Originally published in 2012, this popular recipe stands the test of time. You’ll love these white chocolate chip cranberry cookies because they’re soft-baked, wonderfully chewy, have extra vanilla, plus they combine sweet white chocolate morsels with tart dried cranberries. It’s a flavorful and classic pairing for holiday cookie trays or anytime throughout the year!
I’ve made these white chocolate cranberry cookies countless times over the past several years and decided to add them to my annual holiday cookie lineup called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. They’re festive, a fan-favorite, and there’s hardly ever a crumb leftover. There are a few tricks to this cookie magic, so let me share some tips I’ve added over the years (including reducing the dough chill time from 2 hours to 1 hour). It’s a great cookie recipe to have in your back pocket… right next to your recipes for chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies!
In Short, These White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies Are:
- adapted from these soft chocolate chip cookies
- soft-baked with slightly crisp edges
- brown sugared with extra vanilla
- thick & chewy
- easy to make
- brimming with creamy white chocolate chips & tart dried cranberries
Plus, the cookie dough freezes easily and the baked cookies freeze and thaw without issue. If you ever want to learn more about my process for freezing cookies and cookie dough, here is my How to Freeze Cookie Dough page.
Start With a Tested Cookie Dough
As I mentioned above, this recipe uses this soft chocolate chip cookies recipe as the base. It’s unfussy and welcomes a variety of add-ins and flavors. Honestly, I make this version more often because the add-ins are a little more special. You could also replace the white chocolate chips with regular chocolate chips for a chocolate/cranberry combo (or even use dark chocolate like we do for dark chocolate cranberry blondies—yum!). Or go a little wild and make my other variations using this dough: butterscotch pretzel chocolate chip cookies & salted caramel pecan chocolate chip cookies.
Key Ingredients in White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Room Temperature Butter: If you’re looking for an extra buttery, almost dense chocolate chip cookie, try my chocolate chip cookies. That recipe starts with melted butter. For today’s version and the original soft chocolate chip cookies, I start with room temperature butter. Creaming the butter with sugars provides a fluffy and aerated base. The creaming process is only possible if the butter is softened to room temperature. Keep in mind that softened butter is cool to the touch, not greasy. (See Room Temperature Butter if you’re interested in learning more.)
- More Brown Sugar Than White Sugar: Did you know that sugar does more than just sweeten cookies? Brown sugar can give cookies a chewier, softer, and more moist texture, while regular white granulated sugar helps the cookies spread. For chewier and more flavorful cookies, use more brown sugar than white sugar. And, if you have it, use dark brown sugar for deeper brown sugar flavor.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: For optimal flavor, reach for pure vanilla instead of imitation. Even better, try homemade vanilla extract!
- Cornstarch: It seems like an odd ingredient for cookie dough, doesn’t it? Just as it makes shortbread cookies extra tender, a small amount can actually provide added softness to other cookie doughs, too. We don’t want to replace any flour with it because the cookies could lose shape, so just add 2 teaspoons. Cornstarch also helps keep the cookies thick.
- Dried Cranberries & White Chocolate Chips: Add 1 cup of dried cranberries and 3/4 cup white chocolate morsels. I used to make these cookies with 3/4 cup of each but lately I add extra cranberries for more chunks in each bite. Use dried cranberries instead of fresh because when baked, fresh throws off the dry/wet ratio. I usually use the brand Craisins.
Success Tip: Chill The Dough
The ingredients come together quickly and easily, but allow 1 hour for the dough to chill in the refrigerator before baking. The refrigerator is a cookie dough’s best friend because it helps firm up soft cookie doughs (like today’s) which prevents the cookies from over-spreading. Chilling also gives the flavors in the dough a chance to settle and mingle together. I used to chill this dough for at least 2 hours, but 1 hour is plenty and still allows for a decent spread.
Success Tip: Use a Cookie Scoop & Your Hands
I always use this medium cookie scoop for the cookie dough. Each cookie should be around 1.5 Tablespoons of dough, so that size is perfect. After scooping, I briefly roll the dough in my hands. You don’t need to make a perfectly smooth and round ball—in fact, I like keeping the dough balls taller rather than wide as pictured next. Shaping this way helps achieve a thicker, textured-looking cookie.
And, if desired, press a few more white chips & dried cranberries into the baked cookies while they’re still warm. Accessorizing with extras makes a pretty cookie, don’t you think?!
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
- Coconut Macaroons
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Iced Oatmeal Gingerbread Cookies
- Pinwheel Cookies
and here are my top 10 cookie baking tools if you’re looking for recommendations!
Soft-Baked White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 dozen
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You’ll love these white chocolate chip cranberry cookies because they’re soft-baked, wonderfully chewy, have extra vanilla, plus they combine sweet white chocolate morsels with tart dried cranberries. Set aside 1 hour to chill the dough in the refrigerator before baking.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I use dark)
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (cornflour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (135g) white chocolate chips, plus a few extra for garnish
- 1 cup (140g) dried cranberries, plus a few extra for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt together. On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be soft and thick. Add the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries and beat on low speed until combined. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 3-4 days. Chilling is imperative to prevent the cookies from over-spreading.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3-4 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. This makes the firm cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- As the oven preheats, scoop and roll dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each, into balls. The dough may be slightly crumbly, but will come together as you work it with your hands. Arrange dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. The centers will still look soft. If cookies didn’t spread much, lightly bang the the baking sheets on the counter a couple times while the cookies are still warm. They’ll stretch and deflate.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. During this time, press extra white chocolate chips and dried cranberries into the warm tops. This is optional and only for looks. After 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 3. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Cornstarch: A small amount of cornstarch provides added softness to the dough and cookies. Cornstarch also helps keep the cookies thick. If you don’t have any, you can leave it out—no need to replace with anything.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
We made these for Christmas this year. Soft, chewy and just the right amount of chips and cranberries. Definitely will want to press some extra chips and berries on the top after coming out of oven as suggested! Looks very pretty and tastes great. Dropping the cookie pan on the counter a few times out of the oven was also a great tip that I think made a difference. Thank you Sally!
Could you add macadamia nuts in? Would you cut the other ingredients at all?
Hi Meghan, Keep the total amount of add-ins to 1 and 3/4 cups. Staying within this amount, you can use a blend of dried cranberries, white chocolate morsels, and chopped macadamias.
Hi , Sally. I made it . I like the texture of it . But i have problem. The white chocolate chips cookies melted while baking , really spread out. I used callebaut velvet 32% white chocolate chips , with oven temperature of 160°C for 10-12 minutes. How to prevent the white chocolate to hold its shape and not melting too much . Thank you
The white chocolate chips you used are such wonderful quality, and they for sure will melt a bit. I would say, if using such high quality white chocolate, try adding a little more flour to the dough which could help bulk it up so it holds better as that chocolate melts. I recommend about 1/4 cup (30g) extra flour.
I would like to try adding orange zest but have no idea in what quantity. Would you have a recommendation as to how much would add a bit of flavor without being overpowering?
Hi Madeline, 1-2 teaspoons of zest should be great.
Everyone loves these. This time I didn’t have the craisins but I used dried tart cherries. Really good!
Hi Katie! Did you chill the cookie dough for at least an hour? Here’s our best tips for keeping cookies from spreading. Thank you for giving these a try!
My dough feels too dry even before I bake it. What would help?
Hi Katie, Did you make any changes to the recipe? How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Hi! Have you tried using fresh cranberries instead of dried? Is it just a 1:1 substitution?
Hi Sam! We don’t recommend it. You can try chopping and adding them, but it will throw off the wet/dry ingredient ratio.
Can i use bakers white chocolate instead of the chips? obviously i will cut it up as best i can without it being shavings. But because bakers chocolate is more bitter.. that is my concern.
Hi Cassandra, You can chop up a pure white chocolate bar instead of chips. You’ll have delicious pools of melted white chocolate – yum!!
Wonderful cookies! I have celiac disease so I bake gluten free. I substituted the flour with my fave gluten free flour and they turned out amazing…soft and yummy! Thank you for sharing your recipes with the world!
Great recipe!
I am planning to try these cookies for the holidays this year. Have you ever tried adding orange zest? Cranberry and orange are often paired together in pastries, so I was wondering if you thought they could work together in this cookie. If I were to try it, do you have any advice? Thanks in advance!
Hi John, We think that would be delicious! Let us know if you give it a try.
I just made these for a church function tomorrow night. They came out perfect! I used a small cookie scoop rather than roll them. The recipe made 50!
I have been baking with your recipes for years and they always come out great! Honestly, your website is my “go to” whenever I’m looking for a new baking recipe! I’ve not been disappointed yet. Thank you for sharing your talent with all of us!
I loved this cookie recipe. It turned exactly the way you said it would and is now my hubbys favourite cookie, not to mention mine. Every cookie is loaded with chips and cranberries. Thank you
Darlene
These are by far THE BEST cookies I have ever baked! I doubled the recipe and they are AWESOME!!! I was going to carry them to church tomorrow, but my son will not quit eating them. I don’t think I will have enough left. ☹️ Guess I will have to triple it next time!
Can I freeze and bake later? I like to stock my freezer with dough for the holidays.
Yes, absolutely! See recipe notes for details 🙂
I made these to bring to my sons house. He said they were his new favorite cookie! Delicious!
My mother is 90 and has celiac disease, so I have done quite a bit of experimenting in order to make good gluten free cookies. I think I have perfected a gluten free version of these. Use King Arthur Measure for Measure flour, increase butter to 2 sticks, replaced the cornstarch with more of the Measure for Measure flour. I do not use salt because of sodium concerns, and I use only 1 tsp vanilla (my taste preference). Do NOT chill the dough. With this flour, the cookies will not spread out like regular flour. Instead, roll balls of dough, approx. 50 grams each, and flatten them into circles about 1/4 inch thick. Top with the additional chips and Craisins before baking. (These cookies will form a little crust that makes it less aesthetic to add more chips after they are done baking.) Bake the cookies on parchment-lined sheets at 350F for 12 minutes. The cookies will spread out more as they bake, so only bake 6 cookies per sheet. (These will be large cookies, but they are so good you will want every bite!)
What happens if I use salted butter? I want to make these but don’t want to go into town.
Was looking for a recipe like this- sounds so good.
Hi Judy! You can use salted butter – reduce the added salt to 1/4 tsp. See our post about salted vs unsalted butter for more details. Enjoy!
Hi Susan! I also have Celiac disease and I know how hard it is to get goodies that taste good. I use Bobs Red Mill Cup for Cup gluten free flour as my go-to. I didn’t have much luck with the King Arthur. For me, the recipes I tried never seemed to come out right. I made these cookies with my flour as directed and they turned out fantastic! I did chill the dough and I gave them a bang as they came out of the oven.
This recipe is great ! I was able to fill my cookie sheet and two muffin tins (each holding 6 cookies) and still had some dough left over.
I quite prefer how the cookies that were baked in the muffin tins turned out.
Hi I love these cookies I had them at work and have been addicted since. I am just wondering if using gluten free flour will make a difference in texture at all?
Hi Alyssa, We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour but let us know if you try anything.
Orange cranberry with white chocolate chips are my family’s favorite scones! Adding orange
Zest and replacing the vanilla with orange juice or orange flavoring makes these our new favorite cookie. Will be adding them to our holiday cookies for sure!
Yum. These cookies are so good. I made a small change – added some chopped pecans – but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I measured ingredients by weight, chilled the dough for about three hours. Baked until lightly browned around the edges, added additional chips and cranberries to pretty them up, and they ended up just the right amount of soft. Delish and worth a repeat performance.
Sally, these cookies were delicious! Thank you! They were exactly what I was looking for. Turned out just like the pictures:)
Sally, your tips and videos have improved my baking SO MUCH!!! Thank you!!!! Also, would it be okay to substitute shortening for butter?
Hi Shanquilla, thank you so much! You could substitute shortening for butter in this cookie recipe. You will lose some flavor though– and shortening doesn’t brown quite as nicely as butter, so keep that in mind as well.
i absolutely love these cookies, but i did use semi sweet chocolate chips instead of the white chocolate (i’m not a fan of the white). my cookies did turn out a much lighter color and didn’t flatten out as much as the picture you posted and idk why, but i do think this is a plus for me 🙂 i’ve made these cookies a few times and with always the same results.
i love all your recipes! you’re my go to blog when i need to bake something!
Hi Laurie! So glad you loved these cookies. When cookies aren’t spreading, it usually means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. When measuring flour, use the spoon & level method.
I loved this recipe so much- the melty white chocolate is delicious when the cookie is warm, and my mom said these were one of the best cookies I’ve made yet!
I never knew white chocolate and cranberries would make such a delicious combo! I’ve made these cookies twice now, I love them!
Has anyone ever tried to make these vegan friendly? Plant based butter and. Apple sauce instead of egg might work!
Great taste and texture, a wonderful addition to our home baked cookie menu.
Made this for a cookie swap at work. Got so many texts that evening from people saying they were delicious! My children and husband also surprised me by liking these. They’re picky so I thought the dried cranberries would turn them off but they loved them! I ended up having to make a batch for the family. Will probably make these next Christmas as well.
Can these cookies be made as bars by using a pan?
Hi Janelle, You can use this recipe for cookie bars in a 9-inch square pan. The bake time should be around 32-35 minutes.
Great, thank you! Assuming temp is still at 350?
Yes, it is Enjoy!
Hi Sally. Are your cookie recipes okay to double? When I make your cookies I have a line at my door with bags in hand for take out! I’ve read where the baking soda may not require being doubled. I would not want to ruin a good thing.
Hi Marie! Most cookie recipes are OK to double – simply multiply each ingredient by 2.
Hello, Sally ~ We love this recipe!
Have you ever added a TBSP of nonfat milk powder (without additional fluid) to your baked goods when testing your recipes?
I have read more than one article praising the quality of baked goods when a TBSP of powdered milk is added to the dry ingredients before mixing with the other ingredients. I have not tried it yet ~ I thought I would begin my decision-making about adding it by starting with you! I so appreciate your “scientific” explanations included with some of your recipes! The “why” of the recipe ingredients is always so interesting.
Hi Patricia! That isn’t something that we’ve tried, but other bakers report it adds flavor. Let us know if you give it a try!
Hi Patricia. I read this same information in the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook by Christina Tosi, and American gal who has won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef as well as other awards. She suggests the addition of non-fat milk powder in baking recipes as well; I have tried this and discovered that the baked goods are more tender and hold up better (than without using the milk powder). It doesn’t add any flavour, of course, so I continue to use this method.