White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
These White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies are the best Christmas cookies ever! This easy recipe yields soft, chewy, flavorful cookies that are so pretty; studded with white chocolate chips and sweet dried red cranberries. A must have for any holiday celebration!
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies – Our Favorites!
Baking holiday desserts is one of my family’s most beloved Christmas traditions. My VERY favorite cookie to enjoy during the holiday season are these White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies. They’re always the most requested cookies from family and friends with their soft and chewy texture and melt-in-your mouth scrumptious flavor.
Ingredients In White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
The cookie dough is made from standard ingredients: flour, leavener, salt, sugar, butter, egg, & vanilla. It’s the ratios and small details of those ingredients that make this recipe stand out from the rest.
- Cool Butter. When butter is too warm, it is too soft. When butter is too soft, your cookies will spread all over the baking sheets. Room temperature butter is actually cool to touch, not warm. When you press it, your finger will make an indent. Your finger won’t sink down into the butter, nor will your finger slide all around.
- Dark Brown Sugar. These cookies use a mix of dark brown sugar and white granulated sugar. I prefer more brown sugar than white granulated sugar because the moisture in brown sugar promises an extra soft and chewy baked cookie. White granulated sugar is still necessary though. It’s dry and helps the cookies spread. A little bit of spread is a good thing. Dark brown sugar will also give the cookies a more chewy, less crispy texture.
- Egg + Egg Yolk. Another way to promise a super chewy cookie is to use an extra egg yolk. The extra egg yolk adds richness, soft tenderness, and binds the dough. You will need 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.
- Vanilla. A must for flavor.
- Flour, Cornstarch, Baking Soda & Salt. Be sure to measure flour correctly. Use the spoon and level method or simply weigh the flour on food scales. The addition of cornstarch helps to keep the cookies ultra soft and makes them nice and thick.
- White Chocolate + Dried Cranberries. The most amazing flavor combo! I like to add a few extras to the tops of my cookies, before baking, for an extra special presentation.
How Do You Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies?
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Start by heating the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet/baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
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Beat butter and sugars together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
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Blend in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of bowl as needed. Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in white chocolate and cranberries.
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Drop rounded spoonfuls (about 2 tablespoons) of dough, 1-1/2 inches apart, onto baking sheets. Add a few white chocolate morsels and cranberries to the tops of the cookies for a prettier cookie.
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Bake for about 9-12 minutes. Your perfect Christmas cookies will bake up light golden brown around the edges, but still soft in the middle. Cool on baking sheets for about 1 minute and remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Tips For Perfect Cookies Every Time
- Measure correctly. It is super important to measure the flour correctly. If you use measuring cup to scoop up flour out of the bag, you are likely packing in way too much flour which will yield cake-y and less flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a butter knife. See a visual of this here. For the most accurate measurement of flour, use a food scale.
- Chill the dough. This may or may not be necessary for this cookie recipe. If you feel that your butter is too soft or the cookie dough does not feel cool to the touch, I recommend chilling the dough for about 30 minutes. It will help you avoid flat cookies. Chill time also gives a chance for the flavors and textures to meld together and intensify.
- Big cookie dough balls. Roll your cookie dough into larger balls for softer, chewier, thicker cookies.
- Don’t over bake. Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as the edges turn a light brown and the top center is pale. As the cookies cool, they will firm up, but the center will be soft and chewy.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper/baking sheets or a silicone baking mat. Either one of these will help the cookies to bake evenly, so you have a perfect batch every time. Spraying your cookie sheet with nonstick spray causes too much grease, which may cause the cookies to spread. A silicone baking mat is great because it will grip onto the bottom of the cookie dough, and prevent the cookies from spreading too much. These mats also promote even browning.
- Allow baking sheets to cool after each batch. Placing cookie dough balls onto a hot baking sheet is most likely going to cause these cookies to spread too much. Always use room temperature baking sheets.
To Make Ahead
Like most cookie doughs, this dough can be frozen and baked at a later date. Simply scoop onto a parchment lined pan and freeze until solid. Once frozen, remove from the cookie sheet and place in a freezer bag. You can also freeze the cookie dough in individual cookie dough balls.
To Bake Frozen Cookies: Defrost for an hour or two in the fridge and bake as directed. If the dough is very cold, you may need to add a minute or two of cook time.
In my opinion, no holiday celebration is complete without white chocolate cranberry cookies! You won’t believe how good they taste and you’ll get tons of compliments. I’ve been told time and time again that this is someone’s new favorite cookie!
Looking For Other Scrumptious Holiday Cookie Recipes?
Grandma’s Special K Cookies (no-bake)
Old Fashioned Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
If you try these white chocolate cranberry cookies, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves them as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. It’s so fun to see what you’re cooking! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter,, room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (light brown will work)
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup white chocolate morsels + more to add to the tops of the cookies before baking
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries + more to add to the tops of the cookies before baking
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet/baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy.
- Blend in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of bowl as needed. Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in white chocolate and cranberries.
- Drop rounded spoonfuls (about 2 tablespoons) of dough, 1-1/2 inches apart, onto baking sheets. Add a few white chocolate morsels and cranberries to the tops of the cookies for a prettier cookie.
- Bake for about 9-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for about 1 minute and remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
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Oh, these are just gorgeous! They look like the perfect Christmas cookie. I’m making these this weekend and I just know I’m gonna end up eating ALL of them!
I will need to buy a bigger cookie jar now because if I am to make this recipe, I will surely make a big batch of these – they are too good.
I love that you added dried cranberries to the mix to make them festive. Great recipe for the holidays!
I agree – the combination of white chocolate and cranberry flavors is a must have around holidays. Definitely the recipe to hold on to.
These cookies look absolutely delicious!! Love the combo of cranberries with white chocolate.
Is it a dessert? Is it a healthy snack? Doesn’t matter, it will be gone in my home! Delicious!
White chocolate and cranberry is one of my favorite combos, and these cookies are the best! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
These cookies are fabulous and so festive for the holidays. They were perfectly crisp around the edges and soft in the centers – exactly how I love them!
White chocolate and cranberry go so well together. These look amazing.
I don’t know why but white chocolate and cranberry just GO together. So good