White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cranberries
These Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, chewy and filled with creamy white chocolate chips and sweet, tangy dried cranberries. They have a buttery cookie base with lightly crisp edges and soft centres, making them a lovely addition to your Christmas baking!
The combination of sweet white chocolate and tart cranberries makes these cookies extra special. They’re easy to prepare with simple ingredients, and the dough only needs 45 minutes of chilling before baking. Perfect for Christmas cookie boxes, holiday gatherings or enjoying with a cup of hot chocolate!
Recipe at a glance
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chill Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 10–12 minutes
Total Time: Approximately 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 16 cookies
Difficulty: Easy
Main Ingredients: Butter, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, granulated sugar, white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
Texture: Soft and chewy centres with lightly crisp edges, creamy white chocolate pieces and bursts of sweet, tangy cranberries.
Technique: Melt, cool, mix, chill, scoop and bake. The dough is made with melted butter and chilled before baking to help create deliciously chewy cookies.
Watch how to make cranberry chocolate cookies
Why you’ll love these
- They’re soft, chewy and packed with creamy white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
- The melted butter creates a lovely chewy cookie texture.
- The dough comes together easily with simple baking ingredients.
- They’re perfect for Christmas baking, cookie boxes and sharing with family and friends.
- You can prepare and freeze the cookie dough ahead of time, ready to bake whenever you like!
How to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (with photos)
A full and detailed recipe card is at the bottom of this post.
Prepare Butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, melt in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Pour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool for 5–10 minutes, until only slightly warm. Make sure it doesn’t firm back up.
Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
Prepare Wet Mixture: Add both sugars to the slightly warm butter and whisk for 20 seconds until well combined. The mixture will thicken gradually, so avoid leaving it too long as it will become harder to whisk the egg in during the next step.
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Add Egg and Vanilla: Add the egg and vanilla extract, then whisk until combined.
Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until a thick cookie dough forms.
Add Chocolate and Cranberries: Fold in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Refrigerate the dough for 45 minutes.
Preheat Oven: To 356ºF (180ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Form Cookies: Scoop 45g/1.5 oz (or 3 level tablespoons) of dough, roll into tall balls, and place on the tray, spaced 10cm apart. Do not flatten balls.
Bake: For 10-12 minutes until lightly golden, and centers are soft. Cool the cookies on the sheet for 15 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
How to store
Store: Allow cookies to cool completely and store in an airtight container, at room temperature for 1 week.
Freeze: Place baked and cooled cookies in a freezer-friendly zip-lock bag or container, layered with parchment paper between each layer of cookies to prevent sticking. Label with the date and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw: At room temperature for 1-2 hours until soft enough to eat.
Freezing Cookie Dough:
- Prep: Shape dough into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced apart.
- Freeze: Chill the sheet for 1-2 hours until firm.
- Store: Transfer balls to a zip-lock or container. Separate layers with parchment. Label with the date; store for up to 3 months.
Baking from Frozen:
- From Frozen: Preheat your oven as directed in the recipe, and add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time. Monitor them closely until they’re ready as per recipe instructions.
- Thaw Before Baking: Thaw the frozen cookie balls in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight, then bake as per the original instructions.
If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it’s much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x
Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Melt the Butter: Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, melt in the microwave in 30-second intervals.
- Cool the Butter: Pour melted butter into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool for 5-10 until it’s only slightly warm. Ensure it doesn’t firm back up.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Mix Sugars: Add both sugars to the slightly warm butter and whisk for 20 seconds until well combined. Note: The mixture will thicken gradually; avoid leaving it too long as it will become harder to whisk the egg in the next step.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Whisk in the egg and vanilla until well combined, about 15 seconds.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add the flour mixture and using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold and mix until a soft cookie dough forms; it will be thick.
- Incorporate Chocolate Chips: Add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries and mix through until well distributed.
- Chill the Dough: Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 45 minutes, or if the bowl is too large, wrap the dough and refrigerate without the bowl.
- Preheat the Oven: While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 356ºF (180ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Shape Cookies: Scoop and weigh 45g (1.5oz) of dough for each cookie; roll into balls and place on the lined tray without flattening. Note: Without a food scale, use 3 level tablespoons per cookie.
- Arrange on Tray: Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookie balls 10cm (4 inches) apart to allow for spreading, and leaving gaps near tray edges. Bake in batches, as they won’t all fit on one tray.
- Bake: Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Centers may look slightly under-baked; that’s what keeps them soft and chewy.
- Finish Baking: Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on tray for 15 minutes. Carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. They’ll still be soft and delicate so handle with care to avoid breakages. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
- Chill dough overnight: To chill your dough overnight, make it per the recipe instructions and instead of chilling it for 30 minutes, leave it wrapped in the fridge overnight. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to shaping the cookies to let it soften.
- Store: Allow cookies to cool completely and store in an airtight container, at room temperature for 1 week.
- Freeze: Place baked and cooled cookies in a freezer-friendly zip-lock bag or container, layered with parchment paper between each layer of cookies to prevent sticking. Label with the date and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw: At room temperature for 1-2 hours until soft enough to eat.
Hi, thanx for the recipe! I made these cookies & they were chewy & delicious…only thing is they were too sweet…how do u think I should adjust the recipe so they are still delicious but a lot lesser sweetness?
Hi Sharon, so happy to hear you made and enjoyed these cookies! They’re absolutely delicious. I haven’t tested this recipe with any adjusted quantities of the sugars but you can try reducing the amount of the granulated sugar, perhaps down to 1/4 cup and see how that goes. The brown sugar is what really gives these cookies that chewiness but again, it’s trial and error with playing around with the quantities and reducing both sugars. Cutting the sugars down will alter the texture and look of the end product. You can even reduce the white chocolate chips as they’re quite sweet in each mouthful. I hope that helps and would love to hear how you go! Sam 🙂
Thanx Sam! Will surely make another batch soon & will let u know how’s the adjustment, hopefully they work well
Amazingly delicious! Thanks x
Hi Tina, thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed these cookies, thanks for sharing. They’re one of my new favourites! 🙂