White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

These white chocolate cranberry cookies are the perfect cookie heading into this holiday season. My friend asked me to make a cookie using these two ingredients as the star and she loved them, so I am beyond excited to share. Cranberry is a different flavor for a cookie but paired with the white chocolate and the chewy sugar cookie base I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the flavors! This is my first time making a cookie recipe that incorporates both baking powder and baking soda and to be completely honest I didn’t see that big of a difference in the outcome. LOL.

Why measure with your heart?

You may see in my recipes that I do not provide a measurement for vanilla and occasionally for other ingredients. I like to allow you as much creative freedom as possible without destroying the recipe. I trust your instincts. Now obviously don’t go and pour the entire bottle of vanilla in your batter, but it’s not one of those ingredients you have to be super meticulous with. If I don’t measure it why should you?

For a pinch of salt I pour the salt in my hand and use my pointer finger and thumb to pinch, then add it to my bowl.

All of my recipes are written as I do them.

From a young age, my mom used to always get on me for not following recipes to a T, but as I got older I realized that the creative freedom I gave myself fueled my love for baking. In the kitchen I allow my mind to wander and test the limits of each recipe. Sometimes resulting in disaster but more often than not resulting in a delicious outcome.

One Bowl for wet and dry ingredients ???

I know! Crazy right?! In recipes, to minimize the number of dishes I have to do at the end of the night I tend to do everything in one bowl. Recipes usually tell you to mix dry and wet ingredients separately so you don’t accidentally overmix your batter. Feel free to combine the dry ingredients separately if your heart truly desires. Just make sure dry ingredients are fully incorporated before continuing to the next step. If you are nervous about overmixing you can also use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet; that generally helps me.

Prep Time: 10 mins | Chill time: 30mins | Bake time: 12-15 mins | Yield: 8 cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups sugar

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup soft room temperature butter

• 1 egg

• 1 egg yolk

  • Adding that extra egg yolk may seem tedious, but it adds more moisture and body to the cookie.

• vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cups flour

• pinch of salt

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions:

1. Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar at medium speed for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

   1. Add Wet Ingredients: Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Mix well until the mixture is creamy and smooth.

   2. Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients and gently fold them in using a spatula until combined.

   • You can also use your hand mixer, but again mix just until combined, and be careful not to overmix

   3. Add in your Add-ins: Pour in the dried cranberries and white chocolate. Use a spatula to continue folding in.

   4. Scoop Dough: scoop out 8 dough balls using a small cookie scoop and add to a prepared baking sheet

   5. OPTIONAL GARNISH: You can press additional white chocolate and cranberry pieces on top of your dough balls but this step is completely optional.

   6. Chill Dough: Chill your dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking

   7. Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

   8. Bake Cookies: Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven.

      • I baked for about 13 mins

      • The cookie’s edges should be golden brown

   9. OPTIONAL COOKIE SHAPING: If your cookies come out a little wonky you can use a round cookie cutter, bowl, or mug to shape each cookie! Surround each cookie with the cookie cutter and swirl until a perfectly round cookie is formed. Consult the video if this step is confusing or skip it entirely!

   1. Cool and Enjoy: Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Notes:

If you are confused by any of the steps feel free to reach out and consult my linked video for a visual. This recipe is pretty straightforward and shouldn’t cause you any trouble if everything is measured accurately! Happy baking!