Cranberry Cookies

Cranberry Cookies made with white chocolate and cream cheese are melt in your mouth delicious, and everything a cookie should be. Your cookie aficionados will love the crispy edges and the delectable combination of tart cranberries, creamy white chocolate, and crunchy pecans. But, it’s the addition of tangy cream cheese that sets these cranberry cookies apart and makes them extra rich, moist, and flavorful. 

Cranberry cream cheese cookies are so tasty and easy to make, they will quickly become a family favorite.  They are also the perfect holiday cookie, and they are just as wonderful served at a baby or bridal shower or as an after-school snack for the kids. They are also great for gifting and sharing with loved ones.

Why you will love this cookie recipe:

1. No hard-to-find ingredients; you probably already have everything you need to make these sweet treats in your pantry and fridge.
2. Cranberry cookies are easy to make; simply mix all ingredients in a bowl, roll the dough into golf-size balls, and bake them. 
3. Did I mention these cookies have the perfect balance of flavor and texture and are impossible to resist? They are in a word, magical!

Here’s what you will need:

• Unsalted butter – imparts moisture, crispiness, and flavor to your cookies. You can use salted butter if that’s all you have. 
• Cream cheese – an important ingredient in these cream cheese cookies, it adds a unique richness and tanginess. 
• Granulated sugar – you couldn’t have cookies without sugar, 
• All-purpose flour – holds the cookie together and is the stabilizer for the cookies. 
• Dried cranberries – provide a pop of color and the signature tart cranberry flavor.
• White chocolate chips – which are a blend of cocoa butter and milk products add a sweet creamy flavor to these treats. 
• Pecans -these healthy nuts provide a rich, distinctive buttery flavor and a subtle crunch. 

Here’s how to make them:

1. Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Add the butter and cream cheese into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy. 

3. With the mixer on low, add the sugar and flour and mix well, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula. 

4. Add the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pecans. Mix on low until combined. 

5. Use a small (1-½ inch) ice cream scoop to form round balls (about the size of a golf ball) with the cookie dough and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. 

6. Bake for ten minutes or until the cookies are just starting to get lightly browned around the edges. Don’t overbake them. The cookies will still look pale, but they are done.

7. Let cool on the baking sheet for five minutes, then use a spatula to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely carefully. The cookies will firm up when they are completely cooled. 

Frequently asked questions:

Sharon’s tips:

• The cookie dough in this recipe is extremely dense and thick, and unless you have arms of steel, it works best to combine the ingredients using a powerful electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Do not use a whisk attachment as it’s not strong enough. 
• Dried cherries or blueberries can be substituted for the dried cranberries. 
• Room temperature butter and cream cheese are important in this recipe. Depending on your room temperature, it can take one to two hours for butter to come to room temperature. If you want to speed things up a bit, try these tips to soften butter quickly from Sally’s Baking Addiction. However, do not get the butter too soft, butter that is too soft will cause your cookies to spread, and if it’s too cold, it will not mix evenly with the other ingredients. 
• To bring the cream cheese to room temperature, remove the foil wrapper and place the cream cheese block on a microwave-safe plate—microwave on high for 15 seconds. 
• If your pecans are not roasted, check out my post, Roasted Pecans, to find out how to roast them in the oven. If you are in a hurry, to quickly roast a small number of chopped pecans, place them in an even layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for one to three minutes, stirring occasionally. Start tasting after one-minute. 
• You can substitute toasted walnuts or other nuts for roasted pecans. 
• Although delicious, these cranberry cookies are somewhat fragile and are not suitable for mailing or shipping. 

More easy cookie recipes:

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out these delicious reader favorites:

• Easy Butter Pecan Cookies
• Lemon Shortbread Cookies
• Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies with Lemon Glaze
• Old-Fashioned Crunchy Gingersnap Cookies
• Decorated Easter Cookies
• Forgotten Cookies

For more sweet treats, check out all of my dessert recipes here. 

Special thanks to my friend Sarah Docter-Williams for sharing her delicious recipe with me to share it with you!

★ Please leave a comment and give it a star rating if you make this recipe. I would love to know how you liked it!

Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones. I hope you come back soon!

Cranberry Cookies Recipe

Sharon Rigsby

Cranberry Cookies made with white chocolate, and cream cheese are melt in your mouth delicious, and everything a cookie should be. Your cookie aficionados will love the crispy edges and the delectable combination of tart cranberries and creamy white chocolate.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 36 cookies

Calories 170 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• ▢ 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 2 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup dried cranberries
• ▢ 1 cup white chocolate chips
• ▢ 1 cup pecans chopped and roasted

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the butter and cream cheese into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
• With the mixer on low, add the sugar and flour and mix well, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula.
• Add the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pecans. Mix on low until combined
• Use a small (1-½ inch) ice cream scoop to form round balls (about the size of a golf ball) with the cookie dough and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to get lightly browned around the edges. Don’t overbake them. The cookies will still look pale and undone, but they are done.
• Let cool on the baking sheet for five minutes, then use a spatula to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely carefully. The cookies will firm up when they are completely cooled.

Notes

You can make the dough and store it covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Then, let it come to room temperature before forming it into balls and baking.

Baked cookies will stay fresh if stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. I like to store them in a single layer separated with a piece of wax or parchment paper.

To freeze the cookie dough, make the cookies up to the point of forming them into balls. Then, store the unbaked cookie dough balls in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the dough to thaw before baking.

The cookie dough in this recipe is extremely dense and thick, and unless you have arms of steel, it works best to combine the ingredients using a powerful electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Do not use a whisk attachment as it’s not strong enough.

Dried cherries or blueberries can be substituted for dried cranberries.

Room temperature butter and cream cheese are essential in this recipe. Depending on your room temperature, it can take one to two hours for butter to come to room temperature. If you want to speed things up a bit, try these tips to soften butter quickly from Sally’s Baking Addiction. However, butter that is too soft or melted will cause your cookies to spread, so don’t go overboard. If it’s too cold, it will not mix evenly with the other ingredients.

To bring the cream cheese to room temperature, remove the foil wrapper and place the cream cheese block on a microwave-safe plate—microwave on high for 15 seconds.

If your pecans are not roasted, check out my post, Roasted Pecans, to find out how to roast them in the oven. To quickly roast a small number of chopped pecans for this recipe, place them in an even layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for one to three minutes, stirring occasionally. Start tasting after one minute.

You can substitute toasted walnuts or other nuts for roasted pecans.

Although delicious, these cranberry cookies are somewhat fragile and are not suitable for mailing or shipping.

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 26mgPotassium: 45mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 245IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg

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