White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

These melt-in-your-mouth soft and slightly chewy White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies perfectly balance each bite exploding with tart dried cranberries and sweet white chocolate chips. They come together quickly and stay moist for days, making them perfect for your holiday cookie trays.

My family is full of crazy cookie-eating fools. These Christmas cookies, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, Best Butter Cookies, and Soft Gingerbread Cookies are just a few of our favorites.

How to make Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Start by whisking together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Then using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy in a large bowl. Turn the mixer to low and the eggs one at a time, mixing just until incorporated. Then mix in the vanilla extract.

Next, add the dry ingredients in three intervals mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beaters as needed. Now remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a spoon, stir in the white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and chopped walnuts.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment paper covered baking sheets leaving about 3 inches between the cookie dough balls for spread. Bake for 11-13 minutes in a preheated oven. Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes before moving them to cookie-cooling wire racks.

Recipe notes and helpful tips

• For optimum flavor, plump up the dried cranberries. Place them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit in the water for about 10-15 minutes. Then drain very well and let them cool before adding them to the dough.
• When measuring your flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a table knife to keep from adding too much flour.
• Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. It helps the cookies bake more evenly, reduces undesirable spreading, prevents sticking, and promotes crisp edges.
• Always preheat the oven and load the cookies on the middle rack in the center of the oven.
• Pro-Tip – Make the first batch a test run. Bake one or two cookies. This allows you to make sure the dough will not spread too much and to test the baking time. If the cookies spread too much, cover the bowl with wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Feel free to substitute chopped pecans or macadamia nuts for the walnuts. They are just as delicious, and they add a little crunch.
• Store baked cookies on the counter in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

How to freeze these cookies

These delicious cookies can be frozen in several ways:

Freeze the dough – put the prepared dough in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw the whole thing in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, then scoop and bake. This is perfect if you are going to bake the whole batch off at once.

Freeze the dough into individual dough balls – scoop the prepared cookie dough onto parchment-covered baking sheets. Make sure the balls are not touching. Then place it on a level surface in the freezer. Once the dough balls are frozen, transfer them to a freezer zipper bag for up to 3 months. This is ideal for when you just want to bake off a portion of the batch for warm fresh cookies. Add 2-3 more minutes of baking time.

Bake and freeze – prepare the dough and bake the cookies according to instructions. Then cool the cookies completely. Place the baked cookies in a sturdy freezer container with parchment paper between the layers. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight so as not to cause condensation from drastic temperature changes.

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