White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

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These white chocolate cranberry cookies are soft, chewy, and bursting with festive flavors. The easy-to-follow recipe will make your kitchen smell like you’re snuggling inside a zesty brown butter cookie!

white chocolate cranberry cookies broken in half to show the inside

Why You’ll Love White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

The recipe is quite easy to make and the steps are laid out simply: brown the butter, mix melted butter, sugar and eggs, then fold in the dry ingredients. Like I said, simple!
Crispy edges with a soft and chewy center is the type of cookie that keeps you coming back.
Perfect to bake and store in a cute holiday cookie jar for friends and family that come over this season!

When we have friends over and I don’t have something baked (which is rare lol) my mind instantly goes to cookies because they are so easy and quick. I typically stick to the usual like my Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies, Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies. Or sometimes I’ll have some homemade praline pecans that I love making for the holidays and I’ll add them to my recipes like I did with my White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, making Pecan Oatmeal Cookies.

But sometimes I want some more zest in my life to spice things up, especially around the holidays. That’s what I created this past week with these white chocolate cranberry cookies and I love them! I’ve used these types of flavors in many other kinds of desserts too like my Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Rolls, Apple Cranberry Crisp, Cranberry Cupcakes, and Orange Cupcakes.

white chocolate cranberry cookies on a tray

Ingredients:

Flour: I use all-purpose flour for this recipe however, I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as over-measuring the flour is the most common baking mistake and may result in dry cookies.

Sugar: I use both granulated sugar and light brown sugar and I don’t recommend reducing it because it can alter the texture of the cookies.
Butter: I LOVE using salted butter in cookies! I started doing this last year and it just seems more flavorful.
Egg: I used 1 large room temperature egg. Place it in hot water for a few minutes if it’s cold.
Vanilla: Don’t underestimate the power of vanilla extract in a cookie recipe. I think for cookies, it’s essential.
White Chocolate: Chopped or chocolate chips works.
Cranberries: Dried cranberries which add the perfect tart to these cookies. I haven’t tested it with fresh cranberries but I can imagine they’d be too wet and way more tart.
Zest: From 1 large orange. Can also use lemon zest if you’re in a pinch.
Baking Powder: just baking powder, no baking soda.
Spices: I like to add a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. Just a tiny amount to make it feel cozy and festive but not overpowering.
Salt: I like sea salt but any salt works, salt cuts some sweetness and really brings out the flavors.
- Also a pinch of sea salt flakes. I would say this is optional but I’m not sure we can be friends if you don’t add extra sea salt flakes on top of your cookie lol.

Step-By-Step Instructions

In a small pot, over medium heat, brown the butter for 5-10 minutes, stirring intermittently until it begins to bubble and foam.
Stir continuously until you see the milk solids browning and settling on the bottom. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool.
Place the sugars into a medium-large bowl and zest the lemon or orange on top.
1. Use your fingers to run the zest into the sugar, allowing it to release its oils for flavor.
Add the hot butter and stir a little. Then add the egg and vanilla and whisk aggressively for 2-3 minutes, until it’s smooth and has lightened in color.
Add the dry ingredients and fold the cookie dough just until there are a few streaks left of flour.
Fold in the white chocolate and cranberries, just until they’re evenly dispersed.
Freeze cookie dough for at least 15 minutes, or refrigerate for longer, then scoop eight 2 ounce cookies.
Bake one sheet on the middle rack for 12ish minutes, just until the edges are starting to brown.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flakey sea salt allowing them to rest on the pan.
1. I tap the pan on the counter & use a round biscuit cutter to scoot them around so they’re perfectly round.

brown butter in a bowl — brown the butter and let it cool for a little

zest the orange with the sugars — brown the butter and let it cool for a little

How To Bake These Cookies (Convection And Conventional)?

Cookies are super sensitive to temperature. I actually tested one exact same batch at 325F and 350F and the look/taste/texture was completely different.

I always bake in a convection (fan) oven because my oven runs weirdly hot on the bottom and the fan helps circulate the heat.

But when I took some polls on instagram, most of you said you either don’t have one or you don’t know how to use your convection oven. So since I developed almost ALL my recipes in a 350F (177C) convection oven, I decided to experiment with a conventional.

If you don’t know the difference, a convection oven has a fan that circulates the heat more evenly. This usually results in a quicker bake, so always do less time if you’re unsure and it also gives a more even browning. If you’re not used to it, the change can be frustrating but it’s worth trying if you’re having trouble with the bottoms getting too dark! Most people will lower the temperature for convection ovens but if you have an oven thermometer, most ovens will also automatically adjust themselves 25F lower than you set it to.

So if you set it at 350F convection the oven thermometer will generally read 325F (my current oven doesn’t do this so the temperature I set my oven to (and instruct in the recipe cards) is exactly what my oven thermometer reads.

For these cookies, they don’t spread quite as much as other cookies so I reduced the temperature to 325F (163C). This is what worked perfectly for my oven but if your cookies are spreading too much or taking way too long to bake, try baking at 350F (177C) and bake just until the edges are golden brown and the centers are puffed but no longer look wet. I always gear towards slightly under-baking cookies because they finish baking while they’re cooling.

cookies finished baking — cookies baked at 350F – outside browned but inside very soft, doesn’t spread as much

How To Get Perfectly Round Cookies

Most cookies bake a little bit uneven around the edges, especially if the dough is soft and not refrigerated before baking. To get your cookies perfectly round, as soon as you remove them from the oven, use anything round like a biscuit cutter/cup/mug, etc. to scoot the cookies around within the circle.

Be gentle so you don’t break the soft cookie but you have to be quick and do it as soon as the cookie comes out of the oven, before the edges set.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the cookie dough be made ahead of time?

The cookie dough is pretty soft so you’ll want to scoop it out, then refrigerate it on a plate or tray until the cookie dough balls are more firm. Then place them in a ziplock bag and freeze. To bake, remove them from the freezer as the oven is preheating and bake 325 F (163 C).

Can I make these dairy free or vegan?

I haven’t tested egg free cookies but you can make these cookies with dairy free butter and dairy free chocolate.

Can I make these gluten-free?

I have tested my base cookie dough recipes with 1:1 substitute for King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour Blends. The cookies turn out perfectly, they just have a traditional gluten-free flour flavor which is a little earthy/nuttier.

Can I have other add-ins?

Of course! Whatever you’re craving today, raisins or other dried fruits, dark chocolate, milk chocolate etc. Or give it a whirl with some delicious homemade praline pecans!

How To Store White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

I recommend storing them in a cute holiday cookie jar, easy to reach, in case you’re craving one at any point in the day. 🙂 But really, just place them in a ziplock bag or cookie jar and keep them at room temperature for a few days.

Obviously they will last longer but dry out a little more if you refrigerate them but I just microwave for like 5-10 seconds before eating.

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below.

If you make these white chocolate cranberry cookies, I would love it if you left a star rating for it in the recipe card.

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B