These white chocolate cranberry cookies are chewy, buttery drop cookies packed with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. One batch makes about 18 cookies, they bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes, and the whole thing takes under an hour if you give the dough its optional 30 minute chill.
The one habit that matters: take them out while they still look pale and a little underdone in the middle. White chocolate cookies hardly brown, so if you wait for color, you lose the soft center. I have been baking this dough for over a decade, and it still goes on every December tray I make.
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- Yield: about 18 cookies
- Time: 15 minutes prep, 30 minutes optional chill, 9 to 11 minutes in the oven
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), parchment-lined baking sheet, dough about 2 inches apart
- Add-ins: ¾ cup (90 g) dried cranberries and ¾ cup (130 g) white chocolate chips or chunks
- Sugars: ½ cup packed light brown sugar plus ¼ cup granulated, for a chewy middle and crisp rim
- Keeps: 4 days in an airtight tin, 2 months frozen
Creaming, Mixing and the Optional Chill
Beat the soft butter with both sugars until the mix looks paler and fluffy, then beat in the egg and 1½ teaspoons of vanilla. Scrape the bowl at this point. Streaks of plain butter left on the sides turn into greasy spots on the baked cookies.
Brown sugar is doing most of the work on texture. It holds moisture, which keeps the centers soft for days, while the smaller amount of white sugar gives the edges their slight crunch.
Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl first, so you never bite into a bitter pocket of soda. Add it to the butter mixture and stir only until no dry flour shows. If you measure by cups, spoon the flour in and level it off. A packed cup can carry 30 g more flour than the 190 g the recipe needs, and that is the usual reason these come out thick and cakey.
Fold in the cranberries, white chocolate and orange zest if you are using it. Then decide on the chill. Skip it and the cookies still bake up fine, just a little wider and thinner. Give the covered bowl 30 minutes in the fridge and the butter firms up, so they spread less and bake thicker with a chewier middle.
Chips or Chopped White Chocolate?
Both work, and the difference is mostly in how the cookie looks and bites. Chips contain less cocoa butter and hold their shape, so you get even little pockets of sweetness and a cookie that stacks neatly in a tin. Chopped white chocolate bars melt into soft ribbons and puddles, which is lovely warm but can pool at the edges.
For gifting and trays I use chips. For a batch we will eat warm at home, I chop a bar. Keep the total at ¾ cup (130 g) either way, so the dough still holds together around the add-ins.
Dried Cranberries, Fresh Ones and a Little Orange
Use dried cranberries here. Fresh cranberries burst in the oven and leave wet, very sour pockets that make the dough around them gummy. Dried ones keep their chew and bring the tart edge that stops white chocolate from tasting flat.
If your bag of dried cranberries has gone hard, cover them with warm water for 10 minutes, drain and pat them completely dry before folding them in. Any water left on them softens the dough.
The ¼ teaspoon of orange zest is optional, but it is the small thing people notice. Orange and cranberry belong together, and the zest cuts the sweetness of the white chocolate without making these taste like an orange cookie.
Pull Them Pale: Baking at 350°F
Line the sheet with parchment and scoop rounded tablespoon portions about 2 inches apart. Bake 9 to 11 minutes. I usually pull mine at 10, when the very rims are set and just turning light gold and the middles still look puffy and slightly wet.
Leave them on the hot sheet for 5 minutes. They finish cooking there and settle into a chewy center. Move them sooner and they bend or tear; leave them much longer and they start to stick. Then transfer them to a wire rack. While they are still hot, press a few extra chips and cranberries into the tops if you want them to look bakery style.
Flat, Cakey or Hard: Fixing the Next Tray
- Spread thin and greasy: the butter was too soft or the dough went onto a sheet still warm from the last batch. Chill the dough 30 minutes and rotate two cool sheets.
- Thick and cakey: too much flour. Weigh 190 g or spoon and level the cups.
- Hard by the next day: they baked past the 11 minute mark or were stored open. Pull them earlier and keep them in a sealed tin.
- Bottoms too dark: the sheet was dark metal or sat too low. Use parchment on a light sheet in the middle of the oven.
Storing Baked Cookies and Freezing the Dough
Baked cookies keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. If they start to firm up, put a slice of bread in the tin overnight; the cookies pull moisture from it and soften again. Baked cookies also freeze for 2 months in a zip bag and thaw at room temperature in about an hour.
For holiday baking I freeze the dough instead. Scoop it into balls, freeze them on a tray until hard, then move them to a freezer bag. Bake straight from frozen at 350°F and add 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time. No thawing, and you can bake six at a time when someone drops by.
Putting Them on a Holiday Cookie Tray
The red and white look good next to darker cookies, like molasses or gingerbread crinkle cookies. For a second cranberry bake with a finer, sandier bite, try cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies. If you love this flavor pair in bar form, cranberry bliss bars take it in a cream cheese frosted direction.
For a winter brunch, they sit well beside cranberry orange cinnamon rolls, where the orange ties both together. And if you want a chocolate chip cookie on the same tray, my chocolate chip cookies use the same cream, mix and chill rhythm.
The first time I took a batch to a teacher potluck, the plate was empty before I could put out the second dozen. That is still the test I trust most.
Asked About These Cookies
Are cranberry and white chocolate biscuits the same thing?
Yes. In the UK these are called cranberry and white chocolate biscuits. The card gives grams for the main ingredients: 113 g butter, 190 g flour, 90 g dried cranberries and 130 g white chocolate. Bake at 175°C, or about 160°C in a fan oven.
Can I use fresh cranberries instead of dried?
I do not recommend it. Fresh cranberries release juice as they bake and leave wet, sour spots in a soft drop cookie. Stick with dried cranberries for this dough.
Do I have to chill the dough?
No. The 30 minute chill is optional. Unchilled dough spreads a little more and gives thinner cookies; chilled dough bakes thicker and chewier.
Why did my white chocolate cranberry cookies turn out dry?
Usually they baked a minute or two too long while waiting for them to brown. These cookies stay pale, so take them out when the edges are just set and the centers still look soft.
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
These white chocolate cranberry cookies are chewy drop cookies made with butter, brown sugar, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, with a little orange zest if you like. One batch makes about 18 cookies that bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes, with soft centers and lightly crisp edges. Brown sugar keeps the middles soft, and an optional 30 minute chill makes the cranberry white chocolate cookies thicker. Pull them while they still look pale, because white chocolate cookies hardly brown. Bake them for Christmas cookie trays, cookie boxes, bake sales and winter brunch. In the UK they are cranberry and white chocolate biscuits. They keep 4 days in a tin and the dough freezes well.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup (90g) dried cranberries
- ¾ cup (130g) white chocolate chips or chunks
- ¼ tsp orange zest (optional)
Instructions
- CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGARS: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. This helps build structure and flavor into the dough.
- ADD THE EGG AND VANILLA: Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated. The batter should become creamy and slightly lighter in color.
- COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring just until a soft dough forms.
- FOLD IN THE ADD-INS: Gently fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips (and orange zest if using) until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- CHILL THE DOUGH (OPTIONAL): Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Chilling helps the cookies retain their shape and enhances their texture.
- PREHEAT THE OVEN AND BAKE: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of dough and place them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9–11 minutes, or until the edges are just set and the centers still look slightly soft.
- COOL THE COOKIES: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. This step helps them finish setting without overbaking.
Notes
Take the cookies out when the edges are set and the centers still look soft; they finish setting on the hot sheet in 5 minutes and turn dry if baked until brown. Spoon and level the flour or weigh it (190 g): extra flour makes thick, cakey cookies. If the cookies spread too thin, chill the dough 30 minutes and bake on a cool baking sheet. Use dried cranberries, not fresh. To freeze the dough, scoop into balls and freeze on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen by adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time. Store baked cookies airtight for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Yield
18Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 68Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 11mgSodium 75mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 2g
