A few years ago, my girls and I were sitting around my kitchen island thinking of what we should bake. Nearing the Christmas season, we wanted something festive and fun. Looking through my pantry, I spied a bag of dried cranberries and a jar of pumpkin seeds. Red. Green. Yep…looked like Christmas to me.
Now, all we needed was a touch of white. And I’m sure you’ve already guessed it: white chocolate! We quickly scrounged up some white chocolate chips from my rather ridiculous chocolate chip baking stash for that added touch of Christmas winter white.
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We measured, mixed, and snitched our way through these Christmas cookies and waited, rather impatiently, as they baked in the oven. Piping hot and still gooey in the center each girl (myself too) ate at least two of these cookies in a matter of mere minutes.
After our bellies were full of sugar and butter I asked my girls what we should call these cookies. Cranberry cookies? White chocolate cranberry pumpkin cookies? Red, white, and green cookies. To which, they all replied no. (Cant’say I blame them…white chocolate cranberry pumpkin cookies is quite the mouthful.) “What about Christmas cookies” my oldest suggested. And well, the rest they say, is history!
Do you enjoy cranberry? If so, check out this Cranberry Gingerbread Cake. It was totally scrumptious!

Christmas Cookies
- Total Time: 22 Minutes
- Yield: 2 Dozen 1x
Description
Easy and festive Christmas cookies full of cranberries, white chocolate, and pumpkin seeds.
Ingredients
- ½ cup dairy-free salted butter, room temperature
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¾ cup white sugar
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1 large egg, room temperature
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1 tsp. vanilla extract
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1 tsp. almond emulsion/extract
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1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
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1 tbsp. orange zest
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1 tsp. coarse sea salt
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½ tsp. baking soda
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½ tsp. baking powder
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½ cup dried cranberries
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½ cup pumpkin seeds
Instructions
EQUIPMENT:
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Parchment Paper
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy with the paddle attachment.
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Add in egg, orange zest, vanilla extract, and almond emulsion/extract and mix until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
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Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl and mix on low until fully incorporated and dough forms.
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Mix in the white chocolate chips, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds until just incorporated.
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Using a 1 ½ tbsp. cookie scoop drop the cookie dough onto parchment-lined cookie trays approximately 2 inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers appear just slightly under-baked.
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Let cool on the tray for at least 10 minutes before removing it to a cookie rack to fully cool. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 12 Minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 135
- Sugar: 10 Grams
- Sodium: 128 Miligrams
- Fat: 6 Grams
- Saturated Fat: 3 Grams
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 Grams
- Trans Fat: 0 Grams
- Carbohydrates: 17 Grams
- Fiber: 1 Gram
- Protein: 2 Grams
- Cholesterol: 18 Miligrams
Keywords: baking, cookies no-chill, no-chill cookie recipe, Christmas cookie, christmas baking, cranberry cookies
Kids and I loved this recipe! We aren’t dairy free so used dairy but it was perfect!
★★★★★
Woohoo! I’m so glad you all enjoyed them. I need to start Christmas baking soon.
My daughter and I just made these yummy cookies. They were nice and chewy. The combination of cranberries, orange rind, pumpkin seeds and white chocolate definitely reminded me of Christmas.
★★★★★
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Suzy!
These cookies are absolutely awesome ! So light , delicious. My in-laws were obsessed, haha)) Loved it’s almond and zest notes.
★★★★★
I love that you made them for your in-laws Viktoriya!