Homemade cookies during the holiday season fill the house with tantalizing aromas. Cranberries and orange combined with white chocolate in a sugar cookie dough create a baked indulgence worthy of the season. In this post, I’m really excited to share my recipe for White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Holiday Cookies. Check out my gluten-free, vegan-friendly version of the same cookie. 😉Thus, regardless of whom you invite to your holiday gatherings this season, you can please many with the “same” treat.
White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Cookies: Ingredients
These cookies are holiday focused but with simple, basic ingredients. Those ingredients include all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, orange extract, orange zest, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips.
Preheat Oven & Prepare Baking Sheets
This is a quick and easy recipe, so begin by preheating the oven to 375°F (190˚C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats for easy cleanup.
Combine Dry Ingredients: Flour, Baking Soda, & Salt
To a medium bowl, add 300 grams (2½ cups) of all-purpose flour, 2 grams (½ teaspoon) of baking soda, and 3 grams (½ teaspoon) of salt. Stir the ingredients until mixed and set aside.
Combine Wet Ingredients & Sugars
Blend Butter & Sugars
In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add 226 grams (1 cup /2 sticks) of softened butter. Mix until smooth on medium speed with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. Add 100 grams (½ cup) of granulated sugar and 96 grams (½ cup packed) brown sugar. Mix until butter and sugars are combined and smooth.
96 g (½ cup packed) brown sugar
Add Eggs, Orange Extract, & Orange Zest
To the butter mixture, crack and add 2 large eggs. For that added and needed orange flavor, add 1 teaspoon of orange extract. Blend the ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Add 1 tablespoon of orange zest, which should be the zest from 1 large orange, for enhanced orange flavor and color. Blend just enough to disperse the orange zest.
TIP: Consider cracking eggs individually in a small bowl to catch any shells or that rare “bad” egg.
Combine All Ingredients Adding Cranberries & White Chocolate
Add the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture. The dough will be stiff but stir until all flour is moistened. Add 160 grams (1 cup) of dried cranberries and 120 grams (¾ cup) of white chocolate chips. Fold or stir in the add-ins just until mixed.
Fill Baking Sheets (Small or Large Cookies)
For about 60 small cookies, spoon about 1 tablespoon of dough (walnut size) onto the prepared baking sheet. Cookie dough should be spaced about 2 inches apart since cookies will spread. To make about 30 large cookies, spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough (double the small cookie size), on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake
After filling a baking sheet with cookie dough, place it in the oven. For small cookies, bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are set and the bottoms are lightly brown for large cookies bake for 13 minutes. While one baking sheet of cookies bake, continue filling the other baking sheet with cookie.
Cool Cookies & Serve OR Add Some Holiday Flair
Once out of the oven, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Then, transfer them to a cooling rack to continue cooling. For that extra holiday flair, melt some white chocolate (according to package directions) and either drizzle it over the top of each cookie or pipe stripes across the tops. Of course, they are fantastic left plain as they are.
Check out these White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Holiday Cookies
The cookies are still light in color on top, which is what I aim for in this cookie, since I want holiday colors to shine through. They are set and lightly brown on the bottoms. You can spot the cranberries, white chocolate, and even a little bit of orange zest peppered throughout. As you break into them, they are lightly crispy on the outside yet soft and chewy in the center. They smell of sugar and orange tickling your senses. Holiday fills the air.
Storage Suggestions
Store these cookies at room temperature for a few days. They will dry out as they sit. However, if you’ve never tried it, you can add a piece of regular white bread to a cookie jar with the cookies and the moisture in the bread will keep the cookies from drying out. Or you can store them in a freezer bag in the freezer until you’re ready to consume them or give them as gifts.
Small or Large Cookies? Does it Matter?
This recipe works for making both small and large cookies. My thoughts on holiday cookies are to go with the small. With so many sweets and cookies being swapped during the holidays, smaller cookies allow for variety. A small cookie provides an indulgent (small bite) treat without feeling the need to eat a big cookie and be stuffed, since there are so many to try! Also, creating small cookies gives you more cookies in a batch to share with your family and friends; saves you time, effort, and $$.
White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Holiday Cookies: Final Thoughts
The house is full of the holidays, visually with the white chocolate and cranberries, and olfactorily 😬 with the smells of baking and orange. Every time I mention these cookies in my husband’s presence, he says… “Oh, those, they are really good!” It is sheer joy for me when I create a recipe my husband doesn’t forget. This is one of them, so my Christmas gift has been received. 😊 Check out my gluten-free and vegan-friendly version of this same cookie, though very different ingredients. They are just as tasty!
Baker’s Perspective of White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Holiday Cookies
This recipe isn’t difficult, but maybe a little more involved than a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. Zesting an orange is that little extra step. The best tip I can give in making this recipe is to ensure all ingredients are at room temperature, especially the butter and eggs. This “rule” is pretty standard for most cookie baking. Room temperature ingredients simply means that all are at the same temperature thus creating easy mixing and an even bake. Other than that, there are no special steps in making this cookie, like fridge time for the dough… nothing! Pretty easy peasy.
Taster’s Perspective of White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Holiday Cookies
As I mentioned in the Final Thoughts section, when the name of this cookie is spoken in my house, my husband smiles and perks up like a happy dog. If he had a tail, it would wag. 😉So, I asked him straight up, “Why do you like these cookies?” He responded saying that he likes the white chocolate, cranberry, and orange combination because they remind him of the holidays (happy times, I would say). Then, he asked, “What’s the base?” When I told him it was more-or-less a sugar cookie, then we both realized that his favorite cookies are sugar cookies. So, it made since why he really likes these cookies. Well, that’s a taster’s perspective… sugar cookie base with a balanced mix of flavors between white chocolate, cranberries, and orange. There you have it! If you like these flavors, absolutely give this recipe a try. 😊
Check out my YouTube video on making these cookies. “White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Holiday Cookies: Great for Gifts, Cookie Swap, or Cookie Platter 😋”
White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Holiday Cookies
Ingredients
- 300 g (2½ cups) all-purpose flour fluffed, scooped, & leveled off if using a measuring cup
- 2 g (½ tsp) baking soda
- 3 g (½ tsp) salt
- 226 g (1 cup /2 sticks) butter room temperature
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 96 g (½ cup packed) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp orange extract
- 1 tbsp orange zest from 1 large orange
- 160 g (1 cup) dried cranberries
- 120 g (¾ cup) white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F(190˚C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until mixed and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add butter. Mix until smooth on medium speed with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. Add both sugars and mix until combined and smooth.
- Add egg and orange extract and mix until smooth and fluffy. Add the orange zest and mix just until combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture and stir until well mixed. Fold in cranberries, and white chocolate chips.
- Spoon about 1 tbsp of dough (walnut size) onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart since cookies will spread. For larger cookies, double the dough size to 2-3 tbsp of cookie dough.
- Bake for 12 minutes (small cookies) or until the edges are set and the bottoms are lightly brown. For larger cookies, bake an additional 1-2 minutes (13-14 minutes total).
Video
Notes
For an extra holiday flair, melt some white chocolate and use a fork or spoon to drizzle the chocolate on the cookies. You can also use a zip top bag or piping bag and pipe stripes along the tops of each cookie. In addition, why not dip half of each cookie in white chocolate and set aside on wax paper to cool. Small or Large Cookies? This recipe works for making both small and large cookies (60 small cookies and 30 large cookies). With so many sweets and cookies being swapped during the holidays, smaller cookies allow for variety. A small cookie provides an indulgent treat without feeling the need to eat all of a large cookie, since there are so many to try! Also, a small cookie gives you more cookies in a batch to share with your family and friends; saves you time, effort, and $$.
You might be interested in some of these other holiday recipes.
Cinnamon Rolls & Yeast Rolls: One Recipe & One Prep
Chinese Almond Ginger Sugar Cookies
Cinnamon Buttery Apple Biscuits
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