A classic drop cookie but made allergy-safe with vegan ingredients. These vegan white chocolate cranberry cookies are a breeze to make with 10 simple ingredients and will be ready in less than 20 minutes. They are sweet and slightly crunchy with a caramel undertone and mixings that don’t disappoint. Makes 12 cookies.
Why I Made This Recipe
I love making drop cookies and couldn’t wait to try out the Healthy Crunch vegan white chocolate chips from my latest product review post in this recipe. And besides, white chocolate and cranberries are just the perfect pairing in cookies and I had been craving these for quite some time.
This is also a no-chill recipe because quite honestly when we want cookies, we don’t have the patience to wait for the dough to chill.
Why You Need This Recipe
If you love great recipes that are easy to adapt to your dietary preferences, this recipe is for you! Quick and easy to make with everyday ingredients and they get a big thumbs up from our kids as well. Perfect for enjoying with a warm cup of tea (or coffee) on a cold or snowy day or as a grab-and-go treat when you have a busy schedule ahead.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This is a vegan recipe with an easy gluten-free option available (see below). As a precision baker, I develop my recipes by weight for accuracy but have also included US cup measurements for those who prefer this method of baking. See the recipe card for both options and my FAQ for recipe tips and suggestions.
Chocolate: I am using vegan white chocolate chips. I love Enjoy Life white chocolate chips as they bake so well in cookies (and taste good on their own as well!). You could sub with chunks of your favourite bar of white chocolate if you prefer.
Cranberries: dried cranberries are just divine in drop cookies as they add a tartness that offsets the sweetness. If you want to mix up the fruit, sub with your preferred choice. Golden raisins or sliced glace cherries would work amazingly in this recipe.
White Sugar: we’re making cookies so sugar is a MUST.
Brown Sugar: yes, I am using two types of sugar. The brown sugar adds to the caramel undertone of the cookies, relaxes the dough and makes such a difference to the overall bake. Swap with white sugar if you don’t have any (150g white sugar in total).
Butter: I am using unsalted plant-based butter at room temperature. If you only have salted butter on hand, omit the salt in the recipe. Sub with dairy butter if you are not vegan/dairy-free.
Apple Sauce: my go-to egg replacement that adds moisture to the cookies. Use a flax egg if you prefer or 1 large egg if you are not egg intolerant/vegan.
Flavouring: I always love to add a dash of vanilla bean paste to help elevate the flavours of the cookies. Sub with vanilla extract.
Flour: all-purpose flour is needed to create the soft chewy centre and the slightly crunchy exterior of the cookies. Sub with your preferred gluten-free flour – I recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
Baking Soda: this helps the cookies spread a little.
Salt: to balance the flavours.
How to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Preheat your oven to 375°F / 190°C and gather all of your ingredients and supplies. The butter should be at room temperature before making this recipe. The key with drop cookies is to NOT overmix the ingredients as this will cause the cookies to spread more than necessary.
Add the white and brown sugars to a mixing bowl with the softened butter and cream together. Add in the apple sauce and vanilla bean paste and stir to combine.
Next add the all-purpose flour, baking soda and a little bit of salt and stir until ‘almost’ combined. Top Tip: whenever I’m adding mixings to cookie dough, I recommend not fully incorporating the flour as the dough will be mixed again when we add the chocolate chips and cranberries. Essentially you want to stop mixing when you can still see little bits of flour running throughout the mixture, as below.
Finally, stir in the cranberries and the chocolate chips until just combined.
Let’s Bake
Line your cookie trays with parchment paper then add scoops of cookie dough. I always use a cookie scoop to measure my dough so that my cookies will be roughly the same size and weight. I also love using air-bake cookie trays as they bake more evenly due to the increased airflow around the cookies. Don’t add too many cookies on the tray or press them down because they will spread a little bit as they bake.
This recipe will make 12-13 cookies and I highly recommend baking one tray at a time. Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F/190° for 10-12 minutes until they look like these beauties.
Baked to Perfection
You can see what I mean by how they spread and collapse a little bit, with a thinner outer edge that will crisp up as the cookies cool down. Leave the cookies cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Or eat them right away if you can’t resist!
A side note: if you want to show off the cranberries and white chocolate chips, add a few more to the cookies as soon as you bring them out of the oven. The dough will still be soft enough to add the extra toppings. I added a heart candy to a few cookies as a treat for our kids (scroll on to see them).
I love how yummy the cookies look underneath with their caramelized, crispy base. Which do you prefer? Soft and squidgy cookies or slightly crunchy? I’m definitely on team crunch for these cookies! For a slightly softer base, bake for a minute less.
Honestly, these cookies would be perfect to eat while they are still a little bit warm. Can you resist trying them?
Common Questions
This no-chill recipe makes 12 vegan white chocolate cranberry cookies, approximately 3 inches in size.
Absolutely! For an easy gluten-free option, substitute the all-purpose flour with your preferred gluten-free flour. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
To preserve their freshness, store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Great question. The addition of brown sugar helps the cookies ‘relax’ as they are baking, encourages the crispiness on the edges and adds a great caramel undertone. It’s completely optional but I do highly recommend it if you’ve never used both in your drop cookies.
More Options
It’s so easy to ‘seasonalise’ these vegan white chocolate cranberry cookies by adding a fun sprinkle in the centre as soon as they come out of the oven, like this one for Valentine’s Day. You could even add some coarse salt on top of them or drizzle them with extra chocolate. Endless possibilities.
More Cookies?
If you love cookies, check out these family favourites:
- Great British Bake Off inspired Garibaldi Cookies (dairy-free)
- Perfect party food with my Funfetti Cookies (vegan)
- My all-time favourite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (vegan)
- Indulge with these Red Velvet Drop Cookies (vegan)
Vegan White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 100 grams Brown Sugar (1/2 US Cup)
- 50 grams White Sugar (1/4 US Cup)
- 145 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted) (10 tbsp or 1 stick plus 1/3)
- 50 grams Apple Sauce (1/4 US Cup)
- 1.5 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (7.5 ml)
- 175 grams All Purpose Flour (1 1/2 US Cups)
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 75 grams Dried Cranberries
- 100 grams Vegan White Chocolate Chips (just over 1/2 US Cup)
- Optional – sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C and gather all of your ingredients and supplies. The butter should be at room temperature before making this recipe.
- Add the white and brown sugars to a mixing bowl with the softened butter and cream together. Add in the apple sauce and vanilla bean paste and stir to combine.
- Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda and a little bit of salt and stir until 'almost' combined. Top Tip: whenever I'm adding mixings to cookie dough, I recommend not fully incorporating the flour as the dough will be mixed again when we add the chocolate chips and cranberries. Stop mixing when you can still see little bits of flour running throughout the mixture.
- Stir in the cranberries and the chocolate chips until just combined.
- Line your cookie trays with parchment paper then add scoops of cookie dough. Make sure you space out the cookies evenly. I usually add no more than 6 per cookie tray. Bake one tray at a time in a preheated oven at 375°F/190° for 10-12 minutes.
- Leave the cookies cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
- Note: If you want to add extra toppings to the cookies, add fun sprinkles, candy or coarse salt as soon as they come out of the oven. See full post for more suggestions and tips.
Video
Notes
- Yield: This no-chill recipe makes 12 cookies, approximately 3 inches in size.
- Storage: To preserve freshness, store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
- Gluten-Free: For an easy gluten-free option, sub the all-purpose flour with your preferred gluten-free flour. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
- Sugar: Why am I using two types of sugar? The addition of brown sugar helps the cookies ‘relax’ as they are baking, encourages the crispiness on the edges and adds a great caramel undertone. It’s completely optional but I do highly recommend it if you’ve never used both in your drop cookies.
- Nutrition: Nutrition information is provided as a guide only and is based on the actual ingredients that I used to create this recipe.
These cookies were so good! No one would have guessed they were vegan!
Thrilled to hear that Liz.
I can never say no to cookies. And these are simply amazing! I love how easy it is to make them, too.
Thanks Mahy. Cookies are so irresistible.
Such delicious cookies! The flavors sound amazing and I love the little heart you added to the top.
Thanks Tara, it’s a cute addition.
These cookies are so delicious and perfect for adding to my holiday cookie box! I love the combo of cranberries and white chocolate.
I agree – they are perfect for holiday baking.
Loved these cookies! The sweetness of the white chocolate paired with the tart cranberries is just perfection!
I’m so happy to hear that. I love this flavour combination too.
Delicious and so easy to bake. I used the low sugar dried cranberries so the tart with the sweet was perfect! Great recipe and love the idea of putting the little heart on top. Wondering what brand of hearts you used. Thanks! 🙂
So happy that you loved these cookies. I purchased the hearts from my local Bulk Barn store here in Canada. I believe that Wilton sell something very similar. If you can’t find anything suitable, you could always pipe a little heart on top using royal icing. Thanks so much for your review!