White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
User Reviews
4.8
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Description
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies use butter, sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt, flour, fresh cranberries, and chopped white chocolate. The dough is mixed until crumbly, incorporating chopped berries and white chocolate, then formed into a log shape and chilled for several hours to firm up. Slicing chilled dough preserves the dough shape while baking. The cookies bake at 350°F until just done, yielding a tender texture with the tartness of cranberries balancing the sweetness of white chocolate.
These cookies have a moist yet crumbly bite with pockets of fruity tartness and creamy chunks of white chocolate. They are baked on parchment to prevent sticking and cooled completely to fully firm before handling to avoid breakage. Their delicate texture makes them best served fresh and cooled.
Baking one sheet at a time rather than multiple racks helps even cooking and avoids overcooking. The cookies firm after cooling, so patience ensures the proper texture. This recipe makes a batch sized to last several days when stored properly.
The dough benefits from a chill of at least 3 hours or overnight to hold the log shape for neat slicing and even baking. Using fresh cranberries that are dry helps dough consistency.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter unsalted; this is 2 sticks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- salt pinch
- 2 cups all-purpose flour Note: to measure accurately, fluff then scoop lightly and level off without compacting
- 1 cup cranberries fresh; dry well if rinsed
- 4 ounces white chocolate chopped in small chunks
Instructions
- Cream the room temperature butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt together. I do this in my food processor. You can do it in a stand mixer or by hand if you prefer.
- Add the flour and pulse about 20 times until the mixture gets crumbly.
- Add the cranberries and chopped white chocolate and pulse to chop the berries and bring the dough together. You may need to stop and re-arrange the dough. The dough will be moist and still crumbly at this stage.
- Turn the dough out onto a flour dusted surface and knead once or twice to bring the dough together. Add an extra sprinkle of flour if it seems very wet or sticky.
- Form into a rough log shape, about 11-12 inches long.
- Wrap the log in plastic and use the plastic to smooth out the shape of the log.
- Chill the dough until firm, about 3 hours, or overnight. Note: I like to wrap the log in a terrycloth hand towel to help keep its round shape as it chills.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the dough into thick 1/3 inch slices. Use a very sharp serrated knife and a little back and forth sawing motion to slice through the dough. This helps to minimize crumbling as you cut through the cold chocolate and berries.
- Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. I recommend a stainless steel, non-insulated cookie sheet for best results.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 18 minutes. The cookies will still be quite pale, but starting to turn golden just around the very edge. Note: I like my shortbread cookies soft, but if you want them crunchier, bake for a few more minutes. The exact time will depend on how thick you have sliced your cookies.
- Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack. Be careful, the cookies are delicate when warm.
Notes
- Bake one sheet of cookies at a time to ensure even cooking.
- Cookies are delicate and need to cool completely to firm up before handling.
- Dry fresh cranberries well if rinsed to maintain dough texture.
- Chill dough thoroughly for easy slicing and shape retention during baking.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 20cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 180 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 180kcal | 9% |
| Carbohydrates | 19g | 6% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 11g | 17% |
| Saturated Fat | 7g | 35% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.5g | 3% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Trans Fat | 0.4g | 20% |
| Cholesterol | 26mg | 9% |
| Sodium | 7mg | 0% |
| Potassium | 37mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 9g | 18% |
| Vitamin A | 288IU | 6% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 16mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.8
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