White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
White chocolate and cranberry are a classic flavor combination for holiday cookies! These slice-and-bake shortbread cookies are beautifully studded with dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks. They're great as is or decorated with melted white chocolate and sanding sugar for extra sparkle.
- Prep Time: 13 minutes
- Chill Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 24-30 cookies 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking, slice-and-bake
- Cuisine: Scottish, American
Ingredients
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- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup chopped white chocolate*
- Turbinado/ coarse sanding sugar (optional)
- Pink white chocolate melting wafers* (optional)
Instructions
- Beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and salt, and mix to combine.
- Add the flour and mix until smooth.* Then stir in the dried cranberries and white chocolate.
- Roll the dough into a log about 2-2.5 inches in diameter. Roll the log in turbinado sugar, if desired. Wrap the log tightly in plastic wrap then place it in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the log of cookie dough, slice it into ¼-inch slices, and place the slices on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to turn a light golden brown. Let cool for a couple of minutes on the tray, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Let the cookies cool completely before decorating with melted white chocolate and additional sanding sugar if using.
Notes
- I recommend chopping bars of white chocolate into chunks, rather than using white chocolate chips. The chocolate bars will be easier to cut through and result in more evenly shaped cookies.
- Don't attempt to use food coloring to dye white chocolate - the water content will cause the chocolate to seize. Instead, you'll want to buy commercially dyed melting wafers or use white chocolate for a white drizzle.
- If the dough is too crumbly after adding the flour and won't hold together, add a small splash of water (up to 1 tablespoon) until it's easy to work with. The dough should hold together when pressed, but it shouldn't be very sticky.