White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies desserts Soft, rich, chewy, and sweet classic white chocolate cranberry cookies  white chocolate cookies White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies chocolate, cranberries, cookies

The combination of sweet white chocolate chips and tart sweet chewy dried cranberries is what really makes these cookies so good - next to the classic white chocolate macadamia nuts combo these really stand out as a favourite cookie to add to any cookie platter. They have such nice soft and chewy centres and crisp edges. They are soft, rich, chewy, and sweet and you won’t be able to stop at just one - trust me. There’s something about the flavours and textures of these cookies that keep you going back for more! A classic flavor combination that is perfect all year round especially during cookie season. 

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Ingredients

  • Butter - I used unsalted butter because it makes it easier to control the amount of salt in recipe. You will melt of brown the butter for this recipe so no need to soften the butter 
  • White Sugar & Brown sugar - The combination of white sugar and brown sugar give these cookies their distinct texture.
  • Flour - I recommend using all-purpose flour to make these brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookies. You could definitely make them gluten free with a good quality flour like Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 gluten free baking flour.
  • White Chocolate Chips - Feel free to use white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate - either would be delicious in this recipe. If you are not a fan of white chocolate chip cookies feel free to use milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips instead 
  • Cranberries - Dried cranberries is what I used in this recipe - this recipe will not work with fresh cranberries. They add the perfect tart, chewy and delightful texture and flavor to these cookies 
  • Eggs - There are two in this recipe. Make sure they are room temperature.
  • Baking Soda - just a bit but essential for leavening
  • Cornstarch - a little goes a long way - cornstarch helps make these cookies more tender. Don’t skip it even though it may seem Unusual - it helps make these cookies tender and soft in the middle
  • Vanilla - A definite must in this recipe - they just won’t be the same without it for that delicious flavour vanilla adds to them. Make sure to use pure vanilla extract if possible 
  • Extra Add Ins - I like to sprinkle some flaky sea salt over my cookies for some sparkle and also the savoury salty flakes bring out the flavours in these cookies in delicious way. Feel free to add some chopped nuts like chopped pecans, walnuts or chopped almonds if you want a little crunch in these cookies - up to 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Flavour the dough with a little orange zest - just a ¼ teaspoon is needed for some extra flavour. 

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

How To Bake These Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Here are the simple Instructions/steps involved in making these tasty cookies:

  1. Whisk together your dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl 
  2. Cream the butter and sugars then add the eggs and vanilla and mix until nice and creamy 
  3. Gently mix in in the dry ingredient/flour mixture until just combined. Do not over mix
  4. Mix or fold in the White Chocolate chips and dried cranberries. 
  5. Cover and chill the dough for 30 min or overnight
  6. Scoop dough onto prepared pans and bake

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Chilling the dough allows more time for the dough to hydrate and results in chewier thicker cookies. Here is the breakdown.

  • No chilling: What happens if you don’t refrigerate dough before baking? The cookies will spread out a little more and the edges will be crispier.
  • Chill for 30 min to 1 hour: The cookies will be little thicker, chewier and crispy edges, chill the dough for 1 hour.
  • Chill for 2+ hours: The cookies will be thicker with less crisp, chill the dough for 2 hours or longer. I appreciate that this cookie recipe works all 3 ways. I usually chill the dough between baking each batch as well and the result is always perfect. You can experiment and see which you like best - you won’t be disappointed whatever you decide.
  • Is it better to put cookie dough in fridge before baking? that is up to your taste and also how much time you have on hand and how strong your craving is for these cookies. If you prefer thicker chewy cookies than by all means chill the dough - if you need to fill that cookie craving fast then feel free to bake these off right away

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Here are some of my favourite cookie baking tips and also tips for baking perfect white chocolate chip cranberry Cookies: 

  • I recommend using high-quality chocolate chunks for this recipe or chocolate chips. You can buy bars of chocolate and chop them into chunks that is what I usually do. I prefer this method because it allows me to control the size of the chunks and I find the melt better too. Of course, you could also use an equal amount of chocolate chips like I did for these cookies.
  • Don’t over bake! Your cookies should be set at the edges and golden but may still look soft in the center.They will continue to bake on the hot pan out the oven.
  • Be sure to allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring baked cookies to a cooling rack or wire rack so they don’t fall apart as your transfer them.
  • Chill dough in between batches 
  • Start checking cookies at the ten minute mark because all stoves are different and ensure your oven is preheated 
  • For that bakery style look ( or Instagram/pinterest worthy look) make sure to add extra white chocolate chips to the cookies after baking - simply press some into the cookies they will settle into the dough from the heat of the cookies - then sprinkle them with some flaky sea salt if desired 
  • The pan you bake these cookies on definitely matters - I use heavy duty light coloured non stick baking sheets which really distribute the heat evenly. Stainless steal pans will cause some spreading and possible uneven baking. Never use dark colored pans to bake cookies - they tend to over bake cookies
  • Try to measure your ingredients carefully to prevent a dry crumbly cookie and also do not over mix the dough because it will affect the texture of the cookies.
  • Have you tried the pan banging method for cookies - this gives your cookies extra crinkles. This is optional but at the 10 minute mark I take the pan out of the oven, give it a few taps on the countertop then place it back in the oven to finish off baking for the remaining 1-2 minutes. This will cause your cookies to spread slightly more just and FYI
  • Do you want more uniform looking cookies - sometimes no matter how hard you try even when you measure your your dough balls carefully you will get uneven looking cookies and that is normal especially when you have all the extra nuts and chips in the dough. A very quick fix is to use a small rubber spatula and just gently tuck in or gently press in uneven edges with it as soon as the cookies are out of the oven and still warm and moldable. 
  • Avoid dropping the cookie dough onto warm cookie sheets. Let them cool before scooping the next batch onto them or use a separate cookie pan 
  • The amount of dough you scoop for each cookie will impact the baking time. So if you make smaller cookies, reduce your baking time, and increase it for larger ones.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

  • Can I freeze the cookie dough and bake it later?  Yes. This dough can indeed be frozen. Scoop it into equally-sized balls on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer. Once they’re frozen, store the cookie dough balls in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
  • How do I bake the cookies from frozen? Place the frozen dough balls on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at the same temperature. They’ll need 1-2 minutes extra to bake fully. 
  • What if the cookie dough is too hard to scoop after refrigerating overnight? If your cookie dough is too firm to scoop after chilling, leave it at room temperature to warm up for 15 minutes. I usually find this happens after an overnight chill or longer than 3-4 hours- and I usually take it out of the fridge while I’m preheating the oven and find that that is enough time to make it scoop-able

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

More Cranberry Treats You Will Love:

Recipe

Servings: 18 cookies 
Prep Time: 15 mins
Bake Time: 10-12 min per batch
Non-Active Time: 30 min to overnight for chilling dough 

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter, softened room temperature*
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature 
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2½ cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch 
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ – 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. 
  2. In a large bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, cream together room temperature butter with brown sugar and white sugar using the paddle attachment, approx 2 min. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined and creamy.
  3.  Gradually mix in the dry ingredients/flour mixture until combined.
  4.  Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir in or fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips.
  5.  Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to overnight or 1-2 days. Chilling is imperative to prevent the cookies from over-spreading.
  6. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3-4 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. This makes the firm cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.
  7.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.
  8.  As the oven preheats, use a medium 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out dough and roll into balls. The dough may be slightly crumbly, but will come together as you work it with your hands. Arrange dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  9.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. The centers will still look soft. If cookies didn’t spread much, lightly bang the the baking sheets on the counter a couple times while the cookies are still warm. They’ll stretch and deflate. Feel free to press in a few extra white chocolate chips into cookies as they are still warm for extra white chocolate puddles. 
  10. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet / cookie sheet as they will still be soft, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  11. Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days.

Recipe Notes

  • Don’t over soften your butter. It should be softened, but still cool to the touch (definitely not melting in some spots). If you accidentally over-soften the butter by microwaving it or leaving it in a warm kitchen for too long, you can still assemble the cookie dough, just chill it for 1-2 hours before baking. 
  • One of the most popular questions on line about white chocolate chip cookies is how may calories is in one cookie - the next is about how many carbs - all I can say is that these are definitely not low fat or great for your diet/nutrition and cookie season might not be the best time to start counting calories, protein, saturated fat, or carbohydrates - cause these babies are sure to wreck your diet! They are definitely made to share so please enjoy responsibly ;)

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies