Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cookie season is in full swing! I’m so excited to share even more recipes throughout the holidays. First up: these chewy, rich Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies! These are a super fun seasonal, holiday twist on a classic cookie. I had to seriously control myself so I wouldn’t eat half the batch myself the day I baked them!
Orange and cranberry is one of my favorite fall flavor combinations. When done right, it’s the perfect balance of zesty, tart, tangy, and sweet. Cranberries need the orange to tone down their tartness. In the case of these cookies, the addition of white chocolate chips brings a delicious sweetness that makes these cookies absolutely irresistible.
As much as I often want to just make and bake cookies so I can dig into them ASAP, letting this dough chill in the fridge is totally worth the wait! The extra chilling time gives the flavors a chance to really get to know each other (as Babish says, #iykyk), and helps keep the cookies nice and thick when they bake, resulting in an utterly delicious treat.
For this recipe, I did a two-part chill. First, I chilled the dough “in bulk” still in the mixing bowl, right after it was finished mixing. This gave it time to set so it’d be easier to scoop and portion in the next step. Then, after scooping the dough into balls, I covered and chilled it overnight. The next morning, all I had to do was preheat my oven, pop the dough balls onto a baking sheet, and bake!
Pro tip: you can freeze the pre-portioned dough balls and keep them in your freezer for on-demand cookies! Just keep them in a tightly-sealed plastic bag (I use Stasher bags) and bake them at 350ºF like normal whenever your cookie craving hits. This Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip cookie dough freezes super well, so you can enjoy these babies all season long.
You don’t need any special equipment to make these cookies. Sure, you can break out the stand mixer if you want (I usually do), but they’re just as easy with a big ol’ mixing bowl and good whisk and spatula.
Let’s make these Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies!
To make them, you will need:
- Flour
- Brown & white sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Eggs (at room temperature)
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
- Orange zest
- Dried cranberries (craisins)
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- White chocolate chips
First, melt the butter. You can do this in the microwave (in 20-second intervals), or in a saucepan on the stove. Browning the butter obviously gives these cookies a deeper flavor, but you don’t have to brown the butter if you don’t want to. Once the butter is melted, let it cool for 10 minutes.
Combine the dry ingredients. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl, and set aside.
Add the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and orange zest. Add the brown sugar and white sugar to the melted butter, and mix until combined. Add each egg one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and orange zest and mix again.
Add the dry ingredients. Slowly, carefully add the dry ingredients. Mix until there is no dry flour showing. Fold in the craisins and white chocolate chips.
Cover and chill. Chill the dough in the bowl for at least an hour before scooping and portioning. This first chill gives the dough time to firm up so it’s easier to scoop!
Scoop and chill again. Use a medium or large scoop to portion the dough into balls. Place the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Cover and chill again. Once all the dough is scooped, cover the baking sheet and chill again—for at least two hours, up to overnight. A longer chill is better so the flavors have more time to meld.
Get ready to bake! When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350º F. Place the dough balls on a separate baking sheet 1-2 inches apart.
Bake and enjoy! Bake medium-sized cookies for 10-12 minutes, and larger cookies for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn golden and the center of the cookie looks set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Did you enjoy this recipe? You might also like:
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Orange Oatmeal Craisin Cookies
- Christmas Chip Cookies
- Celebration Cake Balls
Thanks so much for reading and eating along, y’all! If you’re craving more, follow me on Instagram and Pinterest, and sign up for my email list so you never miss a recipe. If you make one of my recipes, tag me on Instagram or share a photo on my Facebook page so I can see your work!
Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl, and set aside.
- Mix the melted butter and sugars until well combined. Add each egg one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the vanilla extract and orange zest and stir.
- Carefully add the dry ingredients and stir until a thick dough forms.
- Fold in the craisins and white chocolate chips.
- Cover the dough and chill for at least an hour.
- After the first chill, use a medium or large scoop to portion the dough into balls. Place the dough balls onto a lined baking sheet. Cover the sheet and chill again for a minimum of 2 hours, up to overnight.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a separate baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Place dough balls 1-2 inches apart on the sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes for medium cookies, 13-15 minutes for larger cookies.
- Transfer baked cookies to a wire rack to cool.
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August 23, 2022 @ 11:52 pm
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