White Chip Cranberry Cookies

I’m in love with fall and I don’t care who knows it! To me, fall is synonymous with baking and cooking. And enjoying apple pie-scented candles while sipping a homemade salted caramel hot chocolate as it rains outside. So you can imagine my excitement when the girls from #C2CCS (Coast to Coast Cookie Swap) and I decided to do another swap, which obviously meant more baking!

We switched up the #C2CCS format a bit. The #C2CCS girls and I each mailed to 3 of the 6 bloggers in the group and received cookies from a different set of bloggers, rather than mailing cookies to everyone in the group (the cost to ship to 5 people across the country is expensive!). We also welcomed Amber from Domestic Wannabe to the group. She also happens to be my cousin and the other little cutie pie in the photo of us baking with my grandma in Forked Deer below.

We always love baking with grandma!

After my ridiculously tasty success with Sally’s chocolate chip cookies (read about it here) for our last #C2CCS, I decided Sally’s Baking Addiction had become my stop for anything cookie-related. Girl knows what she’s doing! For our second #C2CCS, I decided to make Sally’s Soft-Baked White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies. I changed almost nothing to Sally’s version of the recipe, even committing to her preference of dark brown sugar versus light brown sugar (I would imagine either is fine, though), but I did switch a few things up. 

Much like her chocolate chip cookies, these take a little bit more time than most recipes. Chilling is absolutely mandatory! But it’s so worth it. I promise. Below is my version of Sally’s Soft-Baked White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies.

White Chip Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. In a large bowl using a hand mixer (or stand mixer with paddle attachment), beat the butter for about a minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Mix in the sugars until fluffy and combined. Add in egg and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch, baking soda and salt into the flour. On low speed, slowly incorporate dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Using a spoon or spatula, stir in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, until evenly disbursed. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days (I did 4 hours, but see my note below). Just like in Sally’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough.
3. When ready to bake, remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or a silicone baking mat). Set aside.
4. Roll balls of dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each, into balls. (Note: the dough will be slightly crumbly after being chilled, but will come together if you work the dough with your hands as you roll into individual balls.) Bake for 8-9 minutes, until just barely golden brown around the edges. They will look extremely soft when you remove them from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Allow cookie sheet to cool between batches.

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies. Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week (if they last that long) and even do well being mailed! While I haven’t tried this technique yet, Sally says that the unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well (up to three months).

Note: While my cookies tasted absolutely delicious, they were quite pancake-ish. I’m hoping to make them again and chill the dough for longer. But may try the exact version of Sally’s recipe rather than making my own version.

So my first batch turned out a little flat.

I tried using the tip from Sally’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, making the balls of dough taller than they were wide. It seemed to help. But only a little.

Cooking/baking is always an adventure, right? As you can see, my cookies came off the cookie sheet flat as pancakes! But, I think this quality would make the cookies perfect candidates for some vanilla or macadamia nut ice cream sandwiched in between. Don’t you? Mmm.. Anyway, here’s what I received from Allie, Karla and Amber and links to all of the recipes made for this round of #C2CCS!

Allison (Sweet Potato Bites): Grain Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Karla (Foodologie):  Almond Joy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Amber (Domestic Wannabe): Chocolate Caramel Cookies with Maldon Salt

Jazzy (JazzyJones): Take 5 Cookies (link to come soon!)

Coco (Urban Chick’s Foodie Ventures): Cinnamon Appledoodles (link to come soon!)