Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies are a simplified version of the seasonally popular bliss bar at Starbucks. Prepared with a light sugar cookie base which is packed with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, these cookies are topped with a drizzle of white chocolate and even more dried cranberries.

This recipe for Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies is great in that it works very well with dried fruit.  If you’re at all much like us, there’s always dried fruit in the pantry.  We like to keep a good stock and supply of dried cranberries, apricots, raisins, dates, etc.  And, I always have glace cherries and dried mixed peel on hand.  I think it’s the Newfoundlander in me, and maybe it’s not.  Maybe it’s just because I can’t resist the sweet taste and chewy texture of preserved and candied fruits.

I make mention of dried fruits because you need to know that if you don’t care for dried cranberries, you can easily substitute them with any dried fruit you want. Just be sure to chop them first. I have used this exact same recipe with dried strawberries. Oh, they were so good! Of course, if you want to stay true to this deconstructed/simplified version of the bliss bar at Starbucks, you must like dried cranberries as much as we do.

The tartness of the dried cranberries is well balanced with sugary sweetness of white chocolate in these delicious cookies. I was grateful to use dried cranberries instead of fresh cranberries. Food bloggers are always working ahead of schedule. When it comes to Christmas recipes, for example, we are baking cakes and cookies as early as September! (Or in my case, July or August!)

We do this so that we can test the recipes to make sure that they will work for you at home. The recipes need to be plated and styled. Photographs need to be taken. We have to write up the post and make sure we please the folks at Google, otherwise, our recipes run the risk of being buried in cyberspace somewhere. There are many other steps that I’m skipping here, but all of it is to say that we need the time to get the recipes out to you a few weeks before you need them.

There is one thing that frustrates me every single year. There’s a tremendous lack of things like fresh cranberries for many months of the year. Don’t even get me started on holiday confections like Hershey’s chocolate or candy canes! Luckily, dried cranberries are available year-round!

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into this brand-new series, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Donuts and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Appetizers. And now, I’m starting out on this new series, which is the sixth annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the sixth year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 6! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature.
• Sugar – Sugar will caramelize when baked, which will help to brown the batter as it bakes.
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Vanilla Extract
• Flour – This recipe has only been tested with all-purpose, unbleached flour.
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Milk Chocolate Chips
• Dried Cranberries

HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and light yellow in colour. (About 4-5 minutes.) Add the eggs one at a time and beat into the butter and sugar mixture. Beat in the vanilla extract. Sift in the flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat into the wet mixture until well combined. Fold in one cup of the white chocolate chips and the chopped dried cranberries.

Portion the cookie dough into heaping tablespoons. Roll into a ball and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

Once completely cooled, melt the remaining cup of white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second increments at half power. Stir well between each increment until the chocolate is smooth and silky. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cooled cookies and immediately top with more chopped dried cranberries for garnish. Once the white chocolate has hardened, pack the cookies into a food-safe container with a lid. Store at room temperature.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies, you certainly can! Pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. If packaging, wait until the condensation has evaporated. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!