Use white chocolate and dried cranberries to make the most delicious cookies ever! These white chocolate cranberry cookies are surprisingly simple and easy to make in less than 30 minutes.
I make these white chocolate cranberry cookies all year round, mostly because dried cranberries are always in my pantry and white chocolate chips just… magically appear in my baking drawer. They’re the kind of cookie you reach for when you want something sweet but not heavy, and the cranberries give them that little tart pop that keeps them interesting.
They also happen to look gorgeous on a holiday platter — all those ruby-red cranberries tucked into soft, pale cookie dough — but honestly, they’re far too good to save for December. Around here, they disappear long before the season even starts.
Why make these cookies
- Perfect Flavor Combination: The creamy sweetness of white chocolate perfectly balances the tartness of dried cranberries, creating a delightful and unique flavor profile that is both sophisticated and satisfying.
- Ideal Texture: These cookies offer a soft and chewy texture, enhanced by the smooth, melt-in-your-mouth quality of white chocolate chips and the chewy bite of cranberries.
- Festive Appeal: The vibrant cranberries and white chocolate chips not only taste delicious but also add a visually appealing, festive touch, making these cookies perfect for holiday gatherings and special occasions.
- Versatile Enjoyment: Whether enjoyed as a treat with a cup of tea or coffee, shared at parties, or given as a thoughtful homemade gift, these cookies are a versatile delight that can be enjoyed in a variety of settings.
Ingredients and substitutes
- All-purpose flour – I use regular all-purpose flour with baking soda and salt. Baking soda gives it that wonderful light texture.
- Cornstarch – Also known as cornflour, adds a nice crisp to the cookies.
- Chocolate chip – I like the combination of chocolate with cranberries. Especially, because cranberries are tart, so the chocolate adds a nice depth of flavor.
- Sugar – The light brown sugar keeps them soft, but the white sugar makes them crisp, giving this cookie a perfect texture.
- Spices – You can use cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, or gingerbread spice. Today, I am not using any spices.
- Chocolate – I am using bittersweet chocolate chips, but you can also use white chocolate chips or a chopped chocolate bar.
- Vanilla – You can use vanilla extract, bean paste, or vanilla sugar.
Step-by-step: Chocolate chip cranberry cookies
- Preheat the oven at 350°F / 177°C / Gas Mark 4
- Dry ingredients – Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- Wet ingredients – In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, cream together the butter with both brown and white sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract.
- Dry to wet – Next, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, but do not over-mix. Finally, add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
Pro tip – This cookie dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Chill the cookies for just 15 minutes. Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to drop cookie dough balls on two baking sheets lined with silicone mats or parchment paper.
Pro tip – You can also drop the dough balls on a cookie sheet and freeze them until firm. Then, freeze the dough balls in freezer bags for up to 3 months.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown.
- Cool on a cookie tray for 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before you transfer to a cookie jar.
Tips for Success
- Always have all the ingredients at room temperature so the butter and sugar can cream until light and fluffy.
- Rest the dough before rolling the cookies. Resting helps the butter firm up again, which makes it easier to work and prevents spreading
- And if the cookie dough is too soft, put it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Chilling the cookie dough will prevent spreading.
- Preheat the oven for a good 15 minutes, making sure the oven is at the right temperature. A cold oven will spread the cookies.
- It is a good practice to place cookies in the fridge while the oven is preheating to prevent them from spreading.
- When baked, leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. This will prevent them from sweating on the bottom.
- Chocolate chip cranberry cookies
- White chocolate cranberry bars
- Classic chocolate chip cookies or Everyday chocolate chip cookies
- Christmas Spritz Cookies or Christmas Star Cookies
- See all holiday cookies or all cookie recipes
Frequently asked questions
These cranberry cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. You can chill the cookies in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or you can also freeze the dough for up to 3 months or freeze the cookies for up to a month.
These cookies do not spread too much.
However, too much butter or sugar in the recipe can lead to cookies spreading. Also, too much baking powder or baking soda can make cookies spread too much.
In addition, place cookies on a cold, not hot, baking pan.
And make sure the oven is at the right temperature.
The cookie needs the right temperature for baking. So the cookie spreads just enough and the outside bakes to a crisp, preventing any more spreading (hope that makes sense). Hence, finding the right oven temperature is essential. Therefore, please follow the directions that come with the recipe.
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Use white chocolate and dried cranberries to make the most delicious cookies ever! These white chocolate cranberry cookies are surprisingly simple and easy to make in less than 30 minutes.
Video
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup (280 g) All purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (15 g) Cornstarch or all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Spices cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or nutmeg
- 1 cup (227 g) Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 2 large Eggs
- ½ cup (100 g) White sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) Brown sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 cup (235 g) White chocolate chips or sweet white chocolate
- 1 cup (100 g) Dried cranberry
Method
- Prep – Preheat the oven to 350°F / 177°C / Gas Mark 4 and prepare two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Dry ingredients – Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.2 ¼ cup All purpose flour, 2 tbsp Cornstarch, 1 tsp Baking powder, ¼ tsp Salt, ½ tsp Spices
- Wet ingredients – In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, cream together the butter with both brown and white sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add the eggs one at a time into the creamed sugar mixture, then the vanilla extract.1 cup Unsalted Butter, 2 large Eggs, ½ cup White sugar, ½ cup Brown sugar, 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- Dry to wet – Next, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, but do not overmix. Finally, add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.1 cup White chocolate chips, 1 cup Dried cranberry
- Chill – Chill the cookie dough for just 15 minutes. Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to drop cookie dough balls on two baking sheets lined with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Bake for 10 to 12 mins or until the edges are lightly golden brown.
- Cool on a cookie tray for 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before you transfer to a cookie jar.
Notes
- Always have all the ingredients at room temperature so the butter and sugar can cream until light and fluffy.
- Rest the dough before rolling the cookies. Resting helps the butter firm up again which makes it easier to work and prevents spreading
- If the cookie dough is too soft, put it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Chilling the cookie dough will prevent spreading
- Preheat the oven for a good 15 minutes making sure the oven is at the right temperature. A cold oven will spread the cookies.
- It is a good practice to place cookies in the fridge while the oven is preheating to prevent them from spreading.
- When baked leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. This will prevent them from sweating on the bottom.
Bake Ahead and Freezing Instructions
- Dough – You can freeze the dough for a month wrapped well in a ziplock bag. Then, thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to use.
- Unbaked cookies – And, you can also freeze the baked cookies dough balls in freezer bags. They will stay for up to a month.
- Baked cookies – Alternatively, freeze the baked cookies between parchment papers for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to use.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
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Hi, I’m Veena
I’m the recipe developer, baker, and food photographer behind Veena Azmanov Kitchen.
I’ve spent years developing and testing recipes, from everyday meals and homemade breads to cakes and desserts.
I share the practical tips and little details I’ve learned along the way so you can get great results in your own kitchen.
Hello. In the recipe you call for baking soda (by which I presume you mean bicarbonate of soda?). In the instructions you call for baking powder. Which is it please. Thank you
Baking soda and bicarbonate of soda are the same!