Pioneer Woman White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie recipe captures the essence of Ree Drummond’s baking style: buttery, generous, and incredibly comforting. While often associated with the holiday season due to the festive red and white color scheme, these cookies are a year-round favorite. They offer the perfect marriage of textures and flavors—the chewy, tangy sweetness of dried cranberries cuts right through the rich, creamy decadence of white chocolate. It is a reliable “drop cookie” recipe that requires no chilling and produces a soft, chewy center with crisp, golden edges every time.
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🧡 Why You Will Love White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Recipes:
- The Perfect Balance: White chocolate can be very sweet, but the tartness of the cranberries balances it out perfectly so the cookie isn’t cloying.
- Chewy Texture: The use of brown sugar ensures these cookies stay soft and chewy in the middle, even after they cool.
- Festive Appeal: They look beautiful on a holiday cookie platter without needing any frosting or decoration.
- No Chill Time: Unlike many butter-based cookies, you can bake these immediately after mixing the dough.
- Pantry Friendly: It uses standard baking staples. If you have a bag of Craisins and white chips, you likely have everything else.
🥚 Pioneer Woman White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips (or a chopped white chocolate bar)
- 1 ½ cups dried cranberries (e.g., Craisins)
- ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional, but very “Pioneer Woman”)
🍪 How To Make Pioneer Woman White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Cream Butter & Sugars: In a large bowl (or stand mixer), beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together on medium-high speed for about 2-3 minutes. The mixture should look pale, fluffy, and aerated.
- Add Wets: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed just until streaks of flour disappear. Do not overmix, or the cookies will be tough.
- Add Mix-Ins: Fold in the white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and nuts (if using) by hand using a spatula.
- Scoop: Drop heaping tablespoons of dough (or use a cookie scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake: Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.
- Visual Cue: The edges should be golden brown, but the centers should still look slightly soft and underbaked. They will firm up as they cool.
- Cool: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
💡 Recipe Tips
- Soft Butter is Key: The butter should be soft enough to leave a thumbprint indent, but not melting or greasy. If it’s too warm, the cookies will spread flat.
- Measure Flour Correctly: Don’t scoop the flour directly with the measuring cup, as this packs it down. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a knife to avoid dry cookies.
- The “pretty” trick: Save a handful of cranberries and white chocolate chips. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, gently press a few onto the tops of the hot cookies. This gives them a bakery-style appearance.
- Don’t Overbake: White chocolate burns easily, and these cookies dry out quickly. Pull them when the center still looks a bit doughy.
☕ What To Serve With White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies?
- Cold Milk: The classic pairing to wash down the rich white chocolate.
- Coffee: The tart cranberry flavor pairs wonderfully with a dark roast coffee or an afternoon latte.
- Hot Cocoa: Serve alongside a peppermint hot chocolate for the ultimate holiday treat.
- Cookie Exchange: These are sturdy travelers and look great in tins for holiday gifting.
🧊 How To Store Leftovers White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies?
- Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Add a slice of white bread to the container to keep them soft longer.
- Freeze Dough: You can freeze the scooped dough balls. Bake them from frozen, adding an extra 1-2 minutes to the cooking time.
- Freeze Baked: Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe bag.
🔥 How To Reheat Leftovers White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies?
- Microwave: Place leftovers white chocolate cranberry cookies on a plate and microwave for 8-10 seconds. This melts the chocolate chips slightly and restores that “fresh out of the oven” softness.
- Oven: Warm on a baking sheet leftovers white chocolate cranberry cookies at 300°F for 3 minutes.
❓FAQs
It is generally not recommended for this specific recipe. Fresh cranberries have a very high water content. If you use them, the cookies will turn out cakey (like a muffin top) rather than chewy. Dried cranberries (Craisins) provide the correct texture and concentrated flavor.
The most common culprit is butter temperature. If your butter was melted or too soft (oily) when you creamed it, the cookies will spread into puddles in the oven. Another reason could be placing the dough on a baking sheet that was still hot from a previous batch.
Yes, and many bakers prefer it! Chopping up a high-quality white chocolate bar (like Lindt or Ghirardelli) creates pools of melted chocolate rather than the uniform chunks you get from chips. It feels a bit more “gourmet.”
You likely overbaked them. White chocolate cookies can be tricky because they don’t darken as obviously as chocolate chip cookies. You must take them out when the centers still look slightly underdone. They will finish cooking and firm up as they sit on the hot baking sheet.
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📊 White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 190 kcal
- Total Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
- Sodium: 110mg
- Total Carbohydrate: 26g
- Dietary Fiber: 1g
- Sugars: 18g
- Protein: 2g
Pioneer Woman White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Recipe
Course: Desserts, Breakfast, Brunch, SnacksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy24
servings15
minutes10
minutes190
kcalPioneer Woman White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie recipe captures the essence of Ree Drummond’s baking style: buttery, generous, and incredibly comforting. While often associated with the holiday season due to the festive red and white color scheme, these cookies are a year-round favorite. They offer the perfect marriage of textures and flavors—the chewy, tangy sweetness of dried cranberries cuts right through the rich, creamy decadence of white chocolate. It is a reliable “drop cookie” recipe that requires no chilling and produces a soft, chewy center with crisp, golden edges every time.
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips (or a chopped white chocolate bar)
1 ½ cups dried cranberries (e.g., Craisins)
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional, but very “Pioneer Woman”)
Directions
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Cream Butter & Sugars: In a large bowl (or stand mixer), beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together on medium-high speed for about 2-3 minutes. The mixture should look pale, fluffy, and aerated.
- Add Wets: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed just until streaks of flour disappear. Do not overmix, or the cookies will be tough.
- Add Mix-Ins: Fold in the white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and nuts (if using) by hand using a spatula.
- Scoop: Drop heaping tablespoons of dough (or use a cookie scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake: Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Visual Cue: The edges should be golden brown, but the centers should still look slightly soft and underbaked. They will firm up as they cool.
- Cool: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Soft Butter is Key: The butter should be soft enough to leave a thumbprint indent, but not melting or greasy. If it’s too warm, the cookies will spread flat.
Measure Flour Correctly: Don’t scoop the flour directly with the measuring cup, as this packs it down. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a knife to avoid dry cookies.
The “pretty” trick: Save a handful of cranberries and white chocolate chips. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, gently press a few onto the tops of the hot cookies. This gives them a bakery-style appearance.
Don’t Overbake: White chocolate burns easily, and these cookies dry out quickly. Pull them when the center still looks a bit doughy.
