These perfectly festive and wintry White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies are soft and chewy with slightly crispy edges. These cookies can be made in just one bowl with one wooden spoon; no mixer needed!
Try some of our other favorite cookies next: Oatmeal Cookies, Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Mexican Wedding Cookies.
The Best White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Since I am an avid foodie, my first thought about Christmas traditions centers on COOKIES. Throughout December, the boys and I enjoy baking cookies (Santa Cookies, Gingersnap Cookies, or Peppermint Cookies) almost daily; it’s one of our cherished activities.
I often host a cookie exchange and, naturally, end up eating an enormous amount of cookies – all in the spirit of Christmas traditions!
These cookies have become a new winter favorite and are now a staple in our Christmas baking tradition. Loaded with white chocolate and chopped dried cranberries, they boast a super soft, chewy, and gooey center with slightly crisp edges. Their buttery, sugary taste is subtly enhanced by hints of vanilla and almond.
Ingredients In Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness and ensures proper texture. Melted then cooled to avoid greasy cookies.
- Sugars (Light Brown and White): Provide sweetness and texture; brown sugar adds moisture and a molasses flavor, while white sugar aids in crispness.
- Egg: Binds ingredients and contributes to leavening and moisture.
- Extracts (Vanilla and Almond, optional): Enhance flavor with warm vanilla and nutty almond notes.
- Agave Nectar: Adds sweetness and chewiness.
- Cornstarch: Makes the cookies tender.
- Leavening Agents (Baking Soda and Baking Powder): Help the White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies rise and become fluffy.
- Flour: Forms the cookie structure.
- Mix-ins (White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cranberries): Provide creamy sweetness and tart, chewy texture.
Quick Tip
Hot butter, cold butter? It sounds silly, but that makes a big difference. Melting the butter helps it mix in better with the sugar. But that heat can melt the sugar and cause the butter to separate out while baking. So that’s why it needs to be chilled.
How To Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Prepare Dough: Melt butter and let it cool. In a bowl, mix cooled butter with both sugars, egg, vanilla, optional almond extract, and agave nectar. Add cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and gradually mix in flour. Stir in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
- Chill and Preheat: Chill the dough for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake: Roll the dough into tall balls, place on the baking sheet, and bake for 8-12 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool before serving.
Quick Tip
Keeping cookies soft after baking! As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, let them cool completely on a wire rack–this will keep the bottoms from getting soggy from the steam. Once cool, place the cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature.
More Amazing Cookie Recipes
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Equipment
- Sheet pan
- Parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar firmly packed, see note 1
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar see note 2
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt reduce if using table salt or if sensitive to salt
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour see note 3
- 1 cup white chocolate chips divided
- 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries or craisins
Instructions
- Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, refrigerate 5 minutes to bring it back to room temperature. (If it is too hot, it will melt the sugars and cause greasy bars.)
- Once butter is cooled to room temperature, add light brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir until smooth. Mix in egg, vanilla extract, and optional almond extract. Stir until smooth. Add in agave nectar and mix well.
- Mix in cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in spooned and leveled flour (see note 3) and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Gently stir in 3/4 cup white chocolate chips and chopped cranberries. Stir until combined.
- Cover the bowl tightly and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. If you have a light-colored sheet pan, use that instead of a dark one.
- Roll balls of dough into tall cylindrical balls (see picture above for shape and size). Place 6–8 cookie balls on a sheet, allowing plenty of room to spread. Dough balls should be about 1.7 ounces if you have a food scale; this dough should make 15–17 cookies. If dough gets warm by being at room temperature or through the rolling process, return the balls to the fridge 10–20 minutes or until firm.
- Bake 8–12 minutes, erring on the side of under-baking for soft and chewy cookies. They will continue baking a bit after being removed from the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown.
- Remove from oven and press remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies (ensures even placement of chocolate and makes them look pretty). Allow cookies to cool on the sheet pan 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
