft, tender pastry and a unique, luscious filling, they are the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The filling is a delightful combination of cranberry jelly, creamy dulce de leche, and a touch of butter that melts in your mouth. The smooth caramel flavor of the dulce de leche pairs beautifully with the cranberry jelly, creating a deliciously unexpected flavor profile.
They are definitely worth the effort to make, and once you taste them, you'll agree! These pastries are perfect for pairing with a warm cup of coffee or tea, making them an ideal treat for cozy mornings or holiday gatherings. I absolutely love making them for Christmas—they’re one of my personal favorites. And trust me, they’re always one of the first treats to disappear! Once people taste them, they just can’t resist going back for seconds. There’s something about these pastries that keeps everyone coming back for more.
Ingredients:
Pastries:
9 eggs
1 ¾ - 2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups butter, melted
1 ½ cups sour cream
3 teaspoons baking soda, dissolved in 1 teaspoon vinegar
4 ½ cups all purpose flour
4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Filling:
1 (14 oz) can cranberry jelly
1 (14 oz) can dulce de leche
¾ cup butter, softened
How To Make Chocolate Cranberry Pastries
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed half sheet pans (13 inches x 18 inches) with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
In a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, or using a large bowl and a hand mixer, mix the eggs and sugar until they are pale yellow and fluffy, about 8 minutes. 
Add the melted butter, sour cream, the baking soda dissolved in vinegar and mix to combine.
In another medium bowl, mix the flour and cocoa together or sift into the batter. (The cocoa tends to get lumpy, so it helps to give it a good stir.) 
Add to the batter and mix to combine. 
Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared baking sheets. 
Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. Cool.
Filling:
Meanwhile, make the filling. Mix all the ingredients in a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer until evenly combined.
To assemble:
You can be as creative as you want at this point, by creating different shapes, etc. I've made them into circles and diamond shaped as well.
I decided to make small squares this time. Cut the pastry sheets into 1 ½ inch squares. (It really doesn't matter on the size; I'm just telling you the size that I made this time.) 
Set aside all the trimmings and pulse them in a food processor to make crumbs. You can also combine the crumbs with finely chopped nuts.
Spread the filling on top of a piece of square and sandwich another square on top of it. Spread the filling all the way around the square and coat it completely in the crumbs. I actually like to cut the squares in half horizontally and put filling in between them, and then place 3-4 thin squares together so that they have more filling, more flavor and are even more tender. 
Repeat with the rest of your little squares. 
I got about 70-80 little squares out of this batch of 1 ½ inch pieces. The squares will bulk up a lot and become much thicker after you dredge them in the crumbs. Keep in mind that you will need to use part of the pastry for crumbs. You will also have some of the filling left over. (I just left the recipe the way it is because it's just a convenient amount to mix. However, if you cut the little squares in half, you may use all the filling.)
You can certainly halve the recipe if you don't want to make such a large batch. Since I need a lot of cookies to give away, I usually make at least one, sometimes two batches.
Even though most of the time I am in the kitchen by myself, I pull up the chair to my awesome dining room table, turn on some of my favorite podcasts, like Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, Adventures in Odyssey or Living on the Edge and the time just flies by. It's also a great time to watch some movies. Spending a few days in the kitchen doesn't have to be dismal and monotonous. Not only will you be creating delicious munchies for your loved ones, you'll have a great time yourself. It's actually kind of peaceful and relaxing:). And totally worth it.
Store the baked and assembled Chocolate Cranberry and Caramel Pastries at room temperature 3-5 days in a closed box or container.
You can also freeze them up to a month in advance in a freezer ziplock bag or an airtight container.
Chocolate, Cranberry and Caramel Pastries
Ingredients
Pastries:
- 9 eggs
- 1 ¾ - 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups butter melted
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 3 teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Filling:
- 1 14 oz can cranberry jelly
- 1 14 oz can dulce de leche
- ¾ cup butter softened
Instructions
Pastries:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed half sheet pans (13 inches x 18 inches) with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- In a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, or using a large bowl and a hand mixer, mix the eggs and sugar until they are pale yellow and fluffy, about 8 minutes.
- Add the melted butter, sour cream, the baking soda dissolved in vinegar and mix to combine.
- In another medium bowl, mix the flour and cocoa together or sift into the batter. (The cocoa tends to get lumpy, so it helps to give it a good stir.) Add to the batter and mix to combine.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. Cool.
Filling:
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Mix all the ingredients in a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer until evenly combined.
To assemble:
- You can be as creative as you want at this point, by creating different shapes, etc. I decided to make small squares this time. Cut the pastry sheets into 1 ½ inch squares. (It really doesn't matter on the size; I'm just telling you the size that I made this time.) Set aside all the trimmings and pulse them in a food processor to make crumbs. You can also combine the crumbs with finely chopped nuts.
- Spread the filling on top of a piece of square and sandwich another square on top of it. Spread the filling all the way around the square and coat it completely in the crumbs. Repeat with the rest of your little squares. I actually like to cut the squares in half horizontally and put filling in between them, and then place 3-4 thin squares together so that they have more filling, more flavor and are even more tender.
- I got about 70-80 little squares out of this batch of 1 ½ inch pieces. Keep in mind that you will need to use part of the pastry for crumbs. You will also have some of the filling left over, however, if you cut the little squares in half, you may use up all of it.
Notes
I saw this was your favorite for holidays on momsdish.com so I'm giving this a try today, we got last day of Russian school tomorrow then Christmas break, so making this for my class. And if they turn our great, gonna be making some for holiday plate too. Thank you so much for your great recipes, I'm one of your daily followers 🙂
Olga I just made these and don't know what I did wrong, they didn't rise in the oven at all, could it be because I mixed melted butter, sour cream and baking soda before adding it to the egg mixture? They came out of the oven 1/2 inch tall.
Love them, they're so good!!!
Did you melt your butter completely?
For the pastry batter, the butter needs to be melted. For the filling/frosting, the butter needs to be softened to room temperature.
Are all the measurements right in this recipe? I measured out everything carefully and my dough turned out VERY thick. I wasn't even able to pour it in to pans, that's how thick it was. 🙁
Hi Lena,
I double checked to make sure and the measurements are correct. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
I've had this happen in other recipes - double check the size of your eggs, 9 standard large eggs provides a different volume than 9 extra large or jumbo eggs. Also, since there is a considerable amount of flour in this recipe - how was the flour measured. Most bakers will scoop and level off directly with the measuring cup from their flour container which can add significant extra weight and flour the more cups a recipe calls for. If you use a scoop or spoon and use that to transfer the flour to your measuring cup the amount of flour may be a lot less and the batter not as dense. One cup flour should weight 4.5 oz (about 120 grams). It took tow burned out mixers before I learned this. 🙂
Did you melt your butter completely?
they look yummy!
Olga where can I find canned dulce de leche?
I buy it in most grocery stores Inna, and it's located in the baking aisle, the international aisle or next to the condensed milk.
However, I know that dulce de leche isn't sold everywhere across the country. In our area where we live, we have a large Mexican population, so it's a common ingredient that is sold everywhere. In other areas, dulce de leche may not be available.
Hi,
I have a hard time finding dulce de leche too which is surprising considering we're in Texas. I have found two recipes for a homemade version- one is from scratch milk, sugar, vanilla (Alton Brown) and the other involves simmering a can or few of condensed sweetened milk (Ree Drummond). Both work in a pinch.
Back in Belarus we only had condensed milk, so we always boiled it for recipes like this one:). It's so convenient to have dulce de leche in the grocery stores, but when it's not available, cooking condensed milk is the way I do it. I like using the slow cooker.
These look fantastic, and something my family would enjoy 🙂 how far in advance can I make them so they stay fresh for Christmas, Thanks!!!
Hi Oksana,
We usually eat them up pretty quickly, but I know you can make them at least a week in advance.
I love your blog! thank you so much for your hard work! i got a quick question, how to store these treats once you done making them, fridge or leave them out?
Thanks, Viktoriya!
I usually store them at room temperature, covered tightly.
Olga, can I use whole berry cranberry sauce instead of jelly?
I'm so glad that I was able to give you the recipe that you've been wanting:).
I wouldn't recommend using whole berry sauce, unless you puree it in the food processor or a blender first. It needs to be smooth for the filling.
Thank you olga!
Olga, you are a mind reader:) I tried something like that at one of the weddings and always wanted a recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us , it will appear on our christmas table as well!
Yum! Looks good. Can I make it a week ahead?
These look so delicious, Thanks for the recipe Olga. Can I omit the cranberry sauce?
Dina, I wouldn't recommend omitting the cranberry sauce, since it really balances out the flavor. If you're afraid that it will taste tart, let me assure you that you will hardly taste the cranberries at all.
However, you can adjust the recipe to your liking. I'm not going to be watching over your shoulder:).
yum! these look fantastic.
Well, these sure look fun! Gotta try! Thanks Olga!
these pastries look so delicious and perfect! can't wait to make these in the next few days!