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With a crispy edge and a chewy middle, these easy white chocolate cranberry cookies are one of my favorite sweet treats. With creamy white chocolate chips, tangy dried cranberries, and nutty almond extract, these are some of the best homemade cookies I’ve ever tasted.
Is there anything better than a homemade cookie fresh out of the oven? I sure don’t think so! These white chocolate cranberry cookies are some of my favorites to make, especially in the fall and winter. Something about the sour and hearty flavors of cranberry, mixed with the perfect sweetness of white chocolate and brown sugar, and the rich nuttiness of almond extract makes these the perfect cookies for a cold day.
But the star of these cookies is the texture. The edges of the cookies turn golden brown and crispy, but the inside stays chewy and gooey. These sweet and tangy cranberry white chocolate cookies hold their shape but melt in your mouth. You’ve got to try making them.
Table of Contents
- Why These Are the Best Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ingredients Needed
- How to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Tips and Variations
- What to Serve With Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
- How to Store Leftover White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- How to Store Cookie Dough
- More Easy Cookie Recipes
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Recipe
Why These Are the Best Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
These fresh cookies will leave your house smelling amazing, and everyone will love them. Here’s why this is a go-to recipe when I need a dessert or a sweet snack.
- So easy. This is a remarkably simple cookie recipe. It only uses ingredients that you’re likely to already have stocked in your fridge and pantry, and the instructions are super straightforward. It only requires about 10 minutes of prep time, and the rest is just chilling the dough and baking the cookies.
- Better than store-bought. You can buy pretty good cookies at the store, but you won’t be able to find anything as good as these homemade white chocolate chip cookies. With a crunchy edge, a moist interior, and an intense burst of flavor from the chocolate, cranberries, and almond extract, these are unlike anything that you can find when grocery shopping.
- Easy to make in large batches. This recipe makes 36 cookies, which is quite a lot! But you can easily double or triple the batch if you want to make extra cookies. You can also store the dough in the fridge or freezer so that you have ready-to-bake cookies available whenever you want them.
Ingredients Needed
Here are all the ingredients you’ll need to make these moist, rich, and autumnal white chocolate cranberry cookies. Make sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the exact amounts of each ingredient.
- Unsalted butter – The butter will need to be softened.
- Brown sugar – I prefer light brown sugar for this recipe.
- Sugar
- Egg
- Almond extract – Make sure to use pure almond extract with no artificial flavors.
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- White chocolate chips – You can also use white chocolate chunks if you prefer.
- Dried cranberries
How to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
You’ll be shocked at how easy it is to make these luscious, tender cookies. Here’s how to do it.
- Cream the butter. Add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar to a bowl, and cream with an electric mixer until fluffy. This should take about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg. Put the egg and the almond extract in the bowl, and mix until combined.
- Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and mix until the ingredients are just combined.
- Fold in the chocolate and fruit. Add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, and carefully fold them in.
- Shape. Scoop the dough into balls that are about the size of a golf ball. Place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Chill. Put the baking sheet into the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat. While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 350F.
- Bake. Put the cookies in the oven and bake until they’re just set. This should take about 9-11 minutes.
- Cool. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack.
Tips and Variations
Here are some tricks and variations to help you make the most flavorful and moist white chocolate cranberry cookies that you’ve ever eaten.
- Use room-temperature eggs. Whenever you’re baking, it’s best to use room-temperature eggs. When eggs are cold, they don’t mix as well with the other ingredients, which leads to cookies that are a little bit more dense. Take your eggs out of the fridge about 30 minutes before making these cookies, and the dough will be smoother and softer.
- Turn if needed. Some ovens don’t heat evenly. To keep your cookies from being baked unevenly, check them after 5 minutes in the oven. If one side of the cookies looks more cooked than the other side, then rotate the baking sheet.
- Let the dough chill longer. This recipe calls for the cookie dough to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Chilling dough makes cookies chewier and more flavorful, and it also keeps them from spreading out and becoming flat discs when they bake. 30 minutes is all you need to see results, but if you have the time, let the cookie dough chill in the fridge for a few hours, or even overnight. The cookies will get even better with more time in the fridge.
- Adjust as you want. I love this recipe exactly as it is, but feel free to adjust it based on your tastes. You can add macadamia nuts (or any other kind of nut) if you’d like, and you can use milk or dark chocolate if you’re not a fan of white chocolate. You can replace the almond extract with vanilla extract if you’re not a fan of almonds, and you can replace the cranberries with other dried fruit if you prefer.
- Really let them cool. It’s so tempting to eat these cookies as soon as they come out of the oven because they look and smell so good. But if you let them fully cool, the texture of the cookies will be so much better.
What to Serve With Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Can you name a better duo than milk and cookies? I sure can’t. I love eating these smooth and rich white chocolate chip cookies with a tasty milk-based drink. Here are a few of my favorites.
- Homemade Strawberry Milk
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate
- Toasted White Chocolate Mocha
- Cashew Milk Pumpkin Steamer
- French Hot Chocolate
How to Store Leftover White Chocolate Chip Cookies
When you store leftover cookies, it’s important to put them in an airtight bag or container. That will keep the cookies from drying out, or from getting any moisture that will make them mold. If stored like this, cranberry white chocolate chip cookies will last at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for 6 months.
How to Store Cookie Dough
I love to make an extra-large batch of white chocolate cranberry cookie dough, and then only bake some of the cookies. Then I have leftover cookie dough for whenever I’m craving cookies. Store extra dough, either as is or already rolled into balls, in an airtight container. It will last in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months. You can bake cookies straight from the freezer, though they’ll need a few extra minutes of time in the oven.
More Easy Cookie Recipes
If you’re anything like me, then you can never bake enough homemade cookies. Here are a few of my other favorite cookie recipes to try baking.
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Frosted Churro Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- White Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 whole large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Mix in the egg and almond extract until the egg is fully incorporated.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined.
- Add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, and carefully fold in with a spatula.
- Scoop golf ball-sized balls of dough onto a baking sheet that's lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
- While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, until just set. If they're baking unevenly, rotate the baking sheet halfway through.
- Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack. Let cool completely before eating.
Notes
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight bag or container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for 6 months.
- Excess cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days, or in the freezer for 3 months. The cookies can be baked directly from the freezer, but they'll need a few more minutes in the oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These are just about the best cookies I’ve ever made, and I love that they’re so perfect for the holidays, too. I can’t wait to make them again!
This flavor combintion sounds amazing! I must try these immediately!
We bake cookies every weekend! These white chocolate cranberry cookies are on my list now!
Wow! These cookies are amazing! SO chewy and delicious!