These white chocolate cranberry cookies are so good! They’re slightly crispy around the edges with a soft and chewy center. They’re like the perfect holiday version of your favorite white chocolate macadamia nut cookie!
I love me some cranberries. Fresh cranberries like in my cranberry orange muffins, dried cranberries like in the best stuffing ever, and even sugared cranberries.
I know some people aren’t a fan, but I love when the holidays come around and I get my hands on all the cranberries!
These white chocolate cranberry cookies are technically a holiday cookie with the addition of the cranberry flavor (and they make a great addition to a Christmas cookie plate), but you could easily enjoy them all year long! I do!
They’re like a holiday version of the best macadamia nut cookie ever. Sweet, a little tart, and absolutely delicious!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Great texture – the cookies are a little crispy on the outside (just a little) while being super soft and chewy in the center. It’s like the best of both worlds in one cookie.
- Flavor combination – the tart cranberry combined with the salty macadamia nut and the sweet cookie, it’s just an amazing flavor!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Butter – unsalted butter that’s been softened to the point that you can press down on it and the butter gives.
- Macadamia nuts – in some of my cookie recipes, like these chocolate chip pudding cookies, the nuts are optional. They aren’t in this recipe – they are a huge part of the recipe and so yummy.
- White chocolate chips – since these are a big part of the flavor as well, I recommend high-quality chocolate chips like Ghiradelli or even Hershey. Don’t do the generic store brand ones that just don’t melt well or taste good.
- Craisins – any dried cranberry will work, but you definitely want the dried ones in these cookies rather than fresh. If you have fresh, try this amazing cranberry orange bread instead!
- Brown sugar – make sure it’s light brown sugar. If you use dark, it’ll change the color of these cookies completely.
Instructions
In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter, shortening and granulated and brown sugars until light and creamy.
Next you’ll add the eggs and vanilla then mix until just beaten but not fully incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
Now add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients and mix until just combined.
Next you need to fold in the white chocolate chips, Craisins, and nuts.
Once everything is well combined, use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Place dough on parchment lined baking sheet. It’s okay if they are close together for this part.
Put dough in the freezer to chill for 1 hour.
After the dough is done chilling, preheat your oven to 375°F and arrange chilled dough about 2″ apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
It’s important to keep them spread apart on the baking sheet since these cookies spread quite a bit while cooking.
Important!
Make sure to put any extra dough back in the freezer while you’re waiting to bake the next set of cookies. It needs to bake from chilled or the cookies won’t set properly.
Bake for 9 – 12 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center is still soft.
Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
If you’re not baking immediately, you can chill the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
To freeze dough, freeze on the baking sheet for one hour then transfer the balls to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Do not over mix these cookies or they will turn out really crispy.
You can technically use all butter instead of butter + shortening, but it will make for more crispy cookies rather than just crispy edges.
Recipe FAQs
You probably over mixed the dough. Next time just mix the ingredients together until they’re incorporated, no longer.
Technically you can just make these as straight white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but the dried cranberries add a nice tart flavor that makes them better with.
More Easy Desserts
- Mini Oreo cheesecake – bite-sized versions of dessert with an Oreo crust and cheesecake filling!
- Gingerbread cupcakes – cupcakes flavored with holiday spices and topped with a delicious spiced buttercream!
- Red velvet cake – this gorgeous red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting is a dessert showstopper!
- Hot chocolate cupcakes – chocolate cupcakes filled with marshmallow and chocolate, one of the best cupcake recipes ever!
- Christmas tree brownies – the cutest brownies ever, perfect for your Christmas cookie plate!
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup Craisins
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix until beaten but not fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients and mix until just combined
- Fold in white chocolate chips, Craisins, and nuts.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to portion dough and place on parchment lined baking sheet. It's okay if they are close together for this step.
- Place in freezer to chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place chilled dough on baking sheet 2" apart. Put remaining dough back in freezer to keep chilled.
- Bake cookies for 9 - 12 minutes, until edges are golden brown and centers are still soft.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Elaine G Murray says
I want to bake some for my daughters wedding buffet, can I make ahead and store in fridge? Or do they freeze?
Britni Vigil says
It depends on how long ahead of time you want to bake them. They should be good for a couple of days or you can freeze and store for a while but they’re never going to be as good as fresh. Since it’s for a wedding, I recommend testing it out and seeing what you think of them after a few days!