Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies are ultra chewy, with a gooey center and slightly crisp edges. The dried cranberries add so much texture and flavor, while the white chocolate chips add sweetness!
About These Soft and Chewy Cookies
This cranberry white chocolate cookie recipe is on constant rotation in my kitchen throughout the holiday season.
It’s an easy recipe that results in perfectly chewy cookies with crisp edges and gooey centers. If you’ve made the famous New York Times’ chocolate chip cookies before, this is essentially the cranberry white chocolate version of that recipe.
There are a few special ingredients used in this recipe that make it truly the best ever.
Instead of all-purpose flour, it uses a mixture of cake flour and bread flour (more on why later in the post!). There’s also a higher ratio of brown sugar in these cookies, which lends them a rich caramel undertone.
Make these white chocolate and cranberry cookies for any upcoming holiday gatherings or cookie exchanges. They always disappear quickly!
Tools You’ll Need
I recommend having the following kitchen tools on hand when making this recipe:
- Measuring Cups and Spoons — A must for any baked good!
- Mixing Bowl and Wire Whisk — For mixing together the dry ingredients.
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment — Optional, but makes it faster and easier to prepare the cookie dough.
- Silicone Spatula — You’ll need to periodically scrape down the sides of your mixing bowl.
- Storage Container with Lid or Plastic Wrap — Store the cookie dough airtight container to prevent it from drying out while it chills.
- Cookie Scoop — For quickly and evenly scooping out the cookie dough.
- Baking Sheet and Parchment Paper — Lining your baking pans makes the baked cookies easy to remove.
- Wire Rack — The cookies will need to cool slightly on the baking sheet before being transferred to a wire rack.
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need a few special ingredients to make these cranberry white chocolate cookies. Don’t worry, all are readily available at any major grocery store!
- Cake Flour
- Bread Flour
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Coarse Salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Light Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- White Chocolate Chips
- Dried Cranberries
For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.
Ingredient Notes
- Cake Flour — Don’t have any cake flour on hand? You can make a cake flour substitute using just flour and cornstarch.
- Baking Powder — Ran out? There are a few easy ways to make DIY baking powder.
- Baking Soda — Yes, you can use a baking soda substitute in a pinch as well!
- Butter — Always soften butter for making cookie dough unless a recipe states otherwise.
- Eggs — Take care to bring the eggs to room temperature before adding them to the cookie dough.
How to Make Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
There are a few things that make this cranberry white chocolate cookie recipe so amazing. As long as you follow the recipe as written, you should wind up with the same phenomenal results!
- Make the cookie dough: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients before gently mixing in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
- Chill the cookie dough for 24 hours: Cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap before refrigerating for 24 to 36 hours.
- Scoop the cookie dough: These are big cookies! Scoop the dough into 3.5-ounce balls (use a kitchen scale if possible). Transfer the cookie dough balls to a lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies: Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes, or until golden brown but still soft.
- Let cool: The cookies need to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before being transferred to a wire rack.
Don’t want to make extra big cookies? Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough into approximately 3 tablespoon-sized balls. Bake for approximately 12 minutes instead of 16 minutes.
The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Tips for Making This Recipe
- Use both types of flour. Using a blend of cake flour and bread flour is what makes these cookies so uniquely chewy and soft, yet still gooey.
- Choose quality white chocolate chips. My favorite are the Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Chips, which are sweet yet very flavorful.
- Don’t shorten the chill time. The 24-hour chill time gives the dry ingredients time to soak up the wet ingredients and helps create the fabulous texture of these cookies.
- Use a kitchen scale if you have one. Using a kitchen scale to weigh the flours and cookie dough balls will result in perfect white chocolate and cranberry cookies. However, you can still make this recipe without a scale!
Recipe FAQs
Got questions about how to make this recipe? Here are the answers to a few commonly asked questions. Feel free to leave any other questions in the comments on this post and I’ll respond with answers.
Why do you have to chill cookie dough before baking?
The cookie dough needs to chill for a full 24 hours for a couple different reasons:
- It gives the dry ingredients time to absorb the wet ingredients.
- It creates the super chewy texture these cookies are known for, while keeping the insides gooey and the edges crispy.
- It prevents the cookies from spreading and flattening out as they bake.
Why does this recipe call for two types of flour?
This recipe calls for both cake flour and bread flour. Different types of flour serve very special purposes, and I chose these varieties for the following reasons:
- Cake flour — Has a low protein content and is higher in starch than all-purpose flour, which makes it absorb more liquid and fat. This results in super tender cookies.
- Bread flour — Has a high protein content, which yields extra chewy cookies. It’s rarely used in cookies, but trust me when I say it just works in this recipe!
When used together, cake flour and bread flour create the best cookies!
Can this recipe be made using just all-purpose flour?
No, I’ve tested this recipe before using just all-purpose flour and the results are nowhere near the same as when I use a combination of bread flour and cake flour.
Can I freeze the cookies after baking them?
Definitely! Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before sealing them in a zip-top freezer bag or other airtight, freezer-safe container. They will last up to 3 months.
When ready to eat, simply place them on the counter and wait 30 or so minutes for the cookies to thaw.
Can I freeze the raw cookie dough?
Yes! When freezing cookie dough, I suggest scooping it into balls and flash freezing them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet before transferring to a zip-top freezer bag.
This will ensure the cookie dough balls don’t stick together in the bag and can be baked off one-by-one in the future when a cookie craving strikes!
Storage Instructions
After cooling to room temperature, store the white chocolate cranberry cookies in an airtight container. They’ll last up to 5 days at room temperature.
Try Making Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies at Home!
Next time you’re looking for a cookie recipe using dried cranberries, give this white chocolate chip version a try!
Did you love how soft and chewy these were? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought.
On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with @goodlifeeats and #goodlifeeatsrecipes. I’d love to see a photo of your white chocolate and cranberry cookies!
More Holiday Cookie Recipes:
Soft Persimmon Cookies are made with fresh persimmon pulp, warming spices, dried cranberries, and topped with orange glaze. Take advantage of fresh persimmons while they’re in season this fall and winter!
The classic cookie is made even better with the addition of brown butter! Brown Butter Snickerdoodles still have the tang of a traditional snickerdoodle, but are even more nuanced in flavor.
Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies are topped with optional toasted marshmallows for the perfect holiday dessert. The cookies are also delicious on their own!
These Orange Pistachio Cookies are a unique take on traditional crescent cookies. You need just 7 basic ingredients for this easy cookie recipe! These delicious cookies contain real pistachios with plenty of pistachio flavor.
For a unique twist on gingerbread cookies, try these Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies! They’re great for gifting and cookie decorating parties!
Don’t see what you’re looking for here? You can always head over to check out the recipe index to look for more recipes.
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Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Cranberry white chocolate cookies are ultra chewy, with a gooey center and slightly crisp edges. The dried cranberries add so much texture and flavor, while the white chocolate chips add sweetness!
Ingredients
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour (8½ ounces)
- 1 ⅔ cups bread flour (8½ ounces)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter (2½ sticks), softened
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar (10 ounces)
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (8 ounces)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 11 ounces white chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Chips)
- 9 ounces dried cranberries
Instructions
Making the Cookie Dough
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, and coarse salt. Stir using a wire whisk until well sifted. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat using the paddle attachment until well creamed and very light, approximately 5 minutes.
- While continuing to mix, add one egg at a time, mixing in between each addition. Then, stir in the vanilla extract.
- Decrease the mixer speed to low. Slowly add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl using a silicone spatula if needed.
- After all of the flour has been added, scrape down the sides again and continue to mix on low speed just until combined, about 10 seconds.
- Add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, stirring slowly so the pieces don't break.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and transfer the chocolate chip cookie dough to a container with a lid and refrigerate for 24-36 hours before baking cookies.
Baking the Cookies
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature until soft while the oven preheats and you prepare the baking pans.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop cookie dough in 3½-ounce sized balls (approximately golf ball size). Place 6 balls of cookie dough onto each prepared baking sheet, spacing them so they don't stick together while cooking.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the preheated oven. Bake cookies at 350 degrees F for 16-20 minutes, or until golden brown but still soft.
- After baking, place the cookie sheets on a wire cooling rack and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then, remove cookies from the baking sheet and place directly on the wire rack to cool for 5 more minutes before serving.
- Repeat the process with the remaining cookie dough, transfer leftover cookie dough back to the refrigerator, or freeze cookie dough.
Notes
For regular sized cookies, use about 3 tablespoons (large cookie scoop) and bake for approximately 12 minutes.
Storage: Cookie dough should be baked within 72 hours of preparing or stored in the freezer until ready to bake.
Adapted from New York Times' Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 362Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 275mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 1gSugar: 34gProtein: 3g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy. This provided information is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
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