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white chocolate cranberry Christmas cookies near Christmas ribbon

Kris Kringle Christmas Cookies (original recipe)

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You will be on Santa's "nice list" with these scrumptious Christmas cookies! Packed full of yumminess with cranberries and white chocolate, this recipe will make a large batch of cookies that freeze well.
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 9 minutes
Total Time 24 minutes
Servings 37 cookies
Calories 142
Author Kim

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter softened but still cool to the touch
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup white chocolate morsels + more to add to the tops of the cookies before baking
  • 1 cup dried cranberries + more to add to the tops of the cookies before baking
  • 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans (optional) + more to add to the tops of the cookies before baking, if using

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet/baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  • Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy.
  • Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in white chocolate and cranberries. If dough does not feel cool to the touch, chill for 30 minutes or longer before baking. This will prevent spreading.
  • Drop rounded spoonfuls (about 2 tablespoons) of dough, 1-1/2 inches apart, onto baking sheets. Add white chocolate morsels, cranberrries and pecans (if using) 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.

Video

Notes

Dairy free: I have successfully made these cookies dairy-free. I left out the white chocolate chips and used Enjoy Life Foods dairy-free baking chips (found at most grocery stores and Target. Also use Earth Balance Vegan Butter.
Gluten free: I have successfully made these cookies gluten-free by using Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
Low calorie: To improve the nutritional profile, I like to use Splenda Brown Sugar Blend in place of the sugar, to lower the calories and sugar. Using the Splenda blend, leaving out the chocolate chips altogether and using the above mentioned gluten free flour, the nutritional information is as follows: 83 calories, 3.6g fat, 1g sat. fat, 0mg cholesterol, 101.2mg sodium, 11.6g carbs, .4g fiber, 4.4g sugar, .4 protein (I made the cookies a little smaller and was able to get 40 cookies.)
Freezing: I like to make these ahead of the holidays and store them in the freezer. After they’ve completely cooled, I just pop them in a large freezer bag and lay it flat in the freezer, for up to one month, possibly longer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 17.7g | Protein: 1.6g | Fat: 7.4g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Cholesterol: 24.6mg | Sodium: 76mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 11.4g