White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

White chocolate cranberry cookies are ideal for satisfying cravings and adding a festive flair to any occasion!

They seamlessly blend rich, creamy white chocolate and tart, chewy cranberries. They have a perfectly balanced, not-too-sweet flavor and a delightfully chewy texture. 

I just love their comforting, homemade taste, and I can’t stop making them!

After you try them, they’ll quickly become one of your favorite treats, too.

Why You’ll Love These White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Easy to Make: This recipe is a breeze to follow. It requires just a few steps and minimal prep time. It’s an ideal choice for busy bakers.

Versatile Treat: You can enjoy these cookies as a dessert, a snack, or even a breakfast treat. And while they’re best suited to holidays, you can make them year-round. 

Gift-Worthy: Everything about them is visually appealing. The vibrant red cranberries. The creamy white chocolate chips. They’re lovely and perfect for gifting during the holiday season.

Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose is my favorite because it’s the easiest to use. It provides structure and helps hold everything together. 

• Baking Soda: Baking soda serves a dual purpose in this recipe. It acts as the leavening agent, of course, but also adds softness and chewiness. 

• Salt: Add a little to balance the sweetness and enhance the other ingredients. 

• Unsalted Butter: Use real butter for that rich flavor and soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

• Granulated & Light Brown Sugar: This combo sweetens the cookies and adds moisture to them. It also makes them extra soft. 

• Large Eggs: Like flour, eggs provide structure and hold everything together. They also add moisture. 

• Vanilla Extract: Believe it or not, vanilla tastes great paired with white chocolate and cranberries. Don’t leave it out. 

• White Chocolate Chips: The sweet, creamy morsels add rich flavor and a nice texture to the cookies. 

• Dried Cranberries: Tart and chewy, dried cranberries provide a delightful contrast to the cookies’ sweetness. 

How to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

There are only a handful of steps to this simple recipe. 

1. Get ready. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Make the batter. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt first. Then, cream together the butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Finally, stir the dry mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Then, fold in the chocolate chips and cranberries. 

3. Bake. Scoop the dough onto the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each mound. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until done. 

4. Cool and serve. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy! 

Tips for the Best White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Many cookie recipes share similar tips, but they’re always worth repeating. Here are some of my best tricks for this recipe: 

• Room temperature is key. Set the butter and eggs out beforehand to warm them. They’ll incorporate into the batter better that way. 

• Be accurate! Spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup to avoid adding too much. (Or use a kitchen scale if you have one.) Adding too much flour can make the cookies dry and dense.

• Let it chill. After preparing the dough, refrigerate it for at least 1 hour before baking it. Doing so will prevent unwanted spreading. 

• Don’t overbake! Remember to remove the cookies when the edges are lightly brown but the centers aren’t fully set. If the centers set in the oven, your cookies will be too dry. 

• Save some chips & cranberries. Press a few gently into the top of the mounds of cookie dough after scooping it. Or add them immediately after removing the cookies from the oven. Either way, they make the cookies look nicer. 

• Fresh is NOT best. Avoid fresh cranberries. They have too much moisture. Dried ones are the only way to go in this recipe. 

How to Store

You can make the dough ahead of time or freeze leftover cookies. Here’s how: 

To Make Ahead: Follow the recipe to make the dough up to 3 days ahead of time. Refrigerate it, but let it come to room temperature before scooping and baking. You can also scoop the dough into balls and freeze them on a baking sheet. They’ll last up to 3 months in an airtight container in the freezer. 

To Store: Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Place in the fridge for up to a week to make them last longer. 

To Freeze: Freeze cooled cookies in an air-tight container for up to 3 months.