Valentina Ablaev
Homemade white chocolate cranberry cookies are exactly what you need to bring the holiday spirit to your home. This soft and chewy white chocolate chip cookie is loaded with dried cranberries and makes for the best easy cookie recipe just like our cowboy cookies from scratch
Cranberries make the perfect addition to your desserts! Every fall, we have our cranberry orange scones on rotation, along with our new favorite, our orange cranberry bread!
Nothing beats an easy cookie recipe, and these cranberry white chocolate cookies are an instant hit! A simple cookie base is loaded with white chocolate chips and cranberries and baked to a golden finish. The cookies are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, just like our easy cowboy cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Holiday treat. These cookies are the perfect holiday dessert. They can be enjoyed from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
- Easy baking. This recipe is so simple to follow!
- Instant classic. These cookies we’ll be a recurring dessert recipe!
Ingredients for White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Butter – unsalted butter at room temperature is vital.
- Sugars – a combination of light brown sugar and cane sugar.
- Egg – large eggs at room temperature.
- Vanilla – pure vanilla extract adds a great flavor to the cookies.
- Flour – all-purpose flour is the perfect base for these cookies.
- Baking soda – gives these cookies the perfect rise.
- White chocolate chips – white chocolate pairs with cranberries so well!
- Cranberries – tart dried cranberries add a great flavor and texture to these cookies.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
Level Up Your Cookies:
Add nuts: Take your cookies to the next level by adding macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, or walnuts.
How to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
1 – Beat the butter. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars for 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
2 – Dry ingredients. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3 – Combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and beat slowly until combined.
4 – Mix-ins. Fold in the chocolate chips and cranberries.
5 – Chill the dough. Cover the batter tightly and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
6 – Bake. Scoop the batter into small balls and add them to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Space the cookie dough balls about 3 inches apart. Bake at 350°F for 11-12 minutes.
Make Cookies Like a Pro:
- Chill the dough: Don’t skip this step! Chilling the dough allows the butter to harden, making the cookies thick and chewy.
- Get even cookies: Use a cookie scoop to get even spoonfuls of dough.
- Bake the cookies in batches: If your baking sheet doesn’t fit all the cookies, bake them in multiple batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Let the cookies rest: After they are out of the oven, give them at least 5 minutes to rest on a wire rack. This will ensure that the cookie finishes cooking outside of the oven and that the outside will have a light crunch while the center is chewy.
Can You Use Fresh Cranberries?
Yes, you can use fresh cranberries in these cookies! We recommend substituting in 2 cups of fresh cranberries and slicing them in half. If using frozen cranberries, don’t thaw them; add them frozen or they will discolor the dough.
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for 1-2 days at room temperature.
- Freeze. You can freeze the cookie dough to enjoy freshly baked cookies at any point! Lay out the cookie dough balls in a freezer-safe container and divide the layers of cookie dough balls with parchment paper.
More Dessert Recipes
If you enjoyed this chocolate cranberry cookie recipe, be sure to try our other popular cookie recipes; here are some of our favorites:
If you tried this cranberry white chocolate chip cookies recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below – we appreciate it!
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 ½ sticks, room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt together.
- Over low speed, slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- The cookie dough will be soft and thick.
- Add the white chocolate chips and cranberries, beat over low speed until combined.
- Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and scoop the dough into balls.
- Arrange dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. The centers will still look soft.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before digging in.
Notes
- Storage. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for 1-2 days at room temperature.
- Freeze. You can freeze the cookie dough to enjoy fresh baked cookies at any point! Lay out the cookie dough balls in a freezer-safe container and divide layers of cookie dough balls with parchment paper.
- Chill the dough: Don’t skip this step! Chilling the dough allows for the butter to harden and the cookies turn out thick and chewy.
- Bake the cookies in batches: If your baking sheet doesn’t fit all of the cookies, bake the cookies in multiple batches as to not overcrowd the pan.
- Let the cookies rest: After the cookies are out of the oven, give them at least 5 minutes to rest. This will ensure that the cookie finishes cooking outside of the oven and the outside will have a light crunch, while the center is chewy.
