Gluten-Free & Vegan White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Holiday Cookies
These white chocolate cranberry orange holiday cookies are a gluten-free and vegan version of my regular white chocolate cranberry orange holiday cookie recipe. While both versions look and taste the same, aside from the ingredients in the title, they are quite different. Use typical pantry ingredients to make these cookies and add them to your holiday cookie platter or give them away as gifts.
Servings: 60 small cookies
Ingredients
- 322 g (2⅓ cups) gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 4 g (1 tsp) baking soda
- 3 g (½ tsp) salt
- 76 g (⅓ cup) plant-based butter room temperature
- 73 g (⅓ cup) coconut oil or shortening
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 96 g (½ cup packed) brown sugar
- 135 ml (½ cup + 1 tbsp) aquafaba (garbanzo bean juice reserved from a can of beans) or 3 large eggs if not vegan
- 1 tsp orange extract
- 1 tbsp orange zest from 1 orange
- 160 g (1 cup) dried cranberries
- 120 g (¾ cup) white chocolate chips some dairy-free & vegan brands are Enjoy Life, Lieber, or Pascha
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.
- To a stand mixer bowl or large bowl, add butter and coconut oil. Use the balloon whisk attachment of the mixer and whip until smooth on medium speed or use an electric hand mixer. Add both sugars and whip again until combined and smooth.
- Add aquafaba and orange extract. Whip for 1 minute until well blended and fluffy.TIP: While it is common to whip aquafaba before adding it to a recipe to provide structure, this recipe doesn’t need it. Whipping the aquafaba with the fat and sugars provides enough structure along with the combination of coconut oil, butter, and baking soda.
- Change attachment from the balloon whisk to the paddle. Add the orange zest and mix only a few seconds until combined.
- Add the flour mixture in 2-3 stages to the wet mixture while blending for 1 minute once all flour mixture is added. Fold in cranberries and chocolate chips.TIP: Unlike with regular flour, gluten-free flour needs more time blending to absorb the liquid and allow time for the gums in the flour to build structure like what gluten does in regular flour.
- For small cookies, spoon about 1 tbsp of dough (walnut size) onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart since cookies will spread. For large cookies, double the dough amount per cookie and place on baking sheet.
- Bake small cookies for 12 minutes or 13-14 minutes for large cookies or until the edges are set and the bottoms are lightly brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.TIP: I prefer to bake one baking sheet of cookies at a time to ensure even browning for each cookie. Thus, while one pan of cookies bakes, scoop dough on the other.
Video
Notes
Storage Suggestions:
Store these cookies at room temperature for a few days. They will dry out as they sit. However, 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.
Optional Decoration:
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 $$.