Fresh Cranberry Cookies with White Chocolate Frosting
These soft and chewy cookies are filled with fresh cranberries bursting with tart fruity flavor and topped with a smooth and creamy white chocolate frosting.
Servings: 20 cookies
Ingredients
CRANBERRY COOKIES
- 2 cups + 1 Tablespoon (248g) all-purpose flour divided; be sure to measure properly
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 and ½ cups (150g) fresh cranberries
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (135g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- 4 ounces (113g) white chocolate1 coarsely chopped
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 and ½ cups (180g) powdered sugar
- 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons (30-45mL) heavy cream
Instructions
CRANBERRY COOKIES
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the flour, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- Roughly chop the cranberries, making sure each is cut into 2-3 pieces, then place in a small bowl. Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of flour to the cranberries then toss to coat cranberries on all sides. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the mixer speed to medium, then add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat again until everything is combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend until dough is mostly combined. Add the chopped cranberries (don't worry about any flour that remains in the bowl) and continue mixing until cranberries are evenly distributed. Dough will be clumpy.
- Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), gather a heaping scoop of cookie dough and drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to roll each scoop into a cohesive ball (this is mostly to insure the cranberries are tucked into the cookie dough).
- Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes or until the edges are set and turning golden brown. The middles may look underdone. This is ok. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler, on the stove, or in the microwave2. My preferred method is a small saucepan on the stove. Set melted white chocolate aside to cool at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
- In a medium size bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar and allow it to start to come together.
- Stir the cooled white chocolate so that it is smooth, and then add it to the butter/sugar mixture. Increase the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes until creamy and well-combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed one more time to low, then add the vanilla extract and salt. Slowly add the cream and stop when you have reached the consistency you prefer.
- Use a small offset spatula to spread frosting onto each cookie. Garnish with sugared cranberries and a sprig of fresh rosemary, if desired. Store leftovers covered tightly at room temperature up to 5 days. Cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- White chocolate: you can use bar chocolate (chopped) or white chocolate chips (do not chop). Your frosting with be the smoothest with bar chocolate.
- Melt the white chocolate in the microwave: place chopped white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl (I usually use a glass liquid measuring cup), and microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after every 20 seconds until completely smooth.
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Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 154mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 357IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
