‘Tis the season for cool mornings, warm coffee, and one of my other winter favorites — Cranberry Bliss season at Starbucks!
If any of you have ever tried their heavenly cranberry bliss bars laced with white chocolate and cranberries, you know the reason why these treats fly off the pastry shelves each day. So for my fall baking season this year, I decided to experiment and try translating this favorite into a cookie. Hence the name, “Cranberry Bliss Cookies”!
I started with one of my favorite chewy cookie bases, filled with lots of vanilla, white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Then topped it with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting, sprinkled with more cranberries, and drizzled with more white chocolate. I mean seriously — what’s not to love?!?
Sure enough, they were nothing short of heavenly. Quite sweet, but the extra tart of the cream cheese and cranberries gives just the perfect tart touch to leave you craving just one more. Perfect for dessert, or even a morning treat with your coffee. And definitely…blissful. :)
Cranberry Bliss Cookies
Ingredients
For The Cookies:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup dried cranberries
For The Frosting:
- 1 (8 oz.) bar cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave or double-boiler
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 2 cups powdered sugar
For The Topping:
- 1 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave or double-boiler
Instructions
To Make The Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt until well-blended. Set aside.
- Using an an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating in between to incorporate. Add the vanilla, then reduce the speed to low, and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium, and continue beating until well-combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips and cranberries, and mix until just-combined. (Do not overmix.)
- Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour. Then place dough by rounded tablespoon-fulls onto a baking sheet that has been prepared with parchment paper, at least 2.5-inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges. Remove pan, and transfer the cookies to a cooling rack until cool. Repeat with remaining dough until all cookies are baked. Wait until cookies reach room temperature before adding frosting and toppings.
To Make The Frosting:
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the cream cheese and melted white chocolate until combined. (**Be sure that your cream cheese REALLY is at room temperature before adding the white chocolate. Otherwise the chocolate could seize up.) Add in the vanilla and mix until combined. Then reduce speed to low and add the powdered sugar. Mix until incorporated. Then use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat once more for 1 minute on medium speed until the frosting is smooth. You can add more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting.
- Spread the frosting on the cooled cookies. Then immediately sprinkle the frosted cookies with the chopped dried cranberries. And use a fork to drizzle on the frosting, swishing it back and forth over the cookies.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
How do these hold up in the freezer?
Hi, thanks for sharing this – have you ever made with milk chocolate? I’ve been looking for a recipe like this, but I’m not big on white chocolate.
Thank you!
I made these last year at Christmas for the first time to take to keepers at the local zoo where I volunteer…I thought they were good (but a bit of work!) and they were a hit. One keeper loved them so much that months later, when he was in a tragic car accident, he was in the hospital and hadn’t eaten for days and was asking for these cookies! So I whipped up a batch for him. :-) Of course, I am making them again for this holday! Thanks for such a great recipe and for making one damaged person a little happier! Guess these are in my permant cookie rotation now, ha!
Could adjust the instructions so that “preheat oven” isn’t step one when you have to chill the dough for an hour. Just for those of us that just dive into the recipe instead of reading it through first.
I made Cranberry Bliss cookies for a Holiday Cookie Party (30 years – but who’s counting) and they were a BIG hit! I added orange zest to both the dough and the frosting and it really made the flavors pop.
Happy Holidays!
Your cookie recipe is so delicious! I shared it on my own blog.
Thank you for sharing your great ideas!
Thank you for sharing! The recipe is amazing. Everyone loved them. I made them for Christmas and still get people requesting them. ❤️
I have made these for years now! We do a Christmas cookie walk at my school to raise $ for missions each year. I’ve been told I’m not allowed to skip this recipe. This year, a new teacher told me his wife’s birthday was in 2 months (hinting that these would be a great birthday treat), so guess what I’m about to put in the oven.
Someone asked about freezing… I do SSSSOOOOOO many batches of cookies for that cookie walk each year. I use recipes that I can roll the dough into logs and freeze. When it’s time to bake, i slice and bake. No problems!
So easy and delicious. I served them with and without the frosting. Got equally excellent reviews on both versions.
These cookies are super good! I made them for a holiday bake off at work and placed 1st. They’ll definitely be a regular part of my holiday baking going forward.
I have to tell you – I bake cookies for my coworkers every year, and they actually fight over these cookies. They are a HIT! Thanks for the recipe! I like to add edible pearl sprinkles when I frost them for an extra bit of festive-ness. :)